Relationship between Taper Angle and Cut Surface in the Shearing Process by Step Taper Shaped Punch using Finite Element Method

Abstract

The shearing process is applied to separate the sheet metal into product and scrap and then the cutsurface indicates the quality of product. One of the shearing processes used to reduce the number of processis the shearing by step taper shaped punch. This method can reduce the number of processes by includingthe shearing and shaving processes into one single stroke of punch. Although this method was studied in thepast, it was done by experiments. Therefore, the relationship between taper angle and cut surface is notinvestigated and the shearing mechanism can not be theoretically clarified. In this study, the relationshipbetween the taper angle and the cut surface was investigated. Furthermore, the shearing mechanism wasalso investigated and theoretically clarified by using the finite element method (FEM). As a result, in thecase of 2-6 degree taper angle, there are no significant on the cut surface. On the other hand, in the case ofthe taper angle larger than 6 degree, the smooth cut surface decreases and the cracks increase. Therefore,the optimal taper angle is approximately 6 degree which is agreed with the past research. From the results,they indicated that the shearing mechanism and the relationship between taper angle and cut surface can betheoretically clarified by using FEM.