Design and experimental analysis of micro deep drawing process

The paper aims to present the design of micro deep drawing for the forming of sheet metal steel with 0.050 mm thickness for manufacturing of cup shape product of 12.5 mm diameter. For deep drawing of such small cups the design of tool and conducting a successful process require to be considered from the blank sheet to the finished product. The paper studies the critical component of deep drawing tooling that requires to be redesigned. Two design options for holding the blank (blank holder section) during deep drawing were considered. Experimental results that led to a successful deep drawing for these designs will be presented. Furthermore, due to reduction in size of components in micro forming the dimensional measurement of produced products (cups in deep drawing) by conventional metrology equipment for inspection or quality control purposes are not simple. We have to make dimensional measurements of drawn cups for various reasons such as effects of lubricants in deep drawing. The methods of measurement of cup dimensions for study of using different lubricants were studied. The experiment results have indicated the viscosity of lubricants not only affects the drawing force but also by changing the friction condition between the die and blank it tends to reduce the wall thickness of the blank.