With the assistance of excellent tool and die shops we develop mathematical methods and parametrical models to solve complex tasks of tool design. Thus, we are able to arrange virtual parametrical design very simple and close to practical use. Our solutions are mostly fully automated.

panelshop and its special solutions is an outstanding completion to established CAD-systems. Model-data can be imported by the use of powerful translators. The resulting features are exported without any trouble.

Click on the subtitle of the following available solutions to get more information about panelshop tools:

panelshop is also distinguished by its tolerant methods to handle incoming data: At the early beginning of tool design 3d part and planning data often are simplified and fragmentary. panelshop offers robust and easy to use methods, which guaranty an efficient workflow with this kind of unfinished data.

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This software tool automatically designs the complex base bodies and all extensive active faces needed to define trimming steels used to trim sheet metal and also plastic parts. New mathematical methods have been developed and implemented to create 3d offset curves and faces. Todays segmented and very time-consuming manual design procedure is replaced fully.

Benefits

• The workload is reduced about 95%. The definition and calculation of all trim steels for the Porsche side panel - shown in the picture above - now needs less than 2 hours (before: 40 hours).

• Beside the trim steel casting body the active faces needed for machining are also computed automatically. Four different shape types are available to fulfil all known guidelines: A "V"- a "Double V"- a "Straight"- and a "Step"-shape.

• To satisfy machining conditions the active faces will automatically be adjusted to prevent collision and backdraft.

• The guaranteed optimal oversize of the created casting bodies and the also optimized size of the active faces minimizes the machining time a lot.

• Because of the automated procedure the quality of the resulting data is secured and reproducible.

• Using the software is very easy, the training effort less than half a day.

Scrap cutter along a sharp-edged (90°) trim curve, upper tool (left) and lower tool (right)

• Einsatz des Schneidleistenmoduls TSE in der Prozesskette des Audi-Werkzeugbaus, Johannes Möller, AUDI AG.
  
  

• Erfahrungsbericht zur betrieblichen Einführung von TSE bei Bm Form Tec GmbH, Thorsten Kownatzki, BM FORM TEC GMBH.
  

The base bodies of restrike tools - to be used for sheet metal parts - will be generated automatically. New mathematical algorithms have been developed to handle special conditions: The design is determined by two leading 3d curves, which was a new challenge for automatically calculation (the trim steel design runs along one curve). New methods have been developed in addition: a consistent tangential extension for multiple parts boundary curves.

Benefits

• The workload was reduced about 95%.

• The optimal size of the resulting casting body minimizes the machining effort a lot.

• The fully automated procedure secures the quality of resulting data: Casting oversizes will also be guaranteed in complex geometrical areas.

• Easy of use. The training effort is arround 2 hours.

Upper tool: In comparison to the trim steel calculation, the design of restrike tools is determined by two 3d curves. Curve A, which normally is created by virtual edges (along a chain of blending faces) and curve B that represents the part boundary.

Section of the upper tool, curve A and B are displayed as intersection points

To define restrike tools two additional surface operations have been implemented:

• Tangential extension of the part boundary faces (see picture above). The part boundary faces (curve B) will automatically be extended to the outside with a constant user defined value. The resulting face model is skinable.

• Offset-face (see picture above). The part boundary faces and the new extended faces will be combined to automatically compute one offset face. This face is needed to trim the casting body. It will ensure a constant casting oversize.

Auto SBC is a short form for "Automated Springback Compensation". The target is to transform a set of given trimmed spline faces onto their deformed mesh surface. The tool can also be used for other similar applications (e.g. compensation of elastical tool bending).

Benefits

• The procedure is fully automatic, only the input data has to be read in.

• Minimized calculation time. The face transformation of the example shown in the movie (Front hood of DaimlerChrysler) takes about 13 min.

• High quality of face data: Accurate representation of the deformed mesh. Skinable (transition tolerance of 0.01 mm) face model.

• Fixed faces that have not been modified within the FE-optimization process will also not be modified.

• Symmetry is supported.

• Applicapable to spring forward analysis because of robust extrapolation scheme.

• Very easy to use. Half an hour briefing should be enough.

• The vectors must not start exactly on the given CAD faces.

• The vector field can be inhomogeneous and it might possess arbitrary holes. In this case an interpolation between the existing vectors will take place.

• The vectors must not cover the whole part, it is enough to get them only on the trimmed part area (for example: Result of any spring-forward analysis). In this case also the outer regions of the die can be transformed using a slightly abating transformation field.

To start the design of casting bodies in a very early stage of tool development offset faces for large offset values (around 50 mm) can automatically be created. To handle small offset values in the range of material thickness an additional procedure was implemented. The picture above shows an offset face (60 mm outside) for a side panel.

Benefits

• Fully automated, easy to use

• Robust with respect to holes and discontinuities between and within the given faces

• Resulting faces with small data size

• Automated calculation of a zero face (offset distance = 0 mm)

• Use of mesh data also possible e.g. from FE-software-tools like DIEDESIGNER (AUTOFORM) or PAM-DIEMAKER (ESI-GROUP) or other similiar software.

Zero face and 60 mm offset inside

Spline face models of sheet metal parts often do not contain all base surfaces that are needed to recover virtual edges (also called "theoretical edges"). One possible reason is that the face model has not been designed by parametrical methods. This is due to the fact, that the data origin often is a physical clay model. In this case the derived spline faces do not have linked any base surfaces that meet in the virtual edge. Another possible reason is that the base surfaces have been lost due to the translation of the date between several CAD systems.

However, for several issues in tool design virtual edges are needed and also the additional faces that meet in these virtual edges (see figure above). A similar task in this context, which uses internally the same algorithms, is to smaller radii. This is important to locally free some blending areas of the punch or die.

Benefits

• Extremly simple and intuitive, fully automated

• The resulting curve segments the define the virtual edge will automatically by joined to be one continuous 3d curve.

• Automatic downsizing of radii for a given chain of blending faces by a given distance value

As a first approximation of the trim curve (that lies on the die) often a "winding off" method is used. This procedure in standard CAD systems often is not supported very well and it additional needs a lot of manual work and calculation time.

The current module of panelshop offers a pure geometrical solution to determine trim curves: Flange boundary curves will be winded off in planar sections of any predesigned spine curve onto the surfaces of the die. The result is a spline curve and/or a sequence of points that represents the trim curve.

Benefits

• Easy to use, no training required

• Short calculation times

3d point- or mesh data can be transformed to spline faces. The use of trimmed surfaces and an internal powerful healing algorithm enables a very flexible design of large faces: The manual workload could be reduced to sketch face boundary curves.

Benefits

• Simple and intuitive handling

• A new powerful healing algorithm automatically recalculates (epsilon-C2) transitions between computed faces.

• High design flexibility: Use of trimmed faces enables the user to sketch an arbitrary number of curves (2-25) to define face boundaries.

• High design flexibility: T-joins enable local refinement of the face patches - to adjust face design to given local geometry.

• Existing spline faces can be included in the creation of new faces.

The integrated mesher was developed to mesh any type of CAD-faces. Several options like "edge length" or "normal deviation" can be set to adjust the mesh to the users needs. The computed meshes can be exported by the use of several typical FEA formats (see Data Translater for more details).

To efficiently set up a FEA for tube bending processes a special tube mesher has been developed.

Tube mesher: Needs the same input data as a bending machine - polyline and radii

In addition to the input of the polyline and the radii the user has to determine the mesh size. A process adjusted mesh will be calculated automatically.

Benefits

• Easy to use

• Robust

• Includes a special tube mesher

panelshop uses the CAD-kernel ACIS and also the CAD-translaters from SPATIAL. Today SPATIAL belongs to DASSAULT SYSTEMS.

The following translators are available in panelshop for im- and export of data:

• CAD-translater: IGES, VDA, STEP, SAT, CATIA V4, CATIA V5 (UG and PROE on request)

• Mesh-translater: STL, WRL, PAMSTAMP, AUTOFORM, ANSYS, LS-DYNA, NASTRAN