DEFORM 3D LAB

1. Lab 1: Create New Problem 1

2. Lab 2: Bad Geometry and Geometry Repair 4
3. Lab 3: Mesh Generation 6
4. Lab 4: Finishing Data Preparation 10
5. Lab 5: Running a Simulation 18
6. Lab 6: Postprocessing 21
7. Lab 7: Running a Second Operation 26
8. Lab 8: Postprocessing 30
9. Lab 9: Symmetry / Thermal Operations 36
10. Lab 10: Tool Stress Analysis 48
11. Lab 11: Mechanical Press 51
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1. Lab 1: Create a New Problem. Import Geometry

Create a new problem:

From the Windows Start menu, select DEFORM-3D Select “New Problem”

Figure 1.1: Problem Setup Window.

Accept the default problem type (Figure 1.1) and home directory (Press "Next" twice)
When the Problem Setup page appears, specify the project name, "Stub_Shaft." Click the
"Finish" button to set up the problem in the pre-processor.
Object creation:

The Workpiece is automatically selected.

Click on the “Geometry” tab. Then click on “Geo Primitive” to define a

primitive geometry. Once you are in the Geometry Primitive window, click on Cylinder
and enter the following values. Diameter = 0.8 and Height = 2.7. Click on “Create” then
“Close.”

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Display manipulation:
• Shading (F6): Smoothly shades the objects within viewport.
• Wireframe (F7): Displays mesh of the object within viewport.
• Shading and wireframe (F8): Smoothly shades and display mesh of objects
within the viewport.
• Surface patch : Displays the surface edges of the object.
• +Surface patch : This feature will combine surface edges with other display
modes options.
• Print (Ctrl+P): Prints to a postscript printer or creates a postscript file of the
current step.
• Image setup (Ctrl+M): It is used to setup the current display window or the
workspace to the required pixel size and capture images to required location in
required format.
• Capture image (Ctrl+I): Captures image displayed in the display window to
the required location in the specified image format.
• Capture Image to clipboard (Ctrl+Shift+I): Writes the current screen image to
the clipboard.
• Refresh (F5): The refresh icon redraws the screen, removing any
measurement marks, and updating any changes made to the color pallet.
• View Fit (F3): Fits all displayed objects or graphs inside the current viewport.
• Measure : This tool allows the user to measure any distance between two
points by clicking consecutively on both points. The measurement can be plot in
either X ,Y or Z or XYZ direction using the CAD style option available which
displays the measured values in the selected direction. To access the CAD style
option you need to right click in the display window when you are in the
measurement mode. The measurement marks are not erased until the viewport is
refreshed, and as such are also convenient for marking arbitrary reference points
on the screen, which will maintain their location through view changes.
• Select : The select button is a general pointing utility. It performs several
functions which vary with context. It can be used to report coordinates of an
arbitrary point, to select a node or an element, to change the primary viewport,
and many similar functions.
• Pan (Shift+LMB): Pan adjusts the region filling the active viewport without
changing the size of the displayed object.
• Dynamic zoom (Alt+LMB): The dynamic zoom dynamically changes the size
of the region of the object which fills the active view port. The view size can be
changed by holding Alt key and clicking left mouse button in the active view port,
and rolling the mouse backward or forward to increase or decrease the size of the
object in the display window.
• Box Zoom Window (Ctrl+Alt+LMB): The zoom window function allows
close up inspection of a small region of the currently displayed object or graph.

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The zoom region is selected by holding Ctrl + Alt key and clicking the left mouse
button, while dragging the mouse to enclose the selected region with the
displayed box. When the mouse button is released the selected region will fill the
display window.
• Rotate (Ctrl+ LMB) or (middle mouse button): This will allow the mouse
pointer to freely rotate the geometries.
• Rotate : This will allow the mouse pointer to rotate the object about
the X, Y or Z direction.
• Isometric View : This will show the isometric view of the current viewport.
• Viewpoint : These options allow the user to show the object
in the selected direction. For example if we select positive X- direction as a
viewpoint, DEFORM will show the object from the positive X-direction.
Measurement:
Let’s measure the dimensions of the workpiece. Select the “measure ” icon.
Use your left mouse button to click on two different areas of the workpiece. The distance
between the two points will be displayed on the screen.

Press the “refresh ” button to remove measurements Click on the center of the two
circles that define the top and bottom of the cylinder. This will give you the approximate
height of the cylinder. (Figure 1.2)

Press the “+Z ” button to look down on the part. Now measure the diameter of the

cylinder. Press the “refresh ” button to remove measurements

Figure 1.2: Measuring the billet.

Save project and exit:

Under the File menu click “Save Project ” and then click the “quit ” button.

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2. Lab 2 : Bad Geometry and Geometry Repair

Depending on the CAD system used to generate STL geometry, the STL geometry may
not be a legal surface. In this lab, we will investigate geometry checking and correction
features in DEFORM.
Create a new problem

Create a new problem called Crankshaft. Set the units to SI.

Import Geometry

Click on the “Geometry ” icon under “Top Die” in the project tree. Select
“Import Geometry” and import the file CrankshaftDie.stl.
Check the geometry. A clean geometry should have 1 surface, and no free edges. This
file has 23 surfaces and 75 free edges.
Display free edges

The surface patch button will display free edges in yellow and good edges in another
color, depending on preprocessor settings. This can give the user an idea where the CAD
file might need to be repaired. In the case of the crankshaft die, there are multiple invalid
surfaces.
Attempt repair
DEFORM has a “fix GEO” option which will attempt to repair illegal geometries by
stitching open edges together. For minor or localized problems, this works well. For more
troublesome file such as this one, the repair may not produce a desirable result. If the
crankshaft surface is examined after “fixing” geometry, several spikes and irregular
surfaces will be noticed.
It is possible, but difficult to further edit these problem files. It is generally better to
address the problem within the CAD software. Contact DEFORM support if this is not
possible.
Note that even though this geometry is bad, simulations can still be attempted.
DEFORM will run, and in most cases will produce simulation results. However, there
may be some problems with those results. The problems which occur will be spikes or

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distortions in the workpiece mesh during forming. If the user cannot obtain clean input
geometry, they must use their own judgment when evaluating results.
Exiting
Close the problem and exit the preprocessor. This file will not be used again, so it is not
necessary to save it.

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3. Lab 3: Mesh Generation. Tool Geometry Input.

Open an existing project:

Start DEFORM-3D. Find the “Stub_Shaft” folder in the Directory tree on the left side of
your screen. Click on the “Stub_Shaft” folder. You should see a Stub_Shaft.KEY in that
folder. Then press “DEFORM-3D Pre” in the upper right corner of your screen.

If you can’t see the KEY file you may have to refresh the display
We defined our workpiece in Lab 1, so now we can go to the next step, which is mesh
generation.

Click on “Mesh”
The default mesh of 8,000 elements is appropriate for this simulation. To accept this
default number and create the mesh, click on “Generate mesh.”
Go to the Detailed Settings tab and change the “Type” to “Absolute” (Figure 3.1)

Figure 3.1: Detailed Mesh Setting Window.

Assign materials:

Click on the “General ” tab

To import a material from the DEFORM material database select, “Load material from

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library”
It is important to select the proper material. Make sure that the material you select is
in the correct temperature range for your process. If you have questions or need help
selecting a material, you should contact your local distributor or DEFORM support.
Click on the “Steel” category and select “AISI-4120[70-2200F (20-1200C)]” then click
“Load.”
By default the Unit system is English. If you want to use SI units you can define it
when you are selecting the material
Import punch geometry:

Press the “Insert object ” button

Change object name to “Punch” and press “Change”

Click on the “Geometry ” tab.

Click on “Import geometry”
Open the file “StubShaft_ConePunch.STL”
Click on “Check GEO” You can see that there is only one surface and zero invalid edges.
Assign movement:

Click on the “Movement ” tab.

Make sure the movement arrow is assigned to the –Z direction
Insert a constant value of 10in/sec for the speed

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Figure 3.1: Movement Control Window.

Import bottom die geometry:

Press the “Insert object ” button

Click on the “Geometry ” tab.

Click on “Import geometry”
Open the file “StubShaft_ConeDie.STL”
Click on “Check GEO” You can see that there is only one surface and zero invalid edges.
Define ejector geometry:

Press the “Insert object ” button

Click on the “General ” tab

Change object name to “Ejector” and press ‘Change”

Click on the “Geometry ” tab.

Click on “Geo Primitive.” In the Geometry Primitive window click on Cylinder and
enter the following values. Diameter = 0.817 and Height = 1.0 Click on “Create” then
“Close.”
Our ejector geometry is now overlapping the workpiece. We will need to move this tool
in the next step.

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Position Tools:

At the top of the screen, click on

This will open the Object positioning window.
Fill out the Object positioning window as follows: Select “Interference” as the method.
Select the Ejector as the Positioning object and “Workpiece” as the Reference. Choose
“Z” as the Approach direction. (Figure 3.3)

Figure 3.3: Object Positioning Window.

Press Apply then Ok

Now would be a good time to save

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4. Lab 4: Finishing Data Preparation.

Confirm position:
Use the “slicing” tool to cut a section in the tooling. Confirm that the workpiece is
positioned against the ejector, and the punch is positioned against the workpiece.

Go to the “advanced ” tab.

Press the “slicing ” button to open the slicing interface.

Press the “+Z ” button to look down on the part.

Left Mouse click in the center of the geometry to split it in two. (Figure 4.1)

Figure 4.1: Sliced Objects.

If you want to change the location or orientation of the slice you can modify the values in
the slicing window. Change the location of the slice by moving the slider bar back and
fourth. And change the orientation by changing the normal “N” vector. (Figure 4.2)

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Figure 4.2: Slicing Window.

Press Ok to exit the Slicing menu. Your slice will still remain.

Use CAD style measuring

Press the “+X ” button to view the objects from the positive x axis.

Press the measure button

Right mouse click on the display window and select “CAD style.”
Right click on the display window again and select “Z direction.”
Click on top of the workpiece and then on top of the bottom die. Drag the measurement
to a place where you can see it and click the mouse again.

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Figure 4.3: Measuring the distance between workpiece and die.

You should get an approximate value of 1.2 ( Figure 4.3)
Assign target volume
Target volume is used by DEFORM to maintain part volume at each step of a simulation.
It works well for die forgings & cold formed parts.

Select the workpiece from the object tree, and click the icon. Set Target

Volume to be Active in FEM. Use the Calculate Volume button to calculate the
workpiece volume. You will get a note that the geometry and mesh volume are different.
Accept the option to use the geometry volume.
Note: The difference in volume will approach 1% in this tutorial. Running with a finer
mesh will reduce the difference in mesh volume.
Define inter-object conditions:

At the top of the screen, click on

A pop-up window will come up to see if you want the system to add the default
relationships.

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Click “Yes”

Highlight the first relationship and press the “Edit” button.

Select a Constant value of 0.08: Cold forming (carbide dies). You can manually input the
number or select it from the drop-down menu.

Figure 4.4: Inter- Object Data Interpolation Window.

Select friction coefficient (0.08) for typical cold forming operations, (Figure 4.4)
Click on “Close”

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Click on:
This will apply the 0.08 friction coefficient to all the other relationships.
Contact provides a starting condition for the solver. Once the simulation is started the
contact is updated automatically.

Click on the “default contact tolerance” button. Then click on “Generate all”
Press “ok” to exit Inter-object mode.
Move your sliced part around to see where DEFORM defined contact.
To remove the slicing:

Go to the “advanced” tab.

Press the “slicing ” button to open the slicing interface.

Press the Delete selected plane button then press “OK”
Setting the Simulation Controls:
At the top of the screen, click on
Change the operation name to “Cone Blow”

Tool movement:
DEFORM-3D uses a two step process to establish the total punch movement distance.
Step 1: A measurement which estimates total punch stroke. This is used to establish
numerical parameters, and place a loose upper limit on tool travel.
Step 2: An optional specific stopping control, which can be based on:
• Forming load on object 2
• Total movement of object 2
• Reaching a critical distance or measurement between points on two different
tools.

Step 1 is defined on the “Step ” tab.

Measure the vertical distance between the punch and the bottom die. You should get a
value of approximately 0.5’’. (Figure 4.5)

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Figure 4.5: Measuring the distance between workpiece and die.

Figure 4.6: Simulation Control Step Window.

There are 100 steps by default. Change the “Number of Simulation Steps” to 50 and the
“Step Increment to Save” to 5. The simulation will now try to run in 50 steps and will
save every 5 steps. (Figure 4.6)
Take the die measurement of 0.5’’ and divide it by 50 to get 0.01. This is how far the
punch needs to move in each step so that it can travel 0.5’’ in 50 steps. Input the value of
0.01 into the field “With Die Displacement” (see Figure 4.6)
Step 2 is defined on the “Stop” tab. Once you have clicked on the Stop tab, click on the

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“Die Distance” tab. In this case we want the tools to stop when they are 0.025in apart.

Figure 4.7: Simulation Control Stop Window.

Click on the bottom surface of the punch and the top surface of the bottom die. The
Object 1 and Object2 fields should now reference Bottom die and punch.

Figure 4.8: Selecting Reference points on the dies.

Type .025 into the blank field under “Distance.”
Select “Z distance” from the “Method” drop-down menu
The simulation will now stop if the distance between the two points (in the Z direction)
reaches 0.025in.
Click on “OK” to exit Simulation Controls.

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Data checking and database generation:

Click the “Database generation ” button. Click the “Check” button. The data
checking system will confirm that all of the data is appropriate for running the
simulation.
Red marks indicate missing or incorrect data that will prevent a simulation from running.
It is necessary to correct the error before the database is created.
Yellow marks indicate data which is unusual. It may indicate a legal situation, or it may
be illegal. Yellow marks should be investigated carefully, as they frequently represent
errors which will allow the simulation to run, but will give incorrect results.
Review the data checking information. If there are no yellow or red marks, click the
“Generate” button.
We have now completed preprocessing. Click “Close” to exit Database Generation.
Click the “Quit ” button to exit the preprocessor. When you generated the database,
DEFORM automatically saved your simulation for you.

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5. Lab 5: Running a Simulation.

Open DEFORM-3D
Find the Stub_Shaft folder in the Directory tree.
Click on “Run (options)” in the GUI Main.

Figure 5.1: Multi Processor Window

If you have a multicore processor or multiple CPUs you will be able to click the check
box next to “Multiple processor” (Figure 5.1). If you need to use your computer while a
simulation is running or if you want to run more than one simulation at the same time
then do not select, “Multiple processor.” You will also need a license in order to use the
multiple processor feature of DEFORM.
click on “Save Option and then Click on “Start”

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Simulation graphics – monitoring a simulation while it runs:

After starting a simulation you can click on the “Simulation Graphics” button. You can
then observe the progress of the simulation as it is running.
It is a good practice to watch the first few steps of a simulation in Simulation Graphics
mode to confirm that the tool movements and workpiece deformation are proceeding as
expected.
Limited viewing controls are available in the Simulation Graphics mode. In addition, the
following zoom controls are available.
• Ctrl – right mouse: window zoom
• Shift – right mouse: dynamic zoom
• Shift – left mouse: pan
• Ctrl + Alt – Left mouse drag: Box zoom window
These functions can be used to better view the details of the workpiece as the simulation
is running.
In order to see what is going on with the work piece you will want to turn your tools off
and turn contact on.

Click to open the object mode window.

Figure 5.2: Simulation Graphics Object Mode Window

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Un-click the check box in the first row next to each of the tools. (Figure 5.2)
Press “Apply” then “Close”
Press the “Display contact” button
When the simulation is completed, the image in the Simulation Graphics viewer will
disappear. The log file will indicate Simulation Completed at the last line.
DEFORM saves to the database while it is running. When the simulation is over there is
nothing more to save because DEFORM has been saving all along.

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6. Lab 6: Postprocessing
When the simulation is completed, highlight the Stub_Shaft.DB and then click the
“DEFORM-3D Post” button in the bottom right corner of the screen.
The graphics window displays the results of the calculation
The saved steps are listed in the step bar at the top of the display. (Figure 6.1)

Figure 6.1: Step selection bar.

Clicking on any step in the list will display the results at that step
The play controls can be used to:

Play forward
Stop

Single step forward

Jump to end

Play backwards

Single step backwards

Jump to the beginning

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Load – stroke plot:

Click the Graph (load-stroke) icon. Plot the Z load vs. stroke for the punch (top die).
The graph displays load at any given point through the simulation. The vertical step
tracer bar indicates the current step. (Figure 6.2)

Figure 6.2: Load Stroke Window

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Clicking on the curve will display the results for that step. (Figure 6.3)

Figure 6.3: Load Stroke Curve.

State variable plot:
Pick Damage from the drop-down menu at the top of the screen. In cold forming, damage
is related to the likelihood of cracking. The damage value which will cause cracking
varies from material to material, and with different heat treatments for a given material.
(Figure 6.4)

Figure 6.4: State variable pull down menu

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Play through the simulation and watch damage evolve as the part forms. The state
variable scales to the maximum damage value anywhere in the simulation.

Click the icon to open the state variable properties dialog.

Select “Local” scaling and click apply. Play through the simulation. At each step, the
state variables scale to the maximum value at that step.
Select “solid” display and click apply. The smoothed contour borders become sharp
edges.

Object modes:
Using the buttons below you can view the objects in the Project View tree in different
ways.

Figure 6.5: Object Tree

Only the highlighted object is visible

All objects are visible. The highlighted object is solid and the others are transparent

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This is a custom mode where you can choose which objects are transparent and
which are solid. To change the transparency of an object you can right mouse click on the
object in the tree and click the check box next to “Make transparent.” You can also turn
objects off in this mode.(Figure 6.6)

Figure 6.6. Different Object Mode Selection

When you are finished viewing results, click the button to exit the postprocessor.

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7. Lab 7: Running a Second Operation.

Click on the Stub_Shaft folder to highlight it. Then click on the “DEFORM-3D Pre”
button in the upper right corner of the screen.
Select the last time step and press “OK.”
By selecting the last time step we have retained all the information that has already been
simulated. All the deformation and temperature history is still intact. Our goal here is to
change
some tools and perform a second hit.
Change tools:
We will import the new geometry directly over the old, thus replacing it.

Click on the Punch object and then click on the “Geometry ” tab
Import the geometry “StubShaft_HeadPunch.STL” Then press “Check GEO”
Click on the Bottom die object.
Import the Geometry “StubShaft_HeadDie” Then press “Check GEO”
Check Position:

At the top of the screen, click on “Object Positioning ”

Use “Interference” to position the Punch on top (-Z Approach direction) of the workpiece
and the ejector below (Z Approach direction)
Apply contact:

At the top of the screen, click on

Click on the Tolerance button and then click on “Generate all”

Click “OK” to exit the Inter-Object menu.
Simulation Controlls:

At the top of the screen, click on simulation control icon

Change the Operation Name to “Head” and the operation number to “2” (Figure7.1)
Measure the Z-direction distance between the bottom of the punch and the die (see
picture below). You should get an approximate value of 1.5 (Figure7.2)

Click on the “Step ” tab.

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Change the Number of steps to 100 and the step increment to save to 5 (Figure 7.3)

Figure 7.1: Simulation Control Main Window.

Figure 7.2: Measuring the gap between punch and workpiece.

We measured a gap between the tools of 1.5. At the end of the simulation we want a gap

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of .375. It’s ok if we overshoot the die travel by a little bit here because we will set a
stopping condition to make sure that the tools stop when they are 0.375’’ apart. So we
will only subtract .3 from 1.5. This will give us a total punch travel of 1.2. For 100 steps,
that means that the punch needs to travel 0.012’’ every step.
Enter 0.012 into the “With Die Displacement” area.

Figure 7.3: Simulation Control Step Window.

Click on the “Stop” tab. Once you have clicked on the Stop tab, click on the “Die
Distance” tab. In this case we want the tools to stop when they are 0.375in apart. Insert a
“Distance” value of 0.375
Select “Z distance” from the “Method” drop-down menu
Click on the top and bottom tools (see Figure 7.4 below for proper reference points)

Figure 7.4: Reference points on top and bottom tools.

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The simulation will now stop when the Z-distance between these two points reaches
0.375’’
Go to the “Process Parameters” tab. Enter a value of 600 next to “Max Load of Primary
Die” in the Z direction. The simulation will now stop if the load exceeds 600 klb.
Click “OK” to exit the Simulation Controls menu.

Generate database :
Check the data. If there are no warnings
(Yellow indications) or errors (red indications) then Generate the database and exit the
preprocessor.
Run the simulation:
Go to “Simulate” and then run the simulation. You can watch it run by clicking on the
“Simulation Graphics” button.

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8. Postprocessing
When the simulation is completed, click the “DEFORM-3D Post” button in the bottom
right corner of the screen.
If you watched simulation graphics, you already have an idea of what to expect when you
open the postprocessor.
Play through results:
Use the “play” function to play through both the cone blow and the heading blow.

Experiment with all of the different part shading options.

Finding folds:

Click on the State Variables button to open the State Variables window. (Figure 8.1)

Figure 8.1: State Variable Window.

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Click on folding angle and change scaling mode to “User.” Insert values of 270 and 271
for Min and Max respectively. (Figure 8.2)
Press Apply.

Figure 8.2: Image showing fold in the workpiece

The fold can now be seen in red. You can play through the time steps and see the fold
form. You can also right click on the colorbar to experiment with different colorbar types
Use the slicing tool to cut the piece vertically.
Click on the radio button next to “Curve + Plane” (Figure 8.3)
With this view you can easily see the folds. (Figure 8.4)

Figure 8.3: Slicing Window.

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Figure 8.4: Sliced Object

In some conditions, in order to keep the simulation going, DEFORM will delete some
physical folds and mark their location. You can see if DEFORM has deleted any folds by

going to the step list . If DEFORM has deleted a fold it will place a [v] in the 6th
column: fold. Below is an example of what the steps would look like after a fold has
been removed. To show where the fold was removed, click on the timestep that has the
[v] symbol, right click on “Folding” in the object tree and select “Show Folding.”
(Figure 8.5)

Figure 8.5: Step List window showing fold

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Determining Fill:

Press clear to turn off all the variables. Then turn on show contact nodes

Figure 8.6: Determining filling in the object

DEFORM places dots where contact has been made with the tool. Places without dots
can represent an under fill situation. (Figure 8.6)
The fill can also be seen by cutting a section through the part.

Turn off contact

Display all the tools and the workpiece .

Use the slicing tool to slice the objects about the x-y plane (Make the N direction (0,0,1).
Pick “Curve” under the ‘Sliced plane display’ option and press the button .
(Figure 8.7)
Click on the Z coordinate next to the P (point) input. Then use the slider bar to move the
slicing plane up and down the Z axis.

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Figure 8.7: Slicing Window

Press to view the objects from the +Z direction.(Figure8.8)

Figure 8.8: Object in +Z view

You can directly see the gap between the tool and the workpiece.
Delete the slicing plane from the slicing menu.
So far we have used qualitative methods to see under fill. We can also plot the distance
between the workpiece and the tooling.

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Click on State Variables

Select “Minimum distance” and press apply.

Turn off all the tools and display just the workpiece
The normal distance between the workpiece and the closest tool will be displayed. You
can left mouse click anywhere on the part. This will plot the minimum distance value on
the colorbar.

Figure 8.9: Image Showing minimum distance region

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9. Symmetry / Thermal Operations

Create a new simulation (1st operation):
Now we are going to perform the Cone_Blow operation, from above, with a heated billet.
This involves heating the billet, letting it sit in air for 6 seconds (transfer), letting it sit in
the die for 2 seconds (dwell) and then forming it (cone). We will do all of this by
simulating 1/12th of the part using symmetry.(Figure 9.1)

Figure 9.1: Workpiece showing 1/12th of the symmetry.

Start by opening the Stub_Shaft.db in the pre-processor
Click on the Stub_Shaft.db and then click on “DEFORM-3D Pre”
Click on “First” to edit the first time step. (Figure 9.2)

Figure 9.2: Database selection window.

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At the top of the screen, click on

Change the operation name to: “transfer”
Under “Mode,” Turn on “Heat Transfer” and turn off “Deformation”

Go to the Step tab

The number of steps (50) is already what we want. We want this operation to go for 6
seconds. In order for the simulation to go for 6 seconds each step will have to be (6/50)
0.12seconds.
Select “With time Increment” and insert a value of .12
Press “OK” to exit the Simulation Controls window.

Make sure the Workpiece is highlighted and then click on Geometry

Click “No” on the pop-up window, because we will be defining a new geometry.
Click on “Geo Primitive”
Once you are in the Primitive Geometry window, click on Cylinder and enter the
following values. Diameter = 0.8, Height = 2.7 and Revolve angle = 30. Click on
“Create” then “Close.”
Click “Yes” on the pop-up window

Click on the “Mesh ” tab

Click on “Generate Mesh”

Click on the “Boundary Conditions ” tab

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Figure 9.3: Temperature Boundary Condition

Click on the outside surfaces of the semi-cylinder (all 3) (Figure 9.3)

Click on “Add boundary condition” to finish the

Definition
Go to General.
Click on “Assign temperature” and input a value of 2100 (The billet starting temperature)
Click on the Punch to highlight it.

Click on the “Movement ” tab.

Change the “constant value” velocity to 0.
Click on Object positioning

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Figure 9.4: Object Positioning window.

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We will move the tools away from the object so they will not interfere with the cooling
process.
Use “Offset” to move the Punch 2in in the “Z” direction. Also move the bottom die and
ejector -2in in the “Z” direction.
Press “OK” to exit the positioning menu. (Figure 9.4)
Go to the generate database menu:
Select “New” and name the database: “Stub_Shaft_Symmetry.DB.” This way we won’t
delete any of our previous work.(Figure 9.5)
Check and generate the database. Then run the database from the main DEFORM-
3D window.

Figure 9.5: Database generation window.

You will get an error message telling you that the heat transfer coefficient between the
tools and workpiece is 0. This is ok because we are simulating the cooling process in air
and do not want to tool to affect this process.

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2nd Operation
When the simulation has finished, open the database with the pre processor
Highlight the database (Stub_Shaft_Symmetry.DB) and press “DEFORM-3D Pre”
Pick the “last” time step
At the top of the screen, click on
Change the operation name to: “dwell”
Change the Operation Number to “2”
Go to the Step tab
Change the number of steps to 20. Leave the Step Increment to Save at 5.
This operation will be 2 seconds long. So each step needs to be .1sec long.
Insert a value of .1 into “With time Increment”
Press “OK” to exit the Simulation Controls window.
Click on Object positioning
Use “Offset” to move the bottom die and ejector 2in in the “Z” direction.
Click “OK “ to exit the positioning menu.

At the top of the screen, click on

Figure 9.6: inter object relationship window.

Press the “edit” button and select a “constant” heat transfer coefficient of .0003 (free
resting) from the drop-down menu.
Press “Close”
Press “Apply to other relations”

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Generate the default tolerance length . Then press “Generate all”

Press “OK” to exit the Inter-Object menu.
Click on each of the tools (Punch , Bottom Die and Ejector) in the simulation tree and
“Assign temperature” to 300F in the General tab.
Check and generate the database .
Start the simulation.
When the simulation is done, open the database in the Post processor.

Figure 9.7: State variable pull down menu

Turn on temperature from the drop-down menu and play (Figure 9.7) through the steps.
Did the simulation do what you thought it would do?

Forming operation:
When the simulation has finished open the database with the pre processor
Highlight the database (Stub_Shaft_Symmetry.DB) and press “DEFORM-3D Pre”
Pick the “last” time step

Click on Object positioning

Use “Offset” to move the Punch -2in in the “Z” direction.
Click “OK “ to exit the positioning menu.
At the top of the screen, click on

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Change the operation name to: “cone”

Change the Operation Number to “3”
Turn on “Deformation” mode

Go to the Step tab

Change the number of steps to 100.
Measure the ‘Z’ distance between the tools. You should get a value of
approximately 0.5’’. (Figure 9.8)

Figure 9.8: Measuring gap between punch and bottom die.

Take the die measurement of 0.5’’ and divide it by 100 to get 0.005. This is how far the
punch needs to move in each step so that it can travel 0.5’’ in 100 steps. Input the value
of 0.005 into the field “With Die Displacement”
Click on the “Stop” tab and then the “Die Distance” tab. (Figure 9.9)

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Figure 9.9: Simulation Control Stopping criteria window.

Make sure the controls are still set to stop the simulation when the tools become 0.025in
apart. Make sure the “Method” is “Z Distance”
Click on “OK” to exit Simulation Controls.
At the top of the screen, click on
Press the “Edit” button

Figure 9.10: Deformation Friction Window.

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Change the friction vale to a constant 0.3 (Hot Forging (lubricated)) in the drop down
menu. (Figure 9.10)
Click on the “Thermal” tab.
Change the heat transfer constant to 0.002 (Forming) in the drop down menu.
Press Close
Press “Apply to other relations”
Press “OK” to exit the Inter_Object menu.
Make sure the Workpiece (in the simulation tree) is highlighted.

Click on the “Boundary Conditions ” tab. The Symmetry

plane branch of the tree should already be highlighted.

Click on one of the symmetry faces and then press (Figure 9.11)

Click on the other symmetry face and press

Figure 9.11: Assigning Symmetry Boundary Condition

Click on the “Properties ” tab (Figure 9.12)

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Figure 9.12: Properties window

Click on the “Calculate Volume” icon.
Click on the Punch (in the object tree) to highlight it.
Click on the “Movement” tab.
Change the “constant value” velocity to 4.

Check and generate the database.

Start the simulation.
Post-Processing:
Highlight the database (Stub_Shaft_Symmetry.DB) and press “DEFORM-3D Post”

Click on “Single object mode” - so that only the workpiece is visible.

Click Temperature (from the drop-down menu) to plot the temperature of the workpiece
Right click on the Temperature scale and Select “Color bar type” then “Temperature”
(Figure9.14)

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Figure 9.13: Object showing temperature values

.

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Figure 9.14: Changing Color Bar type.

Click on “Mirroring”
Click on the symmetry faces until you can see the whole part. (Figure 9.15)
This will take 11 clicks

Figure 9.15: Mirroring of symmetric faces

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10. Tool Stress Analysis

DEFORM includes a feature to extract force data from a forming simulation and use it to
analyze tools.
Open DEFORM-3D and select the folder for the StubShaft project. Create a New
Problem , use the DEFORM-3D PreProcessor, and Use current selected directory
(without creating a new directory).
Assign the problem name StubShaft_ToolStress and click Finish to go to the DEFORM-
3D preprocessor.
Import solution database
Go to File, import the StubShaft.DB file and load the last step.

Use the Delete Object icon to delete the workpiece and the ejector.
Make the punch elastic, and generate a 40000-element mesh.
Set the movement controls to 0.
Assign boundary condtions
Go to boundary conditions, and assign Vx=Vy=Vz = 0 boundary conditions on the top
surface of the punch
Then pick Force from the B.C. Type tree, and click the Interpolate button. This will
take you through a process in which DEFORM reads force data from the solution
database, and automatically assigns force boundary conditions to the tool. Browse to find
the StubShaft.DB file. The Step Number to be Interpolated From should match the
step that was loaded – in this case the last step in the database.
Set a tolerance value of 0.01
Click Next and select the Workpiece as the Object to be interpolated from. Click
Finish. X and Y force definitions will appear in the boundary condition tree. Clicking on
these definition lines will show the forces that have just been interpolated. Return to the
General dialog. Import AISI-D2 tool steel from the Die Materials category.
Bottom die
Now select the Bottom Die from the object tree, and repeat the process.
Make the die elastic, and generate a mesh with 40,000 elements.
Constrain the velocity in the Y direction along the bottom of the die.

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Interpolate forces as with the punch.

Assign the material as AISI-D2.
Simulation controls
Because we have created a new problem, we can set the Starting Step Number to -1.
Set the Number of Simulation Steps to 1, and the Step Increment to Save to 1.
The Solution Step Definition will be With Equal Time Increment of 1 second.
Generate database
When you check the data, you will see a yellow dot warning “No interobject relations
defined.” Since there is no interaction between the punch and the die, this situation is
appropriate for this case, so it can be ignored. If there are multiple tools interacting with
each other (such as an insert in a holder) then interobject relationships should be defined
in that case.
After generating the database, exit the preprocessor, and run the simulation.
Postprocessing
The simulation should run quite quickly. When it is completed, go to the postprocessor.
Select the ‘1’ step from the step list.
You can view effective stress and maximum principal stress directly from the state
variable drop down menu.
If you open the state variable properties dialog, you can view the x, y, and z, or radial,
axial and hoop components of stress
If the effective stress exceeds the yield stress of the material, plastic deformation of the
tools will occur.
If the maximum principal stress is large, it may be a site for fatigue failure initiation.
In carbide tools, positive principal stresses, even if they are of relatively small magnitude,
may be indicative of fatigue failure initiation.
Note that in this simulation, effective stress is extremely high.
Adding a shrink ring to the die
After finishing Postprocessing, open the “preprocessor” button. Select the -1 step. Go to
simulation controls, and change the starting step number to -2. This will create a second
“Load Case” and we will be able to view both results in Postprocessing.
In this instance, we will add 1 extra component – a shrink ring on the die.

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Add a new object .

Change the name to “Case” and make it elastic.
We will define a hollow cylinder with 3” ID, 8” OD, 3.25” high.
Generate the mesh with 20,000 elements.
Since there is no contact between the ring and the workpiece, there are no forces to
interpolate.
Assign a fixed X=Y=Z velocity along the bottom edge of the ring.
On the Deformation BCC page, assign a shrink fit of 0.01 ” along the ID of the case.
Import H-13 from the Library and assign it to the case.
To align the case with the die, we will “Position Objects” using offset with Two points.
Make the ring the positioning object. Click on the bottom inside corner of the die, then
the bottom outside corner of the die. DEFORM should pick the points From (1.5,0) To
(1.5,-.75). If these are not the exact values in the object positioning window, edit the
values to make them exact. Click the apply button to move the ring. Then click OK to
edit object positioning.
For interobject, we will make the Bottom Die Slave, and the ring Master. Generate
contact between the die and the ring. You should see a line of dots along the boundary.
Default simulation controls are OK.
Generate the database, and run the simulation.
In Postprocessing, compare the stresses in step 1 (no shrink ring) with step 2 (with shrink
ring). Stresses in step 2 should be lower, but still quite high. Use the state variable
properties , and use global rather than local scaling.
Note the stresses in the case are in the order of 200KSI or higher. Adding a heavier
interference fit will likely cause the ring to yield.

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11. Mechanical Press

Set-up new sim:
In this lab we will re-run the forming operation from the previous lab with a mechanical
press.
Highlight the database (Stub_Shaft_Symmetry.DB) and press “DEFORM-3D Pre”
Click on the first step of the third operation (-71)
Click on the Punch in the Object tree.
Click on the “Movement” tab

Select “Load movement from library” (at the bottom of the page)

Figure 11.1: Mechanical Press Library

Change the category to “Mechanical” and select “mechanical_press_700_Ton_National”
Click “Load” (Figure11.1)
Go to the generate database menu:
Select “New” and name the database: “Stub_Shaft_Mechanical.DB” This way we won’t
delete any of our previous work.

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Figure 11.2: Database Generation Window

Check and generate database . Then start the simulation.(Figure 11.2)
Post-processing:
Open the Stub_Shaft_Mechanical.DB in the DEFORM-3D Post Processor.
Click on “Point tracking” and select several points on
the workpiece (Figure 11.3)
Click “Finish” and then click Temperature (from the drop-down menu)
This will plot the Temperature vs. Time for all the points that you selected.
Click “Clear” to remove the graph (Figure 11.4)

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Figure 11.3: Point tracking points

Figure 11.4: Point Tracking graph

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