AutoForm News

 
November 21, 2005:
MAN Commercial Vehicles Implements AutoForm Software

AutoForm Engineering, the leading supplier of software solutions for sheet metal forming, is pleased to announce that MAN Commercial Vehicles Group, the leading German manufacturer of heavy commercial vehicles, has decided to use AutoForm software for sheet metal forming optimization in its Gustavsburgs plant.

Mr. Bernd Güntzel, Head of Production at MAN Commercial Vehicles in Gustavsburg explains: "We use the forming simulation software for the entire product range that we produce: stamped parts with sheet gauge thickness from 0.8 mm to 12.0 mm. AutoForm software is used especially during the planning phase when the process layout is defined and to support the design of die faces. The software solution convinced us because it fulfils all our requirements for process layout and design of die faces."

Cross member of semitrailer tractor frame (TGA)

AutoForm was implemented at MAN Commercial Vehicles after the software was benchmarked against two competitive products. The AutoForm software solution was particularly impressive for a challenging, 5 mm thick chassis part made from high-strength steel, which has been in production for a long time at the Gustavsburgs plant. An important new feature in AutoForm software, the new shell element formulation, was a decisive factor. In addition, the software’s ease-of-use was convincing. AutoForm Engineering was able to provide the most complete software package for MAN Commercial Vehicles applications, and also the best-suited support to MAN for implementing appropriate simulation technology in their field. The application of simulation technology by automobile manufacturers is currently the state of the art. The same technology is expected to be applied by the commercial vehicle industry. MAN Commercial Vehicles purchased the following AutoForm software modules: OneStep, DieDesigner, Incremental, Trim, Nest, ReportManager and ProjectManager.

Simulation of springback

"An important criterion for our decision was to purchase a single simulation system which can be used both for frames and stamped body parts, i.e., both for thin and thick sheets. This requires a high level of precision in the simulation. AutoForm software ensures the manufacturability of formed parts already during process layout, and reduces tooling tryout costs." summarizes Mr. Bernd Güntzel.

Press Release [pdf - 94 KB], Image 1, Image 2

Contact:
Dr. Markus Thomma
Director of Marketing
AutoForm Engineering GmbH
Technoparkstrasse 1
CH-8005 Zurich
Switzerland