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Rotary Bending > View Steel Grades

The usual mode of bending is curvature around a straight-line radius (Figure 1). Through the thickness is a gradient of
strains from maximum outer ber tension (the outermost surface) through a neutral axis to inner ber compression
(the surface closest to the punch or bend axis). No strain occurs along the bend axis in the direction parallel to the
bend axis, and therefore is in plane strain. The discussion below considers only bulk deformation, and excludes the
implications of any edge e ects. Bend testing procedures are linked here.

Figure 1: Typical bend where the outer surface is in tension, and the inner surface is in compression. A
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neutral axis lies in between.

When sheet metal ows through draw beads or over the die radius into the punch opening, it is bent, straightened,
and in the case of draw beads re-bent in the opposite direction. The net strain after this process may be relatively
small. However, each of the sequential bending and unbending steps strain hardens the sheet metal, which reduces
the ability for further deformation of the metal in subsequent operations.

Deformation at the outer surface during three-point bending depends on the stretchability capacity of the metal. The
failure strain in the bend is related to the total elongation of conventional steel, but AHSS grades with multiphase
microstructures such as DP and TRIP experience shear fracture that severely reduces the bendability before failure
occurs. A higher total elongation helps sustain a larger outer ber stretch of the bend before surface fracture, thereby
permitting a smaller bend radius. Since total elongation decreases with increasing strength for a given sheet thickness,
the minimum design bend radius must be increased (Figure 2).

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Figure 2: Larger bend radius is needed as the total elongation decreases.

The ratio of punch radius to sheet thickness, or the r/t ratio, allows for calculation of the amount of elongation on the
outermost surface. This value can be compared against the total elongation of the metal as determined in a tensile
test, or against the minimum elongation value allowed in the speci cation. If the part geometry will not allow for
su cient elongation for the selected metal grade, then either the part, process, or steel grade must change. [Note that
this is not a perfect assessment, since elongation in a tensile test is measured relative to a 50 or 80 mm gauge length,
which is likely di erent than the dimensions of the bent section.]

For design and springback control, usually a smaller r/t ratio is desirable. However, this may not be suitable in terms of
formability. Increased material strength usually is associated with a reduction in total elongation, which in turn means
a successful bend requires a larger r/t ratio.

For equal strengths, most AHSS grades have higher total elongations than conventional HSLA steels. However, several
AHSS grades have limited local formability based on their microstructure, and may be at risk for cracking during edge
expansion.

Cracking in production stamping conditions at stress levels below what is predicted with Forming Limit Diagrams may
be attributed to these local formability failures. As an illustration, physical bend tests and simulations were performed
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for both HSLA and DP780 steels. The HSLA global formability failure aligned with simulation predictions (Figure 3),
and was accompanied by a visible neck (Figure 4). In contrast, the DP780 showed no visible neck at the failure site
(Figure 5) and no correlation between the simulation and actual test results (Figure 6).

Like hole expansion, bending limits in AHSS products are further lowered by shear fracture associated with the
interfaces between the ductile ferrite and the hard martensite phase in the microstructure. This reduction becomes
more severe as the strength increases, since increasing strength is achieved by increasing the volume of the hard
martensite phase. More about shear fracture is found here.

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Figure 3: Forming simulation of HSLA with strong correlation to actual testing.

Figure 4: Close-up of visible necking before tensile failure in

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HSLA.

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Figure 5: Comparison of forming simulation with actual testing of the DP780. Note lack of correlation.

Figure 6: Close-up of local formability failure on DP780 with no

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visible necking before failure.

Rotary Bending
One way to address springback involves the use of rotary benders. Rotary benders transfer the vertical movement of
a press stroke into a precise, rotary forming motion. A rocker or rotating die can simultaneously hold, bend, and
overbend the sheet past 90° to counter material springback (Figure 7).

Figure 7: The rotation of the rocker bends

the sheet metal around the anvil with less
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pressure than needed for wipe tools

Use rotary bending tooling where possible instead of ange wipe dies. Rotary bending allows for easy adjustment of
the bending angle to correct for changes in springback due to variations in steel properties, die set, lubrication, and
other process parameters. In addition, the tensile loading generated by the wiping shoe is absent.

There are four sequential steps to the process:

1) Downward pressure from the rocker clamps the part with the bending lobes before bending starts
2) Induced rotation of the rocker bends material around the anvil
3) The rocker bends the sheet metal past nal angle to compensate for springback
4) The rocker releases the sheet metal to allow springback to desired angle

Using rotary benders to roll darts into the part during bending provides another way to reduce springback and sti en
the part (Figure 8).

Figure 8: Sti ening darts can be created as part of the rotary bending
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operation.

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Rotary Bending

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