Abstract
The present work will address the problem of designing an in-process control system for a tube hydro-forming process, controlling the tool filling forming a T-tube. The control problem is nontrivial as wrinkling and bursting will develop rapidly and, in most cases, are irreversible—thus, the control system must react fast and without extensive overshoot. The objective is to control the tool filling, reproducing a reference filling trajectory, where the controller input is defined as a correction of the reference forming pressure. The control system was verified experimentally, using four different error scenarios. Initially, the error was provoked, by manipulating the input signal, and for all three cases, the control system successfully eliminates both wrinkling and bursting. Finally, the material was changed going from an aluminum grade 5049-0 to 6060-T6 also; in this case, the control system eliminates the error and stabilizes the process. The control strategy and implementation was developed using numerical simulation (explicit finite element), and the controller implementation was reused directly in the experimental setup without manipulating or scaling the gain factors.
Highlights
Feed-forward control strategies are the dominating control strategy applied for the majority of manufacturing processes
As the process layouts were designed, in a time when both modeling capabilities and sensor technology were limited, process stability was enforced by conservative process layout
The focus is changing, which can be seen by the high number of papers during the last two decades, focusing on both in-process control and part-to-part control schemes applied on metal forming
Summary
Feed-forward control strategies are the dominating control strategy applied for the majority of manufacturing processes. Several approaches have been proposed to improve process feasibility, obtain better quality and more robust processes; starting with rules of thumb/trial and error, various optimization schemes see, e.g., Imaninejad et al [5], among others Kadkhodayan and Erfani-Moghadam [6] suggest using design of experiments, Aydemir et al [7] propose adaptive schemes combining a fuzzy control strategy with a finite element-based wrinkling and bursting criterion, Johnson et al proposed a numerical process control scheme which can forecast the internal pressure and axial feeding Johnson et al [8]. Manabe et al propose identifying process parameters, using combination of finite element simulations and a fuzzy control strategy, controlling the contact area between a counter punch and the tube Manabe et al [9]. The material is changed, going from an aluminum grade 5049-0 to 6060-T6
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