AutoForm^plus R5 – Streamlining Sheet Metal Forming

AutoForm^plus R5 brings powerful improvements which facilitate users in accomplishing their objectives along the sheet metal forming process chain. This release offers more planning options and contains new valuable features to support planning tasks for progressive die stamping. These features enable the user to easily define and visualize a strip concept as well as to estimate the material cost.

In addition, the process plan can now be edited directly on the geometry in the 3D view, which makes modifications to the process definition much easier. Information and data created in the process plan are directly accessible in the AutoForm data file and sharable with other engineering groups. By propagating the full process plan downstream, high consistency in the engineering process can be ensured and advanced feasibility analyses can be accelerated.

AutoForm^plus R5 excels with powerful new tooling features. Die face creation to support the definition of drawing and secondary operations is enhanced. A new type of geometry modification allows for the generation of well-defined preform geometries. Enhanced flange development options make it easier to consider subsequent trim and flanging operations during draw die modeling. AutoForm^plus R5 allows users to bring their design concepts to reality more easily and also provides solver improvements which are beneficial for result accuracy and speed.

Dr. Markus Thomma, Corporate Marketing Director of AutoForm Engineering, stated: “Our latest software version AutoForm^plus R5 is designed to further streamline sheet metal forming. This is easy-to-use, customer-tailored software with a wide range of new features and improvements for digital planning and validation of sheet metal parts. AutoForm^plus will be available on the market in fall 2013.”