Author: Daniel J. Schaeffler, Ph.D. First published in the December 2019 issue of MetalForming Magazine We exercise customer choice daily, from the car we drive to the cell phone we use. Pretty much every vehicle can get you from Point A to Point B, and every phone can at least initiate a call. Price, features and quality primarily influence our decision to choose one product over another. Similar considerations are [...]
Author: Daniel J. Schaeffler, Ph.D. First published in the December 2018 issue of MetalForming Magazine Simulation has made inroads into the metalforming community as an ideal way to predict what will occur when sheetmetal of known properties is subjected to known deformation forces. It saves days of trial-and-error, helping to evaluate what-if scenarios associated with variables such as metal grade and thickness, binder and addendum designs, and blank shape. It [...]
Author: Daniel J. Schaeffler, Ph.D. First published in the November 2018 issue of MetalForming Magazine Bethlehem Steel, U.S. Steel, Alcoa, American Can, General Electric, General Motors, Goodyear and Navistar. These eight manufacturing companies were among the 30 listed companies on the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1988, MetalForming magazine’s first year. None of these currently occupy the Dow, and two no longer exist. A lot can change in 30 years, [...]
Author: Daniel J. Schaeffler, Ph.D. First published in the August 2018 issue of MetalForming Magazine Every stamped part contains at least some sources of variation that will never be eliminated—perhaps from the sheetmetal, lubrication, stamping process or any one of the many other aspects of the forming system. It is important to understand the sources of variation so that we can design our forming system to be more tolerant [...]
Author: Daniel J. Schaeffler, Ph.D. First published in the July 2018 issue of MetalForming Magazine With a part to manufacture, your first decisions revolve around how to generate that part and what material to use. Manufacturing options include casting, hydroforming and 3D printing, but you already have the experience and infrastructure for stamping. Factors such as cost, weight, corrosion resistance, strength and stiffness go into the discussion of what sheetmetal [...]
Author: Daniel J. Schaeffler, Ph.D. First published in the June 2018 issue of MetalForming Magazine Stainless steels can corrode—they’re called stain-less after all, not stain-free. They offer many grades from which to choose, providing a wide spectrum of uses and challenges. The five main categories of stainless steels, designated by their predominant microstructural phases and characteristics: Austenitic Ferritic Martensitic Duplex Precipitation-hardened Like all steels, each of these have iron as [...]
Author: Daniel J. Schaeffler, Ph.D. First published in the May 2018 issue of MetalForming Magazine The aluminum and steel industries continuously battle for supremacy in becoming the metal of choice in automotive body construction. This makes sense—with about 2 tons of sheetmetal purchased for each of the 17-million vehicles sold annually in the United States, there isn’t another industry that offers such high-volume sales opportunities. Each metal grade provides critical [...]
Author: Daniel J. Schaeffler, Ph.D. First published in the April 2018 issue of MetalForming Magazine Aluminum alloys are categorized by a four-digit code. The first digit indicates the main element or elements alloyed with aluminum to produce the specific grade. Products with the same first digit are said to be in the same series or family, described by a number followed by three zeroes or “X”s, such as 5000-series or [...]
Author: Daniel J. Schaeffler, Ph.D. First published in the March 2018 issue of MetalForming Magazine Sheet mills produce steel grades to the requirements outlined in specifications. These typically are issued by the end user, national/international bodies such as ISO or ASTM, or industry organizations such as SAE or the Aluminum Association. These documents contain grade-by-grade requirements for tensile and ductility levels, flatness and width tolerances, and chemistry ranges. Consider [...]
Author: Daniel J. Schaeffler, Ph.D. First published in the February 2018 issue of MetalForming Magazine “I need some cold-rolled for this part!” “Get me some 1008/ 1010!” You might think that you know what you’re asking for, but when talking with your supplier, it’s important that you both use the same language to be sure you’ll get what you need. Sheetmetal Sheetmetal is simply any metal alloy that stores as [...]
