SHEET THICKNESS VARIATIONS DURING MILLI DRAWING CYLINDRICAL PARTS

The processes of small parts manufacturing are characterised by a progressive miniaturization imposed by the need to use such parts in specifical fields. Deep drawing is an important forming process to realise such small parts, in particular milli parts having dimensions larger than 1 mm and smaller than 20 mm that are used in robotics, medical equipments, electronics etc. The main problem encountered in creating the drawn milli parts is the variation of the sheet thickness during forming, that can influence the accuracy and quality of parts, may cause the stress concentration in different zones and may conduct to parts fracture. The present paper analyses the results of experimental investigations and simulations, concerning the influence of thickness variation on the accuracy of milli drawn parts, in the case of cylindrical cups made from thin sheets.