Defect in sheet metal stamping

Posted by admin - Sun, 10/04/2020 - 18:59

VIOLATION OF THE TECHNOLOGICAL PROCESS OF SHEET STAMPING

Defects caused by an incorrectly developed technological process or arising from non-compliance with
the established technology arise mainly for the following reasons:

non-compliance of the brand and grade of metal with the technological conditions, incorrect size of the
workpiece, omission of established or necessary operations in the technological process, non-
compliance with technological conditions during stamping, violation of normal conditions for storage
and transportation of the semi-finished product.

Sheet metal is unsuitable for forming operations with normal degrees of deformation if, under normal
operating conditions and in the absence of any defects in the tool used for stamping, the sheet is
destroyed. Destruction may occur both during the initial drawing and during subsequent transitions.
During deep drawing, the stability of mechanical properties and minimal thickness variation in both an
individual sheet and a batch of metal are of particular importance. If this condition is not met,
destruction may occur due to excessive thinning in certain places, tearing off of bottom parts, formation
of tongues, and distortion of the product shape. Uneven thickness of sheet metal leads to the formation
of folds during the first drawing operation; such folds cannot be eliminated during subsequent
operations and may cause destruction and cracks.

Coarse defects in the surface of sheet steel, which may form during rolling, finishing or transportation
of metal, cause destruction during deep drawing already at the first stage; smaller defects in the surface,
which are not noticeable during the initial drawing, lead to tears or destruction of the stamped product
during further deformation.

Incorrect annealing conditions for sheet steel can contribute to the formation of either a very fine-
grained metal structure, or the appearance of excessively large grains in the sheet or a microstructure
uneven across the sheet thickness with large grains at the surface and small ones in the middle of the
sheet. In the first case, the metal will have increased rigidity, and in the second, the surface of the
stamped part will be rough.

The presence of scale on the surface of the sheets significantly increases the friction between the
deformed metal and the tool surface, which may result in the destruction of the stamped product. The
causes of defects may also be discontinuities and non-metallic inclusions, as well as large
accumulations of tertiary cementite along the grain boundaries. In these places, microcracks often form
during stamping, which lead to the destruction of the metal.

Low quality of steel sheets can be caused by a high content of impurities or increased content of carbon,
manganese, phosphorus and other elements that have an adverse effect. Such steels are greatly
strengthened, and their multi-operation drawing becomes difficult. Bottom tearing or destruction is also
observed in the case of stamping steel prone to aging. In this case, its brittleness becomes especially
noticeable during long breaks between individual transitions.

Sheets may have hardened areas that have arisen, for example, as a result of fractures. Usually, cracks
appear in these areas due to the difficult flow of metal during deep drawing.
The presence of any imperfections in steel sheets intended for complex stamping operations is
unacceptable. However, in sheet metal stamping shops, the blanks fed into the work are sometimes
mixed up by thickness, grades of material and other factors determining its grade. Usually, defects in
these cases are detected during the first shaping operations: during drawing, breaks, cracks, and surface
roughness will appear; in the case of bending, cracks will form at the bending points or there will be a
large elastic springback; it is impossible to obtain the shape and dimensions specified in the drawing.

Incorrect sizes of blanks fed for stamping of parts are observed in practice quite often and are the result
of errors made during the design of the technological process or the preparation of technical
documentation, or the result of violations in the technological process of manufacturing blanks.

Most often, defects caused by incorrect dimensions of blanks are discovered at the very beginning of the
technological process, when a discrepancy arises between the dimensions of the blanks and the
dimensions determined by the clamps in the stamp. In some cases, this defect is discovered in the
middle or at the end of the stamping process, when it becomes clear that some dimension of the part
does not correspond to that specified in the drawing (the height or diameter of the flange of an elongated
part, the length of a curved shelf, etc.).

When calculating the dimensions of the workpiece for subsequent bending, errors may occur if the
thinning is not taken into account, or the position of the neutral layer is incorrectly determined. As a
result, after bending, the bent shelves will have dimensions that differ from those specified in the
drawing. Larger than required workpiece dimensions during drawing may cause the bottom parts to
break off, since the flange area under the pressure ring increases, and, consequently, the drawing force
increases. If the workpiece dimensions are too large, corrugations may appear during drawing.

If the dimensions of the workpiece during drawing are smaller than required, wrinkles and folds usually
appear during stamping due to insufficient clamping of the flange by the die fold holder. When
trimming such products, trimmings appear.

When designing a technological process, some operations may not be provided for, which results in
mass defects during the stamping process. For example, when manufacturing hollow products with
small rounding radii at the bottom or flange of the part, in order to increase productivity, they
sometimes try to obtain a finished part at the last step of drawing. However, with small rounding radii of
the punch and matrix, metal destruction is possible.

Obviously, in this case, at the last transition of drawing, it is necessary to provide for large radii of
rounding of the working parts of the stamp, and then to apply calibration to obtain small radii of
rounding on the product. If burrs are not cleaned on the workpiece, then cracks may form during
bending.

If the production personnel have insufficient knowledge of the technology of manufacturing parts or if
they are inattentive to it, individual operations of the technological process may be skipped, such as
punching holes, straightening, embossing, individual transitions of multi-operation drawing. As a result,
if the products have undergone subsequent stamping operations and due to the change in shape of the
part it is impossible to install it on the die of the skipped operation, an irreparable defect occurs.

If interoperational annealing, intended to restore the plastic properties of metal strengthened by previous
deformation, is skipped, products are destroyed during stamping, leading to final rejection. If the sheet
metal straightening operation on a multi-roll machine is skipped, slip lines are observed on the surface
of the products, which can also lead to final rejection.
The reason for a defect in stamping may be the failure of production personnel to comply with certain
technological conditions. Thus, failure to apply lubricant to the surface of the matrix and the workpiece
or its arbitrary replacement increases the contact friction forces and the drawing force. As a result, the
final defect may appear - destruction. Contaminated lubricant and the surface of the workpieces can lead
not only to destruction, scuffs and scratches, but also to increased wear of the tool.

Sometimes, in production conditions, the installation of stamps on presses is not observed as stipulated
by the technology. If a stamp is installed on a press whose ram speed during the working stroke is too
high, breaks may occur on the stamped part during complex drawing. When stamping products from
steel prone to aging, the cause of defects may be prolonged aging of semi-finished products between
operations. During the aging process, the plasticity of such steel decreases, and during drawing,
destruction may occur. To prevent this phenomenon, it is necessary to rhythmically perform all shape-
changing operations during the manufacture of parts without unnecessary delays of semi-finished
products between operations.

Incorrect transportation, stacking and storage can cause all sorts of dents, nicks, scratches, and mold
damage on products. These defects make it difficult to install parts on stamps for subsequent operations,
cause metal destruction during stamping, and in the case of finished products, can lead to defects.
Therefore, it is necessary to be careful when stacking and transporting parts, use special containers for
storage, etc.

STATE OF STAMPING TOOLS AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE QUALITY OF STAMPED

The quality of the products obtained in sheet metal stamping depends primarily on the condition of the
stamping tooling. Defects in the manufacture of stamps, their adjustment on the press, wear or failure of
the stamping tooling are one of the main reasons for the occurrence of defects in sheet metal stamping.
The design of the stamp must correspond to the operation of the technological process performed on it,
ensure the reliability and stability of fixation of the workpiece in it, create convenience in work, and
also meet the requirements for productivity, reliability of installation on the press and safety during
work. It is necessary that the working parts of the stamp have sufficient operational durability. When
these requirements are met, the stamps ensure the manufacture of high-quality products. However, a
significant part of the defects in sheet metal stamping is formed precisely due to the fault of the tool.

This defect may be caused by poor quality of stamp manufacturing or poor adjustment of stamping
equipment, as well as breakage and wear of working parts of stamping tool. Unsatisfactory condition of
stamps may be the result of manufacturing inaccuracy, poor quality assembly, insufficient surface finish
of working parts, their low hardness, etc.

The manufacturing accuracy of stamp parts depends on numerous factors. These include, first of all, the
complexity of the contour being processed, the technical data of the equipment used for mechanical
processing of stamp parts, and the qualifications of the machine operators. The correct organization of
the technological process — mechanical processing of parts, a well-thought-out design of the working
parts of the stamp — also contributes to an increase in the manufacturing accuracy of stamps. For
example, correctly marked parting lines of composite matrices not only facilitate their grinding, but also
allow for an increase in the accuracy of dimensional performance. Deviation of the dimensions from
those specified in the drawing may also occur as a result of bias during heat treatment of the working
parts of the stamp. This is especially often observed in the manufacture of complex matrices from
carbon tool steels.
Inaccuracy in the manufacture of the working parts of the stamp usually affects the unevenness of the
gap between the punch and the matrix or the deviation of this gap from the normal value. Unevenness of
the gap between the punch and the matrix during disconnecting operations has a very harmful effect not
only on the accuracy and quality of the stamped parts, but also on the durability of the stamps.

With an uneven gap, the pressure is distributed unevenly along the perimeter of the contour being cut,
which causes the upper half of the die to skew relative to the lower half. As a result, the cutting edges of
the die may be "notched" or chipped. Uneven gaps are also the cause of increased wear of the guides.
When cutting in dies with such a gap between the punch and the matrix, burrs form on the surface of the
parts. Loose fit of the punch to the matrix during bending leads to pinching of the parts at the contact
points, and in those areas where the gap is greater than the thickness of the material, increased
springback is observed. Uneven gaps between the punch and the matrix lead to destruction, thinning in
the corners, wrinkles and "ears" on the products during drawing. The main cause of punch breakage
during extrusion is an uneven gap between the working parts along the perimeter. When forming in dies
with imprecisely fitted punch and matrix, imprints remain on the part.

Poor quality assembly of stamps consists of poor centering of the punch relative to the matrix,
insufficient finishing of the tool. Incorrectly installed guides, clamps, clamps and pullers can cause
defects during stamping.

Thus, in case of skewing of the fold holder caused by different lengths of the pins, folds are formed
during drawing. Poorly fitted to each other drawing ribs and grooves on the upper and lower halves of
the drawing die also contribute to the formation of corrugations. Incorrect adjustment of the clamping
force of the flange of the workpiece causes the bottom parts to tear off in case of high pressure or the
appearance of folds with insufficient clamping force.

A shank that is not centered in the pressure of the stamp causes the upper half of the stamp to be skewed
relative to the lower half; in this case, burrs may appear on the product or even the cutting edges of the
stamp may be "notched" during cutting or punching. Similar phenomena may be observed if the screws
used to attach the matrices, punch holders and other parts to the plates are not tightened sufficiently
during the assembly of the stamps.

Rapid wear of the working parts of the stamps and the appearance of defects during stamping are
facilitated by insufficiently high purity of the surface treatment of the working parts of the stamps. An
unpolished surface of the drawing matrices leads to metal sticking to them, which causes the formation
of burrs and scratches on the surface of the stamped products. In addition, in the case of a rough matrix
surface, the coefficient of friction between the deformed metal and the tool increases. As a result, breaks
may appear on the product.

Low hardness of the surface of the working parts of the stamps, which can be caused by incorrect heat
treatment conditions or inappropriate tool steel, promotes seizure with the deformed metal. The surface
of such tools wears out quickly. Very high hardness can cause breakage of punches, chipping of the
working edges of the stamps due to the high fragility of the material.

In the case of block stamps, the quality of the guide columns and bushings is of great importance. If
there is a large clearance of the columns in the bushings, the accuracy and quality of the stamped
products decreases, and the wear of the working parts of the stamps increases. Large gaps between the
guide columns and bushings can lead to "notching" of the cutting edges of the stamps.
High-quality manufacture of stamps largely predetermines the manufacture of high-quality parts during
stamping. However, even in the case of very careful execution of stamps, their wear is inevitable during
the process. During cutting and punching, their cutting edges become dull due to wear and the gap
between the punches and matrices increases. This leads to the appearance of burrs on the stamped parts.
Therefore, it is necessary to sharpen the matrices and punches regularly. As a result of breakage of the
punching punches, there are no corresponding holes on the stamped part. With a large number of holes
in the part, the absence of some of them can only be noticed during assembly. Breakage of relatively
thin punches occurs especially often. To increase their durability, special guides are used to prevent
skewing of the pullers or the upper half of the stamp relative to the lower. In this case, the correct choice
of tool steel for the manufacture of such punches is of great importance. When the matrices of drawing
dies wear out, their rounding radii increase. Matrices with poor surface finish or low hardness wear out
especially intensively.

In the case of complex drawing or drawing of box-shaped parts, increased wear is observed in places of
difficult deformation, for example, in corners. As the drawing dies wear out, their surface roughness
increases with traces of adhesion of particles of the deformed metal. This leads to deterioration in the
quality of the surface of the stamped products and the appearance of destruction on them. In places of
worn radii of the matrix rounding, folds may form on the parts.

To increase the durability of drawing dies, it is necessary to ensure high hardness and purity of the
working surfaces. Technological lubricants are very important in this regard. It is necessary to
thoroughly lubricate the surface of the matrices or blanks with the appropriate lubricant, prevent
contamination, and wipe the blanks to remove contamination from their surface. Neglect of these
conditions, as a rule, leads to defects in stamping.

During the operation of the stamps, the gap between the surfaces of the guide columns and bushings
increases as a result of abrasion. Their wear affects the durability of the entire stamp. Therefore, the
guide columns and bushings must be made of materials that allow for high hardness of their surface and
maximum wear resistance.

A stamping defect may also be a consequence of the unsatisfactory condition of the stamping equipment
or improper adjustment of the stamps on it. When installing batch-type stamps (without guides) on a
press, the accuracy and quality of the products depend mainly on the condition of the press slider
guides. If the latter are worn out or poorly adjusted, then as a result of the play, the upper half of the
stamp may shift relative to the lower one with all the ensuing consequences. If the stamp has guide
columns and bushings, then with poor guidance of the press slider, the guides wear out intensively, as a
result of which the durability of the entire stamp decreases. In the upper position of the slider, the
columns should not come out of the bushings, otherwise, the upper half of the stamp may be skewed
relative to the lower one and break.