International student exchange program “G-CADET”

The current research project focuses on the experimental investigation and optical characterization of the cut edge during shear cutting. The investigated material is SPCC, a cold-rolled unalloyed steel conforming to Japanese JIS standards.

For this purpose, a Python program was developed that highlights the cut edge using appropriate filtering methods and then describes it through an approximation. This reduced the evaluation time from approximately three minutes to less than one second. As part of a sensitivity study, the influence of cutting speed and exposure time on the optical detection of the cut edge was also investigated.

The goal of the project is to improve the dimensional accuracy and the quality of the cut edge while simultaneously increasing efficiency through reduced cutting forces and lower tool wear. In the future, the developed program is to be integrated into an AI-supported selection of cutting parameters to enable semi-automatic adjustment of the cutting gap and cutting speed. In addition, sheet metal parts were developed and manufactured in collaboration with Japanese students using deep drawing and punching.

Natalia Mrozek would like to express her sincere gratitude to Prof. Yoshida, director of the „Center for Advanced Die Engineering and Technology“ (G-CADET) at the Department of Mechanical Engineering Gifu University Tokai, for his supervision and support during her research stay. Ms. Mrozek would also like to thank to the MAN Studienstiftung for its financial support.

At the same time, the Japanese exchange student Mr. Daiki Maruyama conducted experimental material characterization and numerically analysis of a shear process model at the Institute of Forming Technology and Lightweight Components (IUL). 

Shear cutting has been a major research focus at IUL for many years, resulting in substantial expertise in the experimental, microstructural, and simulation-based analysis of shear cutting processes. Key projects include e.g. the materials science-based development of simulation strategies for the application of adiabatic shear cutting in sheet metal part manufacturing and the investigation of functional surfaces formed by high-speed adiabatic processes (microstructure, mechanisms, and model development). 

Several of these projects were conducted in close collaboration with industrial partners.  The resulting research has led to nine publications on this topic, including four articles in peer-reviewed archival journals.