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A study on sheet metal hemming process

Yogesh Dewang ⇑, Vipin Sharma
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lakshmi Narain College of Technology, Bhopal 462021, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Hemming is a sheet metal forming process in which sheets are joined by bending it usually to 180°.
Received 28 July 2019 Automotive body panels and automotive parts such as deck-lids, trunk-lids, doors, hoods and tailgates
Accepted 17 September 2019 are formed by hemming process. This paper present a systematic review of sheet metal hemming process
Available online xxxx
based on materials used in hemming process, analytical models, experimental and computational
investigations made in the domain of sheet metal hemming process. Various grades of high strength
Keywords: sheets, aluminium alloys, recycle-friendly aluminium alloys, magnesium alloys, light weight alloys are
Hemming
used as workpiece materials in hemming process. Analytical models are also presented by few research-
Flanging
FEM
ers for development in hemming process. New experimental set-up and novel experimental strategies of
Roll-in/out hemming process are devised and also adopted by researchers in past. Classical hemming, roller hem-
Roller hemming ming, robot assisted roller hemming, laser assisted roller hemming and hemming with electromagnetic
Classical hemming forming processes are the experimental different approaches utilized for performing sheet metal
hemming operations. In FEM simulation of hemming process, three dimensional solid elements, shell
elements and their combination are mostly employed by researchers in meshing of sheet metal blanks
in hemming process. FEM simulation found to be an efficient tool for prediction of defects in hemming
process and for optimization of process parameters as well. Besides, FEM simulation new computational
approaches such as meta-model strategy are also applied for efficient design of hemming process.
Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International conference
on Materials and Manufacturing Methods.

1. Introduction ducted experiments of hemming process and found height of

flange had profound influence over force required for deformation
Hemming is a sheet metal forming process in which sheets are as compared to radius of flange. Livatyali et al. [2] found that larger
joined by bending it to 180°. Automotive body panels and automo- hemming force has reduced recoil, but it has increased warp.
tive parts such as deck-lids, trunk-lids, doors, hoods and tailgates Golovashchenko [3] introduced novel flanging technique which
are formed by hemming process. In this process, usually a sheet could be extended to hemming process which in turn has increased
is bent with the help of inner sheet in three different stages. Firstly 10% pre-strain during whole forming process. Lin et al. [4] intro-
the edge of sheet is bent to 90° degree known as flanging process, duced a new finite element approach of solid-to-shell mapping
followed by bending it further to 135° which is known as pre- and found to be more efficient to previous FEM models in hem-
hemming process and finally the sheet is bent to further to 180° ming of aluminum alloys. Carsley and Kim [5] found that hemming
to form a hem and the process is known as hemming process. of magnesium sheets can conducted at elevated temperature of
Bending of sheet is achieved by using a conventional punch in clas- 270 °C in such a manner, that it can be applied for making panels
sical (conventional) hemming process whereas a roller is employed of vehicles. Jimbert et al. [6] utilized electromagnetic forming tech-
in bending of sheet during roller hemming process for formation of nique for carrying out hemming of simpler circular parts which can
hems. be applied to automotive parts. Thuiller and Manach [7] performed
Many researchers in the past had contributed in the develop- bending test as representative of multi-step hemming process in
ment of sheet metal hemming process. Muderrisoglu et al. [1] con- order to predict rupture of aluminum alloy sheet by using FEM
simulation and experimental techniques. Maout et al. [8] also
gathered that roll-in of pre-strained sheets through roll-hemming
⇑ Corresponding author. process is lower as compared to classical hemming process. Wang
E-mail address: yogeshd@[Link] (Y. Dewang).

[Link]
2214-7853/Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International conference on Materials and Manufacturing Methods.

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matpr.2019.09.074
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et al. [9] outlined a theoretical model which considered the

method of minimum energy and half ellipse neutral layer for pre-
diction of defects occurred during straight hemming process.
Shang et al. [10] conducted experiments using the concept of elec-
tromagnetic forming technique in hemming of Al-6061T-6 sheets
and found improvement in quality of hems as compared to con-
ventional hemming process. Hu et al. [11] that roll-in/out in hem-
ming process found to be abnormal at edges in comparison to
other positions of hemmed panels. Swillo [12] developed a new
portable vision-based measurement system for better and accurate
experimental analysis of strain in hemmed parts. Hamedon et al. Fig. 2. Various forms of hemming process [10].

[13,15] obtained higher strength of joints through hemming of hol-

low sections as compared to spot welding joints of hollow sections.
hemming process in which a robot guided roller is used for bend-
Gu and Shulkin [14] introduced a novel strategy of localized heat-
ing of sheet. Fig. 3(a) shows a position of cylindrical roller accord-
ing source through laser beam in roller hemming process before
ing to surface of die, which is supported on a ball bearing and
hemming operation, which could eventually result in better sur-
allows it to rotate freely about its own revolution axis to form
face quality of hemming products as compared to cold roller hem-
hems. Fig. 3(b) shows the positioning of roller according to edge
ming. Abe et al. [16] found larger compressive forces and bending
radius in which revolution axis of roller is normal to radius of hem-
forces through hemming of ultra high strength steel hollow parts
ming edge [7].
as compared to joints through welding of hollow parts. Kaiser
et al. [17] introduced a meta-model approach which consists of
set of accumulated data having different orientation which could 2.2. Parameters in hemming process
help in optimized process of hemming. Lu et al. [18] found that
lower quenching and lower hot-reduction rates helped in improve- There are variety of parameters which influence the hemming
ment in hemming ability of high iron content recycle friendly alu- process. Parameters of hemming process can be classified as input
minium alloy sheets. parameters and output parameters. Input parameters in sheet
Flanging process which is an integral part of hemming process metal hemming process are die corner radius of flange, radii of
is also thoroughly investigated separately by researchers in past. flange die, flange height, path of pre-hem flange radius, stroke of
In this regard, Dewang et al. investigated and extensively reviewed pre-hem, pre-hemming angle, nominal surface curvature, strain
different forms of flanging process such as stretch flanging and in sheet (initial), flanging die radius, force involved in final hem-
hole flanging both through press working and incremental ming and temperature of work. Besides this, on the other hand,
approach [19–21]. The objective of present work theoretically output parameters in sheet metal hemming process are surface
study sheet metal hemming on the basis of different criteria such strain produced hem (maximum), roll-in and roll-out, springback
as analytical models developed, materials used, experimental and of sheet and surface quality.
computational strategies employed.
2.3. Materials utilized in hemming process

2. Overview of hemming process

Sheet metal hemming process finds its major applications in the
manufacturing of parts pertaining to the automotive parts. Auto-
2.1. Types of hemming process
motives parts such as deck-lids, trunk-lids, doors, hoods and tail-
gates formed by hemming process requires sheet material to
Sheet metal hemming process can be generally classified into
have high strength to weight ratio with excellent bending abilities
two major categories such as Classical (conventional) hemming
without crack and fracture. It is clear from Table 1 that researchers
and roller hemming process. Fig. 1 depicts three different steps
have utilized different grades of aluminum alloy and steel alloys in
of conventional sheet hemming in which an inner sheet is placed
majority of hemming process as a workpiece material. Few grades
over outer sheet and with help of punch outer sheet is bent to form
of aluminum-magnesium alloys are used as workpiece material for
hem with the help of rigid tools such as die and blank-holder. First
sheet metal hemming process.
step started with forcing the sheet with punch for bending it to 90°,
then in second stage of pre-hemming sheet is further bent to 135°
and then in final stage it is bent up to 180° to form a hem. Classical 3. Analytical modelling in hemming process
(conventional) hemming can also be classified on the basis of ‘‘2t”
and ‘‘3t” which refers to single sheet and two sheets (inner and Analytical solutions through development of analytical models
outer) sheets respectively. Fig. 2 show the flat hems and rope- of sheet metal forming processes such as sheet metal hemming
type hems with 2 t and 3 t configurations. Apart from classical process provides quite accurate solutions. In the domain of analyt-
(conventional) hemming process, roll hemming is another type of ical modelling of sheet metal hemming process, a very few
attempts were made by previous researchers. In this regard, ana-
lytical model is developed by Wang et al. [9] for straight hemming
process with a concept based on minimum energy method which
could effectively predict flanging die radius on important output
variables such as profile of hems, creepage and effective plastic
strain (maximum). Results of output variables provided by pre-
sented analytical model of hemming process are compared with
that results obtained through experimental and FEM simulation
for three different materials and are found to be in good agree-
ment. Through this result it is realized that this analytical model
Fig. 1. Three steps of conventional hemming process [10]. can be used extensively for verification of material to be used as

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Fig. 3. (a) Drawing of the positioning of the roller according to the surface of die (b) positioning of the roller according to edge radius [7].

Table 1
Materials used in hemming process.

S. Researcher Year Sheet materials used

No.
1 Muderrisoglu et al. 1996 Aluminum alloy 1050
[1]
2 Livatyali et al. [2] 2000 AKDQ steel
3 Golovashchenko S.F. 2005 Aluminum alloy AA 6111-T4
[3]
4 Lin et al. [4] 2007 Aluminum alloy AA 6111-T4
5 Carsley and Kim [5] 2007 AZ31B-H24 alloy, AZ31B-O
6 Jimbert et al. [6] 2008 AA6016T4 aluminum alloy
7 Maout et al. [7] 2010 6000 series aluminum alloy
8 Maout et al. [8] 2010 E220BH steel
9 Wang et al. [9] 2011 Galvanized steel, AKDQ steel, AA
6111-T4
10 Shang et al. [10] 2011 Al 6061-T6 sheets
11 Hu et al. [11] 2011 BSUFD steel
12 Hamedon et al. [13] 2014 High strength steel
13 Gu and Shulkin [14] 2014 Magnesium alloy AZ31B
14 Hamedon et al. [15] 2016 High strength steel Fig. 4. Hemming device with pre-hemming tools [7].
15 Abe et al. [16] 2017 Ultra-High strength steel
16 Kaiser et al. [17] 2017 Aluminum alloy AA6014-T4
17 Lu et al. [18] 2018 AA6022-type aluminum alloys

workpiece for formation of outer panels in sheet metal hemming

process.

4. Experimental analysis of hemming process

4.1. Experimental set-up used in sheet metal hemming

A press driven through servo motors is employed for perform-

ing experimental work of hemming by Muderrisoglu et al. [1].
Golovashchenko S.F. [3] utilized experimental set-up and tooling
sets in flanging and formation of aluminium hems (body panels).
Carsley and Kim performed experiments of flanging and thereafter
performed hemming in a heated press using magnesium alloy
sheet metal. Jimbert et al. [6] conducted experiments of hemming
Fig. 5. Experimental hemming device [8].
process using circular flanging set-up and electromagnetic flanging
coils. Fig. 4 shows experimental set-up for hemming of pre-
strained samples with different parts and tools as employed by et al. [4] emphasized on roll-in and roll-out which are the defects
Maout et al. [7]. Fig. 5 shows another experimental device in the hems after forming such that outer bent shifts after and
employed in drawing, flanging and hemming of thin metallic before the vertical outer edge of flange part. Fig. 7 shows the
sheets by Maout et al. [8]. roll-in, roll-out and springback as outlined by Lin et al. [4]. Maout
et al. [7] found reduction in roll-in via hemming using a roller as
4.2. Geometrical deficiencies of hemming process compared to classical hemming (Fig. 8).

Roll-in and roll-out or Creep/grow, warp and recoil are common

defects which encountered during experimental formation of 5. Computational analysis of hemming process
hems. Fig. 6 shows the all three different defects namely roll-in/
roll-out was measured by vernier calliper while recoil and warp Livatyali et al. [2] conducted FEM simulation of hemming pro-
were measured by surface profilometer (Livatyali et al.) [2]. Lin cess using DEFORM software package. Lin et al. [4] conducted 3D

Please cite this article as: Y. Dewang and V. Sharma, A study on sheet metal hemming process, Materials Today: Proceedings, [Link]
matpr.2019.09.074
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hemming through electromagnetic forming for FEM simulation

purpose. They utilized eight-node hexagonal solid elements for
meshing of copper coil and Aluminum alloy 6061-T6 sheet and
G10 holder is discretized with shell elements. Hu et al. [11] con-
ducted FEM simulation of roller hemming process by using ABA-
QUS FEM software package and utilized S4R shell elements for
meshing of sheet metal blanks. Kaiser et al. [16] presented an
element-based meta-model approach which includes three differ-
ent levels of division namely geometrical configurations, hemming
of sheet and data for reference purpose with an aim to increase
efficiency of design of hemming process.

6. Conclusions
Fig. 6. Defects of hemming process (a) Roll-in and Roll out (b) Recoil (c) Warp [2].
In this paper a systematic review of sheet metal hemming pro-
cess is presented. High strength steels, aluminium alloys, recycle-
friendly aluminium alloys, magnesium alloys, light weight alloys
are used as workpiece materials in hemming process. Few investiga-
tions are done for analytical modelling of hemming process. New
approaches such as Classical hemming, roller hemming, robot-
assisted roller hemming, laser-assisted roller hemming and hem-
ming with electromagnetic forming processes are adopted in hem-
ming process. In FEM simulation of hemming process, three
dimensional solid elements, shell elements and their combination
are mostly employed by researchers in meshing of sheet metal
blanks in hemming process. Meta-model strategy found to be
another computational approach for efficient design of hemming
process.

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