FASTBLANK for ProE Wildfire Instructions

Step 1 Create Skin Geometry

To perform a sheet metal formability analysis on a part FASTBLANK ProE requires a skin (surface quilt)
representing the mid-plane, inner, or outer surfaces.
To create the skin geometry for use in the analysis, choose FTISkin
FastBlank menu.

from the

Once the skinning function is open choose the yellow Select field to begin picking the surfaces from the
solid model or mid-plane model. Use the Propagate tangents checkbox to assist in selection. If the
propagation doesnt select all the appropriate surfaces, use the Ctrl key and select the surfaces that
need to be added.

Once the all surfaces for the skin are selected, click OK in the Select dialog
select the checkmark
named SKIN_1.

, then

to create the skin geometry. A new leaf in the tree will be created

Step 2 Setting Up the Analysis

To create the blank geometry, choose FTIBlank

from the FastBlank menu.

Once the blanking function is open choose the Select field and pick the skin geometry created in step 1
from the tree.
NOTE: If you open the FTIBlank function directly after creating the skin, the skin geometry created will
automatically be selected for you.

Click the Materials button to reveal the options for material type, thickness, and thickness direction.

Select the material type from the menu, enter the thickness (if not entered automatically), and define
the thickness direction. The thickness direction arrow should point in the direction of material thickness
and offset to the neutral fiber. A thickness definition of middle will result in no offset and there will be
no arrow for direction. The Next Face button allows you to move the location of the direction arrow to
different faces of the part model for better visualization of the direction.
Click the Mesh button to reveal the mesh generation parameters. Enter the Chord Deviation and Max.
Element Size and use the Fill All Holes checkbox to define if the holes should be filled during meshing.

Chord Deviation:
Chord deviation is a ratio between the local absolute sag and the local mesh edge length.
Chord Deviation = (local absolute sag value) / (local mesh edge length value)
Maximum Element Size:
Maximum element size defines the value for the maximum length of the local mesh edge.

Click the Forming Process button to reveal the parameters. Select the coordinate system that defines
the punch direction and use the radio buttons to define the forming process as either Form or Draw.
You may need to create a coordinate system to define the punch direction. When creating this
coordinate system the z-axis should define the punch direction (the z-axis should be normal to the flat
state surface of the sheet metal component). The default forming process is set to Form.

This option allows you to input the type of process that you are using to manufacture the part. This will
influence the way the part deforms during forming and can affect the blank shape. You can choose
between a Draw Die and a Form Die.

Draw Die
If you are forming a part using a draw die (as illustrated below left) you should use the Draw Die forming
process.
As material passes over the radius on the die, additional strain is added to the part due to the friction
between the part and the die and the bending and unbending process. These additional strains are not
present when a part is manufactured using a form die.
The friction and bending effects are automatically considered by FormingSuite when the Draw Die
setting is turned on. The Draw Die process formulation determines the areas of curvature on the part
and adds the required forces and strains to any material that would flow over them during forming.
Form Die
If you are forming a part using a Form Die (illustrated below right) you should use the Form Die forming
process. This process is typically used in progressive dies and simple flanging operations.
In this type of operation, the blank material is not pulled through a radius; it is simply bent around it. As
a result, there are no additional strains produced by friction.

Click the Constraints button to reveal the options. You can apply constraints in the X, Y, or XY directions
to any faces or edges of the model. If you want to constrain a face or edge from moving in the X
direction, choose either the Edge or Surface field in the Displacement Constraint X field, then select the
faces or edges to constrain followed by the OK button in the Select dialog.

Step 3 Solving and Creating the Blank

To solve the analysis and create the blank geometry, choose the green checkmark
completing step 2.

after

After the checkmark is selected, the analysis will be run and the blank will be created in the tree and
displayed at the Z=0 location of the coordinate system selected.

Step 4 Blank Smoothing

The smoothing option allows you to simplify the boundary of the blank as either; none, b-spline, or line
and arcs. Without smoothing, the edges of the blank are represented by the mesh element line
segments.
To perform smoothing of the blank select FTIBlank Smooth from the
FastBlank menu (BLANK_1 must be active in the tree) or right-click on
BLANK_1 in the specification tree and select FTIBlank Smooth from the
menu to open the Smoothing settings dialog.
Smoothing Entities:
You can choose the smoothing method as either b-spline or line & arc. This
will reduce the number of line segments on the edge of the blank by
converting them into a b-spline or lines and arcs.
Tangency:
The Tangent Continue checkbox specifies whether or not you want the smoothing to maintain tangency
between entities. Uncheck the Tangent Continue checkbox if tangency does not need to be preserved
between the blank outline segments.
Tolerance:
Enter a positive tolerance that the calculated lines and arcs are allowed to deviate outside the original
blank outline. A negative tolerance determines how far the edge is allowed to deviate into the original
blank outline.
Arc Radius:
Enter a minimum arc radius size before a corner is created instead of an arc. The maximum arc radius
determines at what point a line will be created instead of an arc.
NOTE: If zero is specified for min or max arc radius, no limit will be applied. Using zero for max radius
will help ensure tangent continuity.
Tolerance and arc radius are only applied to line and arc smoothing; the b-spline option uses the
element nodes on the boundary to define the b-spline.

Step 5 Viewing Results

To view the thickness strain (percent change in material thickness due to forming), select FTIBlank
Results from the FastBlank menu (BLANK_1 must be active in the tree) or right-click on BLANK_1 in the
specification tree and select FTIBlank Results from the menu to open the thickness strain result plot.
To adjust the view of the result use the left mouse button to pan, the middle mouse button to rotate,
and the wheel of the middle mouse button to zoom.
By right clicking in the result window, you will also have options to Show Mesh and Filling Screen.

Thickness Strain:
The thickness strain plot displays the percentage change in material thickness after the forming process.
The percentage change in material thickness can be used to check for excessive thinning (negative
values) or thickening (positive values).

Step 6 Report Generation

To generate a report, which contains the material information, an active window screen capture, area,
perimeter, weight, and minimum rectangle zone select FTIBlank Report from the FastBlank menu
(BLANK_1 must be active in the tree) or right-click on BLANK_1 in the specification tree and select
FTIBlank Report from the menu. You will be prompted to save the file, which when completed will then
automatically open in the browser window, this report will be created in htm format. You can also
create an Excel based report by choosing from the file type menu.

Step 7 Editing Analysis Parameters

Once the solution is completed, you have the ability to edit any of the parameters and re-run the
analysis. To edit any of the parameter, right-click on BLANK_1 in the specification tree and select
FTIBlank Edit from the menu. This will open the FASTBLANK function, which allows you to change any of
the parameters described in step 2, then select the green checkmark to re-run the analysis or select the
red x to cancel.

Step 8 Updating the Result

After making any geometrical changes to the model, you will need to update your blank analysis. To run
the update, right-click on BLANK_1 in the specification tree and select FTIBlank Update from the menu.
This will force FASTBLANK for ProE to re-run the analysis using the defined parameters and accounting
for the geometric changes made.
NOTE: This function will be grayed out unless a geometric change has been made that would require an
update.

Appendix A Installation
To install the software, download the installer from www.forming.com. The installer will automatically
perform the majority of the installation on your system. A few extra steps are required after running the
install program:
1) Licensing: If you dont already have a license file, the installer will generate an email to
support@forming.com requesting a license. This email includes the required hardware id (called
a formingid). When you receive the license from FTI, perform the following steps:
a. Save the file into the Licensing folder in your FASTBLANK for Pro/E installation folder
(typically C:\FTI\FASTBLANKPE\Licensing).
b. Then run the LICENSE_MANAGER.exe program to configure the software to find the
license file.
c. Choose Licensing Setup, then select Nodelocked License File and press Next. Specify the
license path (C:\FTI\FASTBLANKPE\Licensing\license.lic) and click Finish. You can also
use the LICENSE_MANAGER program to point the software to a server if you will be
using a network license.
2) Configuring Pro/E to include FASTBLANK for Pro/E: In the installation folder (typically
C:\FTI\FASTBLANKPE), there is a file called protk.dat. Copy this file into the \text folder in your
Pro/E installation (for example C:\Program Files\proeWildfire 4.0\text). This file will tell Pro/E
how to find and include the FASTBLANK for Pro/E add-in. If a protk.dat file already exists in the
text folder, you can use a text editor to copy the contents of the new file into the existing file.