A three-dimensional CAD/CAM/CAE integration system of sculpture surface die for hollow cold extrusion

In this paper, a CAD/CAM/CAE integration system for a sculptured surface die for hollow cold extrusion has been developed by using C language for Windows. A sculptured surface model with variable control points is incorporated with a general three-dimensional velocity field to analyze the extrusion process. The profiles of the product and the billet are generated in the CAD module. The fitting points are generated to interpolate the profiles of the product and the billet. The initial guess of control points are created by using the offset of corresponding fitting points in the axial direction. The control points are varied automatically to obtain the optimum die surface by using the upper-bound method and optimization procedure. The CAM module generates the cutter locations by using the optimized die surface model. The gouging areas of the tool path are detected and removed. The calculated cutter locations are verified through the tool path simulation. The NC codes are generated automatically by using the gouging-free cutter locations and then sent directly to a three-axis CNC machine centre to manufacture the EDM electrodes. The extrusion die cavity is made by using an EDM process. Extrusion experiments have verified the proposed CAD/CAM/CAE integration system is successful.