Development of the sheared edge in the trimming of steel and light metal sheet, part 1 - experimental observations

Trimming experiments were conducted on sheet metals including two drawing steels, an aluminum alloy and a magnesium alloy, using a specially designed die in a mechanical press. The punch-die clearance was varied and data obtained on the rollover and burr height as a function of the clearance. Samples were also partially trimmed to examine crack initiation, the generation of the fracture surface profile and mechanism of burr formation. The results showed that while the burr height and rollover depth generally increased with increasing clearance for all examined materials, there were differences in the fracture surface profile shape, the burr shape, and the mechanism of burr formation, between the two steels and the two light alloys. The major cause of these differences appeared to be the rate of crack propagation through the sheet material.