Simulation of metal forming – Visualization of invisible phenomena in the digital era

Abstract

The simulation of manufacturing processes has significant importance. The research and development of metal forming simulation started in the 1960s from the elastoplastic analysis of a simple plastic deformation, and it now covers a wide range of forming processes. The accuracy and applicability of metal forming simulation have significantly progressed, driven by the development of plasticity theory and numerical methods such as the remeshing technique and contact analysis algorithm. Now the targets of metal forming simulations are undergoing a transition from the macroscale analysis of deforming bodies to coupled analyses of deformations of deforming bodies and tools, and multiscale analyses of microstructure and texture. Past achievements of metal forming simulation show that it has reached the level of ‘visualizing forming phenomena’, but it will continue to evolve in the digital era, impacting the digital society and factories of the future, where machines work autonomously without human intervention. Emergent technologies require advanced materials, augmented reality, and, of course, metal forming simulation. In this paper, we reinforce the role of simulation as a means of performing computational (virtual) experiments and as a tool for the high-fidelity numerical visualization and quantification of unknown, unmeasurable, and invisible phenomena in formed components and their assembly. We will also discuss simulation–machine interactions, such as online simulation with process operation, to realize the triad of ‘process operation – data – simulation’ in the near future.