One of the most challenging issues in cold forming is predicting and controlling tool pressures in a heading progression. This paper summarizes the die stress analysis results from two case studies of industrial die failures where LCF failures were analyzed using 2-D and 3-D finite element models. By redesigning the tools and reducing the stress levels in the critical areas, fatigue failures were eliminated and die life greatly improved. These tools-when combined or coupled with the finite element simulation-not only can provide or lead to a better understanding of the nature and causes of die failures, but the resulting analysis often leads to an understanding of the critical variables and the ability to quantitatively optimize processes that is not possible without a simulation model.
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