Development and implementation of a control loop for connections in the progressive die process

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The proposed research will address the introduction of intelligent process design and inline process controls within progressive stamping dies using Industry 4.0 methodologies. Today, the design and development of progressive dies lies largely in the hands of artisans and craftsmen and further advances in process speed, efficiency and quality have come up against significant technological barriers. Unfortunately, very little established engineering methodologies exist to overcome these barriers due to the traditional artisan design approach.** This current paradigm presents an ideal opportunity to apply Industry 4.0 methodologies to achieve new efficiencies and highly optimized progressive die stamping processes, an approach not yet applied to this process to-date. Thus the proposed research offers a high degree of novelty.** Three primary technological developments will be pursued: (i) optimization of stretch web configurations (stretch webs are the geometric features connecting the work piece to the sheet metal strip being formed and exert a controlling influence on process speed and formability); (ii) development and simulation of a demonstrator tool with real-time data acquisition and tooling feature actuation; and, (iii) implementation of integrated process control using Industry 4.0 methodologies. ** The project represents a tight German-Canadian "2+2 collaboration" comprising two SMEs, Forming Technology Inc. and Men at Work GbmH, working with the University of Waterloo and the Technical University of Munich.** The final outcomes of this research will be: (i) software design tools for automated, intelligent selection of stretch bead features within FTI's FormingSuite software package; and, (ii) Industry 4.0-based control strategies to improve product quality and throughput, for use by the Canadian tool and die industry. Benefit to Canada will be accrued through improved innovation-based competitiveness of the tooling and manufacturing sectors. ****