Tryout is the step in the engineering and manufacturing process of a mould in which the mould is mounted in the press and an attempt is made to produce a part for the first time. Any change that has to be made after the mould has been created requires new production or machining of the moulded parts and therefore incurs high costs. Stampack Xpress transfers the tool- tryout from the toolshop to the design department, thereby avoiding lengthy and expensive adjustment work on the actual finished mould.
The latest version, Stampack Xpress 2024.1, is used by more than 500 users wroldwide. As in previous versions, it includes extensive improvements to both the calculation module and the user interface. From 2024.1, Stampack not only simulates the forming process but also the opening of the press after forming has been completed. Component deformation during start-up of the press is displayed and can then be prevented by the designer through a balanced distribution of forces. Another important point, especially for Catia users, is our new ‘Tipping’ function, i.e. the automatic coordinate transformation from the vehicle to the press coordinate system. There are also many detailed improvements such as improved visibility in the evaluation and the integration of the floating manager into the licence tool.
Unlike many competitors, Stampack offers the ability to simulate forming both in the shell and more accurately with its own volume solver. The calculation method is selected independently of the process definition. Stampack’s wide range of applications is also reflected in the software’s customer base. These include suppliers of tools for large car body parts as well as leading toolmakers specialising in high-speed presses for the connector industry, most of which are based in the Pforzheim area in the South of Germany like Kramski GmbH and Rosenberger Stanztechnik GmbH & Co. KG.
„Stampack provides us with an excellent service, especially when it comes to method planning during layout creation and feasibility studies. As a result, we have been able to reduce coordination times by saving change loops,“ says Stefan Maier, Head of the Technical Competence Centre (TCC) at Rosenberger Stanztechnik in Birkenfeld, Germany. In total, more than 170 companies worldwide from all areas of sheet metal forming work with Stampack.
Simulation in the early stages of tool development gives users the opportunity to try out different ways of solving a problem and thus enable more difficult forming processes without having to build a test tool. Andreas Donath, head of the design department at Kölle GmbH, confirms the experience of all users: „The simulations enable our experts to tackle tasks that previously seemed unsolvable. Stampack offers interfaces to all CAD systems used in toolmaking and is used by all users directly in tool design, not in special simulation departments. Even large automotive OEMs have now recognised the potential of the software and accept Stampack results from their suppliers.
Stampack GmbH, based in Bietigheim, Germany, develops and distributes Stampack Xpress – simulation software for forming tool design. Since its market launch in 2010, Stampack has become the leading simulation software for progressive dies. Thanks to enormous improvements in the computing speed of its own 3D volume solver, Stampack is suitable for complex forming processes in the connector sector as well as for large-area automotive parts. New developments such as iterative springback compensation and blank line determination make Stampack Xpress a complete package that has become indispensable in the development process for more than 150 customers. The practical software is aimed at both product developers and process planners. No previous knowledge or practical experience of FEM is required. www.stampack.com