3.3. Define the Blank Material

After you have properly defined the blank outline (either an imported curve or a curve created with design tools) and meshed the blank, it appears in the graphics window as shown below. Note that the first cell under Definition is green while the No Mat. label is still red in the second cell, which indicates the blank is defined and you can proceed to the next step, defining the blank material. Also note that the default value of the friction factor, Lub. Coeff. = 0.12, is suitable in most cases for all tool and sheet contacts.

Figure 3.11: After defining the blank outline, define its material

After defining the blank outline, define its material

Click the No Mat. cell to open the Material Library task panel, where you can choose a material from the library, import or export a material, or use the Material Editor to define a new material.

To define the blank material follow the steps and the figures below.

Select a Material

  • To choose a material from the library, select a material and click Open or double-click a material in the library. This opens the Material Viewer shown below.

    If the selected material is subject to a usage license, check the box next to Agree to continue to acknowledge the license and activate the Copy+Assign button.

  • If a material was copied previously to the Project Materials list, you can select the material desired from the Project Materials list.

    Figure 3.12: Assign the selected material to the blank

    Assign the selected material to the blank


  • To import a material, click Import Material Material Library task panel. Browse and select your material model, then click Open.

  • To define a new material, click New Material to open the Material Editor dialog box.

Note:  You can store custom or modified material definitions in a User Material Library for use in multiple projects. For more information, see Creating a User Materials Library.

(Optional) Define the Material's FLD

If you wish to evaluate material formability during postprocessing using a forming limit diagram (FLD), you must define the material's FLD here before you start the simulation.

Important:  If you do not define the FLD of the material before the simulation is run, you will have to return to the Blank tab and edit the blank material to include FLD, then re-run the simulation, before you can use FLD to evaluate material formability.

Assign the Material

In the Material Viewer, click Copy+Assign to copy the material definition to the project, assign it to the blank, and return to the Design-n task panel. To copy a material to the project without assigning it at this time, choose Copy to Project from the drop-down menu that is attached to the Copy+Assign button.

Figure 3.13: Material library and viewer

Material library and viewer

Note:  Any materials you have copied to the project are listed under Project Materials in the Material Library task panel. If needed, you can open the Material Editor by double-clicking any project material.

Once you have input all the information required to define the blank, the status bar under the Blank tab appears green as seen in the figure below.

Figure 3.14: Fully-defined blank shows a green status bar

Fully-defined blank shows a green status bar

Considerations for Hot Forming

In a Hot Forming project, only materials with defined thermal properties are available. Currently, find these materials in the AnsysForming Library under Test Materials > Thermal.

Figure 3.15: Material Viewer showing a material with thermal properties

Material Viewer showing a material with thermal properties

  • In thermal materials:

    • Yield Function Criterion is "None"

    • FLD Method is "None"

    • Hardening curves are temperature-linked and rate-related.

    • Thermal Properties are listed in the lower left section. Some thermal properties can be edited either by value or by using the curve editor. Use the buttons next to these fields to switch between the two modes.

Unsupported Material Models

Ansys Forming currently supports the following material models (as defined in the LS-DYNA Keyword Manual, Vol. II):

Cold Stamping

  • MAT_36, *MAT_3-PARAMETER_BARLAT_NLP

  • MAT_37, *MAT_TRANSVERSELY_ANISOTROPIC_ELASTIC_PLASTIC_NLP2

  • MAT_39, *MAT_FLD_TRANSVERSELY_ANISOTROPIC

  • MAT_122, *MAT_HILL_3R

  • MAT_125, *MAT_KINEMATIC_HARDENING_TRANSVERSELY_ANISOTROPIC_NLP

  • MAT_133, *MAT_BARLAT_YLD2000

  • MAT_136, *MAT_VEGTER_STANDARD

  • MAT_226, *MAT_KINEMATIC_HARDENING_BARLAT89_NLP

  • MAT_242, *MAT_KINEMATIC_HARDENING_BARLAT2000

  • MAT_320, *MAT_GENERAL_YIELD

Hot Forming

  • MAT_106, *MAT_ELASTIC_VISCOPLASTIC_THERMAL

If you import an unsupported material model, the application cannot display the material properties as shown in Figure 3.13 and Figure 3.15.Instead, the Material Viewer displays the material card with LS-DYNA keywords.

Review the material card and edit as needed to ensure accuracy and verify that identifiers are unique. The application automatically replaces the Material ID (mid) to prevent conflicts.

To display hardening and FLD curve in the Material Viewer, define them using the following sample structure. Use the keyword title SSC (stress-strain curve) for the hardening curve (SSC is used to calculate the n-value when you select the Keeler method for FLD), and use FLD or FLC for the FLD curve.

Note:  Because FLD is dependent on SCC, you cannot edit FLD information when initially importing the material. After you save the material, you can then open it again to edit the FLD information.

Example 3.1: Hardening Curve Keyword Title

*DEFINE_CURVE_TITLE 
$  HEADING 
SSC


Example 3.2: FLD Curve Keyword Title

*DEFINE_CURVE_TITLE 
$  HEADING 
FLD


Figure 3.16: Material Viewer for an Unsupported Material Model

Material Viewer for an Unsupported Material Model

Note:  Limitations for unsupported material models include:

  • You cannot change the data format of the keyword field.

  • You must maintain the order of keywords in the material card.

  • The assignable ID range for non-material keywords should be 1-4999.