complex sheet metal formed part/stamping

[JGL1980]

Hi,
I am a small time furniture manufacturer and am looking to make a design in low quantities formed from 5/16" steel plate. It has complex curves on it, and I hope to form it in a hydraulic press. I have had some success already but have been having troubles designing the dies to use. I can't find any information that helps predict springback on such a complex curve. Would I need special software for this? Is this part even possible to make this way predictably?
Thanks,
Josh

 

[itsmoked]

Out of the box. Can you 3D print it or is the spring steel functionally needed?

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[JGL1980]

It's just mild steel (not spring), but 3D printing isn't really in scope. Casting likely isn't either.

 

[dhengr]

JGL1980:
It looks to me like I would cut that entire steel base piece out of a flat piece of steel. I’d gang pieces on the plate such as to get the max. number of bases out of each steel plate. The entire base piece would look something like a number ‘6’ as it laid flat. Then, the forming is mostly bending and twisting of the vert. stem part or length. The stem length right where it leaves the floor to about 8 or 12” high is the most highly stressed length/area and probably has to be wider or thicker than you show. For small quantities, you really can’t afford elaborate tooling. I would probably just use simple blacksmithing methods, along with a few simple wooden templates or gaging shapes, to see that I met a reasonable final shape.

 

[JGL1980]

dhengr:
I have made some, and that's exactly what I did. I got most of it with a hydraulic press and wood tooling, and the rest with a torch and manual bending. The fact that I could do it with the press was promising, and think I can get it all that way with a properly designed tool, but at this point i'm just guessing and checking with my tooling and would like to find a better way of designing it.

 

[berkshire]

That type of work can easily be done by a fab shop with a press brake and plate roller. Check around your area.
B.E.

You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.