SIMULATION OF PRESSBRAKE BENDING USING CONSTRUCTIVE SOLID GEOMETRY.

A method for verifying a sheet metal bending process plan using simulation techniques is presented. The bending process is simulated by representing the pressbrake and the formed part with a constructive solid geometry (CSG) based solid modeler. A preprocessing algorithm has been developed to create the environment used for performing the simulation. An existing solid modeling system is used from then on, eliminating the need for re-developing the solid modeling software itself. The solid modeler is then used to check for interference of the formed part with the pressbrake punch and the formed part with itself. The simplified bending model ignores the intricacies of material deformation in the bend region; however, the resulting simulator is believed to be useful as an economical means for verifying process plans before actual hardware setup. An example of a process plan verification is provided.