Advanced mechanical simulation models for automatic panel benders

Abstract

With automatic panel benders complete products are manufactured from sheet metal. In order to achieve short cycle times with high flexibility, a deep insight into the non-linear bending process is required. For this reason, efficient mechanical simulation models have been implemented, combining Finite Element Method, multibody dynamics simulation tools, contact mechanics algorithms and substructuring. Scope of this work is the comparison of several simulation models with measurement results performed on a Salvagnini P4XeD automatic panel bender.