Burlington, ON, CANADA, June 4, 2015 — Forming Technologies Inc. (FTI) the industry’s leading developer of sheet metal forming solutions, today announced the worldwide release of FormingSuite Sculptured Die Face (SDF) to address the needs of cost estimation, process planning and metal forming simulation.
Our patent pending Sculptured Die Face is a revolutionary, free-form approach to creating and morphing addendum geometry resulting in a fast, flexible, and visual approach to die face design”, said Michael Gallagher, Vice President of Forming Technologies. “This is the most advanced technology for die face design on the market today that will allow provide our clients with more options on how and even when they can do their die face designs.
Typical applications of Sculptured Die Face will include:
- Improving the accuracy of Material Cost Estimates by accurately considering the Process geometry (including addendum) rather than just the part shape
- Providing more detailed information to Process Planners responsible for identifying die size, forming and trimming operations, press tonnage and tooling costs
- Providing the necessary geometry to run accurate virtual die tryout
FTI’s dedicated, industry driven approach gives clients the ability to develop full draw developments, die faces and first form geometry in minutes, without the limitations of section lines and the difficulties associated with creating complex transition geometry in CAD systems. Fully interactive editing tools enable users to adjust and refine addendum geometry with ease, taking the user from concept to complete draw development in seconds. SDF greatly simplifies the work involved in positioning and attaching double- (and multi-) attached parts, creating, editing and evaluating fully developable curved binder geometry, controlling the depth of draw, defining addendum shape and creating a fully surfaced draw developments. Additional capabilities of Sculptured Die Face include:
- 3D CAD data import
- Geometry editing tools
- Die tip optimization based minimization of draft angle or draw depth
- Detailed evaluation and visualization of undercut, draw depth, draft angle, trimming conditions
- Quick visualization of unfolded flanges for die face requirements
- Creating and morphing addendum curves
- Automatic surfacing of 3D addendum
- Accurate development of trim lines for subsequent flanging operations
- Customized export for downstream use in FTI’s FormingSuite or for use in CAD
“ Sculptured Die Face plays a crucial role in fulfilling FTI’s goal of providing a comprehensive suite of solutions to address the needs of the metal forming industry from initial product design right through to the final stages of manufacturing.”
About Forming Technologies
Forming Technologies Incorporated is the world’s leading developer of computer aided engineering software for design and simulation of sheet metal components. Since 1989, FTI has provided OEMs and suppliers in the automotive, aerospace and appliance industries with innovative software and training solutions designed to reduce development time and material costs. FTI has trained over 12,000 engineers in Formability and Die Design and is considered the Best in Class around the world for their industry training programs. For information visit the company’s website at www.forming.com.
