In deep drawing process, blank holder plays a key role in regulating the amount of metal flow into the die cavity and also the quality of drawn parts are extremely affected by this flow. There are two methods of treating the blank holder in deep drawing and its simulation. One is blank holder force (BHF); the other is blank holder gap (BHG), defined as the fixed distance between the blank holder and the die surface. In previous studies, a large number of experimental techniques have been used to study BHF; however, the amount of theoretical and numerical simulation work to study BHG is insufficient. In the present study, the concept of BHG profile, i.e. variation of BHG over punch stroke, is introduced and its effect upon section thickness of formed parts has been studied using experimental procedure and finite element modeling.

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