Optimum design of tailor welded blanks in sheet metal forming processes by inverse finite element analysis

Abstract

Design of weld line in tailor welded blanks is indispensable for good manufacturing of stamped parts as assigned, since the initial weld line is distorted severely during the forming process. The initial weld line has to be determined such that desired weld line in a formed part can be obtained. The initial weld line can be predicted by inverse finite element analysis from the desired weld line in a formed part. in this paper, the multi-step inverse approach is employed to calculate more accurate initial blank shapes and initial weld line of tailor welded blanks for a cylindrical or square cup drawing. The applications demonstrates that the approach is useful for design of weld line in tailor welded blanks.