SoftFit II™ Die Developer Application

Reduce the number of iterations in the die development process required to determine the final configuration of form, trim and punches that will produce satisfactory quantities of high quality parts with minimal waste (robust tooling).

SoftFit II™, Die Developer's systematic approach to the die development process provides a collaborative environment that integrates and augments current technologies and shop floor methods and delivers innovative capabilities to produce robust tools, faster.

Robust Tooling

"Robust Tooling" ensures that fabrication shops have the greatest possible range of presses, material, temperature and wear available to them while satisfying press utilization targets and production quality standards.

"Build to Mean" and "Multiple Part Samples" are two critical components in achieving this goal.

Build to Mean
Whether features are tolerance bilaterally, unilaterally or asymmetrically all adjustments to trim, form and punch locations are done driving the features to the middle of the tolerance zone

Multiple Part Samples
Critical to the process is the ability to work with multiple part samples when evaluating adjustments in order to avoid the pitfall of trial and error fixes based on a knee jerk reaction to a single sample.

Collaboration

Capabilities in die design have advanced greatly in recent years with popular FEA based software packages that determine blank size and shape and simulate part formability.

Die Developer, integrating with these packages takes the process to the next level by reducing the number of iterations at both the design and the development stages.

Graphical reporting and electronic publishing capabilities identify and communicate results.

Measure

Generate CMM programs from 3D FEM mode data loaded from popular simulation software packages. Measuring features at the node locations is critical to feeding back precise post analysis form and trim adjustment data for both die changes and resimulation.

Alternatively, Dimensional Process Plans can be generate and output to the CMM for programming.

Analyze

A complete complement of graphical reporting capabilities are available for evaluating as measured results data to identify areas of concern and communicate results.

The Root Cause Browser analysis interface clearly identifies such areas as illustrated by the pre-analysis data, working with multiple part samples.

Using the "what-if" capability of the SoftFit II™ analysis tools the measured results of the features comprising the functional group FORM are "fit" to their nominals.

The whisker diagrams illustrate the before and after effect fo the fit on the entire part.

Adjustments to the trim are made based on these results.

Adjust

3D Trim deviations from the analysis are then transferred to the corresponding nodes on the 2D blank.

Blank adjustments are output to make the necessary modifications to the die design and blank shape.

Further simulation runs will verify the modification before changes are made to the die.