COPRA FEA RF - Finite Element Simulation of the roll form process

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COPRA® RF

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COPRA® Deformation Technology Module - DTM Simulation (H2)

COPRA ® FEA RF (Finite Elemente Simulation)

articles about the subject...

Increasing competition in the roll forming business and growing customer demands have resulted in a huge variety of complex roll formed shapes. Trends to even more complex roll formed products are challenging the design engineer. However, the decision whether to do or not to do any special new roll formed shape is sometimes a quite risky (and costly) decision. Not just the final product quality but also the company's success is depending on the designer's judgment.
A quick and reliable simulation of the forming process is contributing essentially to an increased product quality
If you are planning to make a new roll set you never should do it without respective simulation software tools
COPRA® DTM is avoiding long computing times
COPRA® FEA RF/ DTM can be used without extensive training and experience in FEA technology
COPRA® FEA RF/ DTM is state-of-the-art
COPRA® FEA RF/ DTM offers you highest accuracy and reliability
It can be treated as a virtual try out mill: critical situations and mistakes in roll design will be detected even before the first roll has to be manufactured
COPRA® offers you a two-step concept for roll form simulation: COPRA® DTM and COPRA® FEA RF.
Already in the design stage you will realize if your tool set has got weak points and thus you'll avoid costly setup periods and reworks.
A decisive step toward better product quality!

H2 COPRA® Deformation Technology Module (DTM Simulation)

COPRA Deformation Technology Module

COPRA® Deformation Technology Module (DTM) is a software program for the simulation of the roll forming process. It enables the design engineer to verify and optimize the chosen forming/calibration method with regard to machine parameters and quality requirements. COPRA® DTM is taking into account parameters like material, forming length, geometry of forming zone and tooling diameter.
COPRA® DTM is particularly no longer working according to the known but unreliable "strip edge stress" method (triangle calculation method). This approach is already bound to fail when calculating simple C-shaped sections.

COPRA® DTM is based on extensive FEA calculations and research results (data M Software has been working using high end FEA solvers since 1992...)

COPRA® DTM is a software program of the "third generation"
data M Software GmbH has been cooperating with a number of research institutes around the world and is continuously integrating respective experiences in its own research and development activities.
How accurate is COPRA® DTM working?
A practical example of how to use COPRA® DTM
COPRA DTM has always been (and still is) continuously improved by our developers.

The simulation model COPRA®-Software DTM (Deformation Technology Module) is calculation the maximum theoretical deformation elongation values in longitudinal and transversal direction. The knowledge of these deformations are extremely helpful in order to successfully develop a new roll set. COPRA DTM is not based on finite elements but on the theory of thin shells. The fast computing time of this analysis software tool has made it possible for the very first time to develop optimized roll sets taking into account parameters like profile cross section, forming length (not to be mixed up with "horizontal distance of passes...") and respective geometry, strip thickness, tool diameter and coil material.
The main target during development of this software program was the need of a fast and ergonomic tool for roll form simulation for the roll tooling engineer.
COPRA® DTM is the missing link between the COPRA® roll design software program and Finite Element Analysis programs. The latter is, however, providing more and better results (especially in terms of forces, torques or deformations of the profile), but due to the high computing time required by FEA programs this intelligent "pre-processor" COPRA® DTM allows for a fast optimization of the tooling geometry even before starting any time consuming Finite Element calculation.
COPRA® DTM or COPRA® FEA RF are not substituting each other but complementing in an ideal way.
Following graph is explaining the interaction between COPRA DTM and COPRA FEA RF:

COPRA - Toteö Quality Management in the Design of roll forming tooling
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The simulation calculation is being performed inside of the COPRA® software package. The DTM module is providing the complete visualization of the forming sequence. In addition the user gets shown diagrams with information about theoretical maximal and actual deformations in the most critical areas. This allows for an accurate and fast estimate of the design's quality.
Undesired effects like exceeding elongation values or even compression areas can be identified by means of the simulation model. The calculation results give answers on areas having most probably too high plastic deformations and show whether the material is getting stretched homogenously, e.g. without peaks, throughout the roll forming mill.
Questions if intermediate passes could be helpful or just to determine the optimum position of a profile in the mill can be answered easily.
For the tooling engineer it is of importance to learn about critical passes before starting the tool design or even -manufacturing.
If a profile has to be punched or notched he can make sure that especially these areas will have reduced longitudinal strain- and reduced stress values. This reduces any misshape of punched patterns.
Based on these results the tool designer is able to modify respective forming steps accordingly and to detail the roll tooling. He will be able to compare different forming strategies and methods against each other and to choose the optimum forming method in terms of machine requirements and/or product quality - without causing any tooling costs and wasting setup time.
Plastic strain values:
From COPRA release 2003 (click for realease info) the user of COPRA DTM does not only get graphs and diagrams showing residual strain values on the profile's cross section (on top or bottom surface) in each forming stand but also the accumulated plastic strain values. This feature takes into account the permanent deformation (possible yield of material) in each forming stand and the elastic recovery in longitudinal direction after the forming pass. The accumulated value give an idea about how much the material it getting overworked and how much remaining formability the final product is going to have. The following diagram (done by COPRA FEA RF) explains this effect:

a 3-step forming process of a U-channel
COPRA FEA RF: the blue curve shows the accumulated longitudinal plastic strain values on the top surface of strip edge on a 3 step example

COPRA DTM: the blue curve shows the theoretical strain values (left picture) as well as the theoretical plastic (permanent) strain values (right picture) at - in this example) the strip edge. It has to be noted that the roll tool diameter is having a major influence on respective result.

With COPRA® DTM the tool designer gets hints on the profile quality before any foot/ meter gets into production. The computer model of the roll forming process is being generated automatically. This means: the designer doesn't need to care about modeling the roll forming process, except the definition of the so called flower pattern and mill/machine parameters. The values required are put in by means of easy to use and self-explaining dialogue boxes. Company specific values can be stored in the system's data base.
The coil is being displayed in a 3 dimensional view where the user can choose from various viewpoints and perspectives.
Up to now the only way to verify a tool design was the practical test on the roll forming mill. Using COPRA® DTM the designer has become able to verify his design and to correct or optimize it at an early stage.
The known "stomach aches" before setting up a new roll set have gone now. The often unknown time and costs for the setup period of a new roll set can be reduced and estimated much more accurately now.

COPRA® DTM is the only commercial strain/stress analysis software on the market taking into account in its analysis the influence of the forming roll tooling (roll position or roll diameter) on the material's theoretical strain values. COPRA® DTM also shows you the influence of coil thickness, strain distribution on top or bottom surface (elongation- or compression zone) and the sheet metal curvature in the forming area (allowing you a comparison with your actual forming line). You may find some nice looking screen diagrams or photographs somewhere else (having only a more or less similar accuracy like data M's wire-frame-model from 1990), but no comparable quality of results like COPRA DTM which was released in its first version 1995 (please refer to the history shown in the picture below).

Brochure (PDF)
COPRA® FEA RF

> English 1,7 MB

COPRA® FEA RF - "the virtual roll forming line" (Finite Elemente Analysis for Roll Forming)

Simulating pre-punched material: COPRA FEA RF Automatic generation of computing model, based on flower and roll tooling design in COPRA®.
automatic meshing and refining of elements
wizard driven definition of process parameters and settings
manual (interactive) model modification is possible - if desired
the main philosophy of COPRA® FEA RF is to activate and run the whole simulation process automatically from COPRA® DTM. However, users being experienced in FEA are able to modify the computer model according to their wishes as well.

Simulating Flexible Roll Forming Processes: COPRA FEA RF
there are several menu pages of functions in order to interpret the simulation results
COPRA FEA RF has been developed by data M since 1992 and is being used commercially by customers in US, Europe and Asia.
Please ask for a more detailed info package on COPRA FEA RF and benchmarks
We are not only offering software and software training but also consulting services, troubleshooting and design/ manufacture of roll tooling. We are looking forward to hearing from you.

Papers about the application of FEA in the roll forming design-process (pdf-files):

"Predicting The Properties of Welded Roll Formed Tubes for Subsequent Processes Using the Finite Element Method" Paper presented during ITA (International Tube Association) conference Prague, October 2005
"FEA replicates roll forming dynamics" Article published in Modern Metals August 2003
"Software module simulates tube welding" Article published in Modern Metals May 2004
"Development and Optimization of Cold Roll Formed Profiles", 2003
Article describing the practical use of COPRA DTM and COPRA FEA RF
"Integrated Quality Management in the Design and Production Process of Logitudinal Welded Tubes" - A. Sedlmaier, data M Software + Engineering; paper presented at ITA Tube Veracruz conference, October 2003
"Administración de Calidad Integrada en el Proceso de Diseno i Producción de Tubos con Soldadura Longitudinal" - A. Sedlmaier, data M Software + Engineering; TUBOS VERACRUZ - Conferencia International de ITA ...