Mandrel Fillet Shape Adjustment for Wrinkle-Free Drape Forming
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Solution Overview
Problem
In drape forming manufacturing processes, materials often wrinkle or become stressed when conforming to mandrels with features like large double curvatures or sharp corners, leading to reduced product strength and potential tears.
Innovation Solution
A computing system adjusts the radius of fillets in a parametric model of the object to minimize the average divergence of a unit vector field, optimizing the shape of the mandrel to reduce material tension and compression, thereby eliminating wrinkles during the drape-forming process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If the mandrel includes regions of large double curvature or sharp corners, then the object shape complexity is increased, but the material becomes stressed and wrinkles during drape forming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by modifying the mandrel geometry specifically at critical regions where wrinkles and stress concentration occur. The system identifies problem areas and locally adjusts the surface geometry to optimize material flow and reduce stress, rather than changing the entire mandrel design. This allows the mandrel to maintain its overall complex shape while eliminating localized defects.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs preliminary action by using computational methods to predict and prevent wrinkle formation before actual manufacturing. The system simulates the drape forming process, identifies potential problem areas, and pre-adjusts the mandrel geometry to prevent wrinkles and stress concentration before the material is actually draped over the mandrel.
2Reliability
If the mandrel shape is optimized to reduce material stress, then wrinkle formation is reduced, but the device complexity increases due to computational optimization requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical trial-and-error methods with computational analysis. Instead of physically testing different mandrel designs through repeated manufacturing cycles, the system uses computational models to predict material behavior and optimize mandrel geometry virtually, significantly reducing the need for physical prototypes and iterative testing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses computational models and simulations as virtual copies of the physical drape forming process. These digital twins allow engineers to analyze material flow, predict wrinkle formation, and optimize mandrel designs without requiring physical materials or equipment, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining high reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A method implemented by a computing system that facilitates formation of an object from a material comprises receiving an object model that specifies a top surface and a side surface connected to an edge of the top surface via a fillet that extends along the edge. At a particular region along the edge, adjacent planar regions of the side surface define an obtuse angle therebetween. The fillet is adjusted along the edge to have a first radius at a particular distance from the particular region and to have a second radius, smaller than the first radius, proximate the particular region. Output data associated with an adjusted model is communicated to equipment configured to form a mandrel that facilitates formation of the object. Adjusting the fillet to have a smaller radius proximate the particular region facilitates elimination of wrinkles in the material when draped over the mandrel to form the object.