Reconfigurable variable blank-holder force system and method for sheet metal stamping

A variable blank-holder force system for performing sheet metal stamping operations, comprising:

• movable blank-holder force actuators to hold and support said sheet metal stamping at a first set of locations;
• sensors associated with said movable blank-holder force actuators for monitoring parameters associated with the blank-holder force actuators including blank-holder force actuator locations and force magnitudes at the blank-holder force actuator locations;
• a user interface for viewing and using a first set of parameters for a trial run and for recording differences between a stamped sheet metal from a trial run compared with requirements in an acceptable stamped sheet metal work piece;
• and,
• a controllable arrangement for arriving at a second set of parameters based on said differences, knowledge-based software controlled by an expert system and knowledge-based hierarchy.

An article comprising a storage medium with software thereon which when executed on a computing platform, results in a method for achieving reconfigurability in a blank-holder variable force system for sheet metal stamping, comprising the steps of:

• using movable blank-holder force actuators and variable blank-holder force s to hold and support said sheet metal blank at a first set of blank-holder force actuator locations;
• monitoring a first set of parameters selectively including punch force, blank-holder force actuator locations, and blank-holder force magnitudes at said movable blank-holder force actuators;
• inspecting a sheet metal stamping work piece produced using said first set of parameters;
• noting differences between characteristics of a sample work piece fabricated using said first set of parameters, and requirements of an acceptable sheet metal stamping work piece;
• and,
• using said differences and knowledge-based inputs from an expert system to arrive at a second set of new parameters.