Elastic deflections of the blank holder in deep drawing of sheet metal

In general, elastic deformations of deep drawing tools influence the process negatively; thus, they are undesirable. At the same time, an elastically deforming blank holder that adjusts itself to the changing process conditions can be instrumental in achieving uniform distribution of the blank holder pressure over the flange area. This will result in uniform material flow during deep drawing and ultimately in improved quality of the parts. A series of experiments and FEM simulations have been conducted in the ERC for Net Shape Manufacturing in order to investigate the influence of the elastic deflections of the blank holder on the pressure distribution between the blank holder and the sheet.