Study on the clamping capacity of profile jaws based on finite element analysis

The demand of profiles has increased considerably in recent years, especially in automobile and aerospace industry. Stretch bending is an important process for forming profiles. The jaw for the stretch bending of profiles is usually machined into knurling to improve the clamping capacity. The present work develops the force analysis for profile jaw. FE model of the clamping and stretching steps were created in ABAQUS software to evaluate the clamping capacity of the jaw. Indentation depth and minimum clamping length were obtained under different condition of pressure and knurling tooth module. Furthermore, experiment was carried out to validate the predicted status. The results show that the indentation depth on the surface of profile increases significantly as the pressure or the knurling tooth module increases. The clamping capacity of the profile jaw depends on the indentation depth and the clamping length. Sliding appears when the clamping length is shorter than the predicted one. The predicted results agree well with the experimental ones. The force analysis and FE model developed in the present work are applicable to predict the clamping capacity of profile jaws. The conclusion could be utilized in the design of profile jaws.