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Improving blank edge conditions

By Young
Seo

STAMPING JOURNAL JULY/AUGUST 2003

July 24, 2003
A blank, stamped in the first station of a progressive stamping operation, usually is subject to subsequent forming
processes to form a designated part. If the blank is subject to straining, deformation, bending, stretching, or lateral
expansion in later stations, its edge condition should be carefully examined.
Blankinglike piercing, parting, notching, and
trimmingbasically is a shearing process. Sheet
metal that is sheared undergoes a predictable
process and yields a predictable cross-sectional
profile.
Typically during shearing, as the punch initially
engages the sheet metal, it pulls the material
downward, slightly drawing the material into the
clearance, which creates rollover.
As the punch continues to penetrate and shear the
upper portion of the material, the material becomes
locked between the punch and the die, which
creates a burnished area before the remaining
material is fractured or separated completely.
The sheared edge exhibits some distinctive
characteristics. They include fractures, burnishing,
rollover, burrs, and work hardening in the adjacent

Figure 1
The sheared edge exhibits some distinctive characteristics. They include burrs, fracture, burnishing, rollover,
and work hardening.
area (see Figure 1).
Figure 2shows a cross-sectional profile of the sheared edge of an aluminum blank. Note the burnished depth,
fractured depth, burrs, microcracks, and other edge conditions.

Factors Causing Forming Failure

The sheared edge's defects can affect subsequent forming processes. What is not visible just by looking at the
sheared edge is its work-hardened condition. Shearing is concentrated within a narrow band along the edge, and
its consequent hardening should be concentrated around the immediately adjacent periphery to minimize the
affected zone.
The work-hardened sheared edge and microcracks reduce the material's ductility and cause premature failure in
subsequent forming. Figure 3shows the cracked edge of a neck after rollover in an assembly operation. During
rollover, the edge expands circumferentially while it is being stretched. In this case, even though strain calculation
showed that the amount of straining during rollover was within the allowable maximum material elongation, the
edge split soon after the rollover.

Similarly, when the sheared edge undergoes hole extrusion, as shown in the introductory photo, or bending and
stretching, as shown in Figure 4, the microcracks created during shearing can cause cracking and distortion in
these subsequent forming stations.
Edge cracking or brittle fracturing can be caused by work hardening. In both cases, once the edge cracks, it can
split instantly from the stress concentration around the cracks. In theory, the stress concentration can infinitely
raise the opening stress at the crack tip. Microcracks are obvious within the fractured region along the edge, as
shown in Figure 2.

Figure 3
During rollover, the edge expands circumferentially as it is being stretched. Edge defects can cause cracking,
as shown in this edge of a neck after rollover.

Improving Edge Characteristics

A blanked edge condition can be improved by adjusting the punch and die clearance tolerance, shaving the area
of the defective blanked edge, designing an appropriate contact profile of the tool and die, and understanding the
mechanical properties of the sheet metal used.
Die Clearance Tolerance. The clearance tolerance between the shearing punch and the die greatly affects the
edge condition. In fact, it determines the distribution of the edge characteristics, because as the clearance gets
tighter or looser, the burnished or fractured region will dominate the profile. It also is fair to say that tool life is
proportional to the clearance.
For example, if a tight clearance is maintained during blanking, the edge could yield a profile that is entirely
burnished, which would reduce its tendency to fracture. A tight clearance is used when a straight edge is required.
In this case, the tool life will be extremely short because of the severe contact between the tool and the blank.

Figure 4
Microcracks created during shearing can cause cracking and distortion in subsequent forming stations that
involve stretching and bending.
It is recommended a sufficient burnished depth be maintained to reduce the fractured depth to eliminate or reduce
the edge's tendency to split in subsequent forming. In other words, if the edge is subject to subsequent forming
operations, work hardening is preferable to microcracking.
Conversely, if clearance is loose, the edge will have a large rollover radius and a large burr containing
microcracks that create a sharp edge. Typically, a loose clearance is adopted when edge condition isn't a concern
or if the part will end up as scrap. In this case, the tool life can be maximized.
Shaving. Shaving is another method used to eliminate the area of the defective blanked edge that exhibits burrs
and microcracks created during blanking. It is done in a station prior to forming. A thin slice of the sheared edge
only a tenth of a thousandth of a millimeter thickis cut out. However, shaving can lead to other problems, such
as scratches, cold welding of chips to tools, and die damage.

Figure 5
Instead of shearing the blank by applying tools at a 90-degree angle, the shearing can be done gradually by
using an inclining angle either to the die or to the punch. The use of concave and convex blanking dies can
reduce the stress on both the material and the dies.
Tool and Die Design. Producing a high-quality edge often requires quantitative design revisions during die
development to prevent premature failure by brittle fracturing or cracking. In other words, to achieve a desirable
edge profile in a blanking station, a systematic approach is needed for optimal tool design that separates the
shearing operation from the progressive die. Trial and error with different design parameters, such as clearance,
tool geometry, contact profile, and lubrication on a single station, will likely achieve an optimal design that will save
time and cost during die development.
There is a way to increase tool life without sacrificing edge quality too much. Instead of shearing the blank by
applying tools at a 90-degree angle, the shearing can be done gradually by using an inclining angle either to the
die or to the punch (see Figure 5).
The benefit of the angled tools is that they come in contact with the blank gradually, allowing the material to be
sheared locally instead of applying the shearing to the entire tool periphery. Because less force is required, and
consequently the concentrated contact pressure between the tool and blank from tool misalignment is minimized
with a lower shearing force, angled tools can decrease tool wear during production.
Mechanical Properties of the Sheet Metal. The average circumferential strain on the metal can be calculated
analytically using the following simple formula:

Where:
e = Engineering strain
di= Diameter of the pierced hole prior to hole extrusion or rollover
df= Diameter of the edge after hole extrusion or rollover

For example, the strain in the rollover shown in Figure 3 can be calculated as:
The engineering strain induced during the rollover is 0.341, or
34.1 percent, which is less than the total elongation, 55 percent,
of the material used. Therefore, the cause of cracking can be
traced to splitting from a microcrack rather than to excess
stretch on the blanked edge.
Once it is obtained, the strain can be compared with the
maximum allowable elongation of the material's tensile
properties. Many material suppliers provide specs on the tensile
properties of the material they supply.
If the strain exceeds the maximum allowable elongation, the sheared edge most likely will fail in the subsequent
operation, not because of the edge condition, but because of excess strain. However, even when the calculated
strain is below the maximum elongation, the edge could fail by cracking.
Most metal forming processes are case-sensitive, which means that there is no universal rule of thumb that
applies to all situations and all materials, even in blanking. Other factors that affect the edge condition include
lubrication, tool coatings, and punch speed and materials.
In other words, what works with low-carbon sheet metal or stainless steel might not work well with aluminum or
brass. For instance, if the burnish depth in low-carbon steel is 50 percent at a certain clearance, in stainless steel
with the same clearance the burnish depth will be only 30 percent, while in aluminum the burnish depth will be 60
percent.
Therefore, the clearance used for low-carbon steel needs to be adjusted when used with other sheet metals.
Obviously, the clearance needs to be increased with aluminum and reduced with stainless steel when 50 percent
burnish depth is desired in a shearing operation.

Analyzing the Problems

The best way to tackle problems that arise during blanking is to know exactly what went wrong by analyzing the
incremental procedures with sophisticated techniques, such as finite element analysis (FEA), optimization, and
reverse engineering, for a better understanding, and then approaching the solution with proper scientific
reasoning.
Many analytical tools are available, but some have not been well-accepted by the stamping industry. Many
stamping die designers rely heavily on their experiences through trial and error, but that is not too scientific. Those
who are already familiar with the fundamental techniques are advised to invest in the more sophisticated
analytical techniques and to practice their applications, because the fundamentals are only scaffoldings to the
mastery.
Young Seo is a project manager at Enview Technologies, P.O. Box 130918, Ann Arbor, MI 48113, 734-604-0946,
fax 734-764-2125, yseo@enviewtechnologies.com, www.enviewtechnologies.com.

Published In...
STAMPING Journal
STAMPING Journal is the only industrial publication dedicated solely to serving the needs of the metal stamping
market. In 1987 the American Metal Stamping Association broadened its horizons and renamed itself and its
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