Development of innovative systems based on SMART fluids technology for the improvement of the dimensional accuracy in sheet metal forming operations

The dynamic behaviour and the stiffness are critical requirements in high-tech forming machine sector. High performances, in terms of repeatability and dimensional accuracy, are obtained by increasing the structural stiffness and the mass of machines, though this can determine rapid and excessive deterioration of tools due to wear. Furthermore, in sheet metal blanking processes, the machines are subjected to severe vibrations that can significantly reduce their service life. On these bases the use of SMART devices applied to metal forming machines can represent the ideal solution for the closed-loop control of dynamic phenomena. The paper presents an innovative concept for the vibration control occurring in blanking operations, based on the implementation of magneto-rheological (MR) fluids. A new approach based on a multi-physics optimization analysis is presented which proves to be suitable to investigate the mutual metal-MR fluid interactions and to provide a reliable tool for the design and optimization when different physic fields are involved.