THE PROCESS

Deep Drawing Deep drawing is one of the most widely used processes in sheet metal forming. Apart from its use in many other sectors, it is applied in the automotive industry for the manufacturing of car body parts. Process definition: The deep drawing process is a forming process which occurs under a combination of tensile and compressive conditions. A flat sheet metal blank is formed into a hollow body open on one side or a hollow body is formed into a hollow body with a smaller cross-section. [DIN 8584] Deep drawing processes are divided into three types: Deep drawing with tools Deep drawing with active means Deep drawing with active energy In the automotive industry, deep drawing is usually carried out using rigid tools. The figure illustrates the deep drawing process. The rigid tools consist of a punch, die and binder. In deep drawing, the plate holder closes after the metal sheet blank has been inserted. Next the sheet is clamped between the die and the binder. This process slows down the flow of the sheet while it is being drawn and thereby prevents wrinkles from forming under the binder. The punch stretches the sheet over the die radius and forms it in the die. The amount of punch force necessary for forming is thereby continually increased up to the lower dead center of the punch.