Fall 2022
Sheet Metal Flask
Dismantled Assembly
Blank loaded to be drawn
The drawn steel part
The flask top/base before it's been cut
Brazing the parts together
Final product
The task:
Sheet Metal Project
For our first course learning about sheet metal design and manufacturing. We were tasked to create a part out of sheet metal. My team and I opted not to simply make box-looking part, but to try our hand at die design and deep drawing.
My Contributions
Die Design
3D printing
Using the mathematical equations we learned in class for bend radii and tolerances, I designed 2 dies capable of bending and forming steel. To bend the contour pieces, a simple half circle die was necessary. For the top and bottom components, deep drawing was required to form a lip for brazing. The die assembly consists of 3 parts: The die itself, the blank holder and the punch. all 3 segments align on 4 common shafts.
To physically create our design, we needed a way to quickly and cheaply manufacture tools capable of the task. For simple bending, a 3d printed part would have no issue coping with 2 tons of force. Our deep drawing process generated between 8 to 10 tons of force on the die assembly. By modifying my 3d printer to be capable to print accurate and dense parts, I was able to make a deep drawing assembly that could precisely and repeatedly make the parts we needed.
Learnings
The biggest accomplishment of our project is that we were able to deep draw using dies we created. As far as we can tell, no one on the internet has been able to deep draw steel with 3d printed dies as effectively as we have. We learned a lot about the stresses involved in forming metal and how to modify a design in consequences. Our biggest learning was that inaccuracies in the forming process from design issues or procedural errors make it almost impossible to make parts accurately.
Brazing the parts together
Bending the curve into the shell
Teammates
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Die press design
Curve Forming Die Design
3D printing
Sheet metal forming
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Project design
Machining
Brazing
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Spout selection
Machining
Project Paper
We learned a lot from trying the methods we implemented in our project. Read about our research and discovery.
