Introducing COSTOPTIMIZER: Blank Development & Cost Estimating Software

1. Forming Technologies Inc.

2. Contents • Introduction to COSTOPTIMIZER • Demonstration • Licensing • Support

3. Introduction to COSTOPTIMIZER • COSTOPTIMIZER is an inexpensive, user friendly blank development and cost estimating software that will help identify potential cost saving opportunities. • It is very fast ( most analyses take under five minutes) and be used prior to developing and tooling geometry. • It is capable of identifying potential thinning problems during manufacturing and it also develops accurate blank shapes which can be used for cost analysis and die design. • COSTOPTIMIZER is capable of analyzing: • Material properties • Material thickness • Friction • Pilot holes and slots • Press direction • Punch force • Double attached parts

4. Introduction to COSTOPTIMIZER - continued • Automatically nests for best material utilization for one-up and two-up layouts. • Quickly and accurately estimates your material requirements • Evaluates multiple nesting scenarios quickly • Accurately determines total cost per blank • Will determine the material utilization for many types of cut-off dies • Identified product geometry changes that will help reduce the amount of scrap produced during manufacturing • Fully integrated into CATIA V5 native environment

5. Demonstration COSOPTIMIZER Analysis • Setting up the Geometry • Solving • Cost Parameters • Nesting Parameters • Layout Parameters • Layout Results • Layout Editing

6. Define Geometry CATBLANK requires a knitted surface model representing the top, bottom, or mid-surface of the part. If you are working with a solid model, a surface model can be extracted using CATIA functionality such as the Extract and Offset commands. • Select the External View command from the Tools menu • Select the feature for blank development and select OK

7. Apply a Material • Select the Apply Material button on the Apply Material toolbar. • Select the Steel from the Library window and drag and drop it onto the part. • Select the OK button in the Library window to apply the material

8. Open a New Forming Analysis • Open a new Forming Analysis by selecting FTI Forming Analysis workbench from the Start > Analysis & Simulation pulldown.

9. Material Selection The standard CATIA material library does not support the material properties required to run a forming analysis, these important properties must be defined in the FTI Forming Analysis workbench. This also enables us to model different materials in different areas of the part to represent a tailor welded blank. • The material should automatically be assigned in the analysis, if it is not, perform the following steps: • To define a material, select the Material Selection icon from the Forming toolbar. • Select the material CRDQ from the list • Select the OK button to accept the material type CATBLANK requires a knitted surface model representing the top, bottom, or mid-surface of the part. If you are working with a solid model, a surface model can be extracted using CATIA functionality such as the Extract and Offset commands.

10. Material Thickness • To define the material thickness, double click on the thickness label on the graphic screen and key in a material thickness of 2 mm in the Shell Property window. • If you started with a solid model or specified a thin parts attribute on your part, the thickness will be automatically set with a formula.

11. Tipping Most CATIA models are constructed in the assembly position. This is usually not the position the part will be formed in. For this reason, we must define the press direction prior to running the analysis. • To set the press direction (or “tipping” position), select the Tipping & Symmetry button on the Forming toolbar. • In the Tipping & Symmetry window check the Auto Tipping option to automatically calculate tip position for the part. • Select the OK button.

12. Meshing • The Mesh Parameters are automatically defined by CATBLANK. • This step is only required if the user does not want to use the recommended default mesh size. • To view the mesh parameters double click on the Part Mesh in the Specifications tree as shown below. The OCTREE Triangular Mesh window will appear with a recommended mesh size and absolute sag value defined. The size value should typically lie in the range of 5 – 40 mm. The Absolute Sag should typically be set between 0.1 – 0.5 mm.

13. Curved Binder • The CATBLANK analysis is performed with a default flat binder. In many cases, the actual forming starts with a curved binder that creates a curved blank. The curved blank usually results in more material being available for the forming operation. This extra material has a significant effect on the results depending on the forming conditions that were applied. • To run a curved binder analysis you must have a surface representing the binder geometry. The binder shape must be developable and must be large enough to contain the developed blank shape for the model. A separate mesh must be created for the curved binder geometry. • Select the Octree Triangular Mesher icon from the forming toolbar and select the curved binder geometry called Binder Binder geometry • Select the OK button in the OCTREE Triangular Mesh window to accept the default mesh settings or change the settings to a more suitable range

14. Solving When the model set up is complete, the final step before viewing the results is meshing and solving. In CATBLANK , this is combined into one step. • Select the Mesh & Compute icon from the Forming toolbar. • To start the analysis, set the drop-down box to All and press OK. This will first mesh the part and then run the solver. Once you have generated results, any changes to the input geometry or analysis setup will cause the solver and possibly the mesher to re-run when you try to reactivate a result plot. This update mechanism ensures that the analysis results are always consistent with the current model.

15. Results To determine if there are any formability issues for the model, CATBLANK offers several result visualization plots. These plots include safety zone, forming zone, thickness, thickness strain, major strain and minor strain. Formability analysis is based on component geometry and accounts for material properties, friction, forming direction, and blankholder, draw bead and pressure pad forces. • Only one plot should be activate at a time. Before viewing another plot, any existing plots under the CATBLANK Forming Solution Set folder will need to be deactivated. To deactivate, right click on the plot and select Deactivate.

16. Results: Blank Shape CATBLANK develops the optimal blank shapes for the part accounting for material stretch and deformation. • Select the Deformed Blank icon Note: Select the Shading with Edges render style to display mesh elements on the Blank Shape

17. Results: Blank Shape • An associative surface can be created from the blank shape by selecting the Create Blank Face Feature icon on the Forming toolbar. Blank Face on Binder Part

18. Open a File • Switch to the FTI Blank Nesting workbench • CATNEST uses parameters to input layout and cost parameters. In the Options window located under the Tools menu, set the following options.

19. Cost Parameters The next step in preparing the model for analysis is to define the cost parameters • Under the Parameters branch in the specifications tree define the following parameters. Thickness = 1 mm Base Material Cost = $0.77 / kg Extra Material Cost = $0.10 / kg Scrap Value = $0.01 / kg Consumables = $0.05 / blank Production Volume = 500,000 blanks TotalDieCost1 = $50,000

20. Cost Parameters Definitions • Extra Material Cost - any other material costs measured per unit weight of material. e.g., lubricants, coatings, handling, etc. • Scrap Cost - the value of the scrap material • Consumables - any additional costs that cannot be measured in $/kg. e.g., electricity, labour, etc. • Total Production Volume - the annual number of blanks that will be produced or the total number of blanks on a program basis. • TotalDieCost1 - the overall value of the die expressed in the current currency.

21. Nesting Parameters • Select the Compute Nesting Layout icon Note A Blank Nesting.1 branch is added to the Specifications tree. • In the Nesting Parameters window select Surface.1 as the First Blank • On the Layout Style tab select the following layouts One-Up Two-Up Rectangular Parallelogram Chevron Miter Trapezoid

22. Layout Parameters • In the Nesting Parameters window select the Layout Parameters tab and specify Part Edge Bridge: 3mm Coil Edge Bridge: 3mm • Select the OK button to calculate the specified layouts

23. Coil Edge Bridge Coil Edge Part Edge Bridge Layout Parameters Definitions Part Edge Bridge - the minimum distance between the nested blanks. Coil Edge Bridge - the minimum distance between the nested blanks and the edge of the coil

24. Layout Results • The parameters listed under the Blank Nesting.1 branch are populated and the best layout based on material utilization is displayed on the X-Y plane. Note: For the Base Plate blank shape the best layout is the displayed two-up scenario that has a 77.8% material utilization with a pitch of 240 mm and a coil width of about 430 mm

25. Additional Layout Results • Additional layout results can be viewed in the Results Table. Right click on the Blank Nesting.1 branch and select Table Results. • To view other layout results, double click on the row for that result in the Results Table Note: - <1> is the displayed layout - Columns can be sorted by selecting the column header

26. Additional Layout Results The image on the right was generated by selecting the Width column and then double clicking on row #38. This is a One-Up layout with a width of 245.7mm

27. Layout Editing • To manually edit the nest layout, right click on the Blank Nesting.1 branch and select Layout Editing. • The option to select the Cluster To Be Edited is not available for one-up layouts • Use the Layout Editing controls to manually manipulate the displayed nesting layout. The blanks and/or the coil edges can be moved. • The translation of the blanks or the coil edges are with respect to the model X and Y axis respectively. • Rotation of the blanks are with respect to the model origin.

28. Cost Optimization • Using the Layout Editing tools to overlap adjacent blanks or overlap the coil edge and blank edge (see Section 6.2 Layout Editing) will result in an updated outline on the part geometry. • The parameters under the FTIBlankNesting.1 branch will also associatively update as the nesting layout is modified in the Layout Editing dialog box.

29. COSTOPTIMIZER Licensing • To obtain a license, you must send Forming Technologies (FTI) your computers Forming ID number. • To get your Forming ID number double click on the lmformingid.txt file which can be found in your CATNESTV5 directory. • Send an email with your name, company name and Forming ID number to support@forming.com and a license file will be emailed back to you. • When you receive your license, place it in the C:\FTI\FTICATIAV5Rxx folder

30. Questions & Answers • Sales & Marketing sales@forming.com 905-340-2997 • Support support@forming.com 905-340-2997