utoForm plus R5 – A Wide Range of New F eatures for Digital Planning and Validation of Sheet Me tal Processes and Parts Wilen b. Wollerau, Switzerland, September 24, 2013: AutoForm Engineering GmbH, the leading supplier of software solutions for the sheet metal forming industry, has introduced the latest software version AutoForm plus R5. This latest release streamlines sheet metal forming, providing a wide range of new powerful features and improvements for digital planning and validation of sheet metal processes and parts. AutoForm plus R5 further streamlines sheet metal forming by advancing AutoForm’s complete software suite. Besides new planning options and t ooling features, this release offers several new possibilities to improve the efficiency and reliabilit y of result evaluation. For example, new section plots allow for results to be ch arted along selected geometry sect ions and a newly developed issue type for semi-automatic result evaluation allows the user to track the draw-in location and its progression. What is more, the digital stoning analysis has been enhanced to make evaluation and visualization of surface imperfect ions easier and more accurate. This software also extends systematic process improvement. With AutoForm plus R5, users can easily evaluate which design parameters influence th e part quality and to what extent, in both conventional and hot forming processes. Design pa rameters which have the most influence on the stamped part can be identified already during the process and part design stages. Users are thereby able to make the necessary adjustments and sy stematically improve th e forming process by specifying sophisticated quality criteria su ch as surface defects and draw-in issues. In addition, AutoForm plus R5 contains solver improvements whic h are of significant benefit in terms of increased result accuracy and shorter computati on time. An improved contact algorithm leads to even more realistic bending behavior in wall and flanging areas. It also results in a more precise calculation of tool forces and a very realistic re presentation of wrinkles in the binder area. The new adaptive line bead model takes the current in-die conditions into account. It combines the accuracy of 3D geometric beads with the computing speed of 2D line beads. AutoForm-StampingAdviserplus enables users to quickly and easily evaluate part and process feasibility as well as determine blank shape, material utilization and blank cost. By using AutoForm-StampingAdviserplus, product designers and engineers as well as process and die-face designers can achieve better product design, improved initial quality and reliable long-term design performance. The software allows them to reduce not only development and manufacturing costs but also total time to market. AutoForm-StampingAdviserplus provides valuable feedback on key stamping quality issues, such as risks of splitting and excess thinning, potential for wrinkling and developed blank shape with its associated material costs. The software can be applied based on part geometry alone, with added simple assumptions for tooling or with full tool geometry during the process definition and evaluation phases. In the simplest application, AutoForm-StampingAdviserplus is used for early feasibility evaluations based on part geometry alone, without considering tool geometry. For these analyses, the software allows the user to modify the part and, when needed, automatically generate a blankholder surface and a schematic addendum. This results in a much more reliable blank prediction in comparison with a blank determination based solely on the part geometry. In a more advanced usage, forming analysis and blank development are performed based on the draw-die 3D geometry created by AutoForm-DieDesignerplus. With a plausible die face, AutoForm-StampingAdviserplus quickly identifies potential formability issues and determines blank shape, material utilization and blank cost. The AutoForm-StampingAdviserplus software provides the possibility to compute and to optimize embedding and nesting. When these blank calculations are coupled with AutoForm-ProcessPlannerplus, a balance between material and production costs is further made possible. When applied from early on in the part design cycle, AutoForm-StampingAdviserplus delivers significant benefits in terms of robust part manufacturability and performance. Its application leads to the continuous improvement of part design quality as well as to the significant reduction in total cost and time of part production.