In the car body stamping process, trim/blank die cutting edges are subjected to very high
tribological loads that result in loss of tool material from both the punch and die cutting edges.
According to Archard’s wear model, normal contact force and sliding distance directly affects the
wear. Therefore, knowledge of the acting forces on local contact areas has a pivotal role towards the
prediction of tool wear. This paper presents a finite element modelling approach to determining the
contact pressure distribution on the tool cutting edges during a trimming/blanking process.
Characteristic areas on sheared edge profile, variation of punch force and high contact pressures
affected areas have also been analysed.