Material characterization for thermoforming-simulation

Abstract

Abstract. In order to obtain high prediction accuracy in thermoforming-simulation a material-testing-method close to the actual thermoforming process is needed. Therefore scientists at the IKT developed a specific test for thermoforming material characterization (TMC-test). Besides the general description of a material's thermoforming characteristics, the TMC-test provides material data for thermoforming-simulation. First of all, the IKT's procedure for thermoforming-simulation is described. The setup of the IKT's TMC-apparatus is explained and it is examined how material parameters can be extracted from the TMC-test by reverse-engineering. Finally, the IKT's method for thermoforming-simulation is validated by an exemplary thermoforming-simulation. The prediction accuracy of the new procedure is being quantified by the relation of processed and simulated sheet-thicknessdistribution.