1. FE-Models of the Sheet Metal Forming Processes

In the current section an overview of different Finite Element (FE) formulations used for sheet metal forming simulation, now and in the past, will be given. The theories of FE-simulation of large deformation problems will be briefly touched upon herein, but for thorough presentations the reader is referred to the many existing text books on the subject, e.g. Belytschko et al. [1], Zienkiewicz and Taylor [2] and Crisfield [3]. The object is rather to give a general understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods in use. Review articles on sheet forming simulation and comparative studies of different FE-procedures are found in e.g. Honecker and Mattiasson [4], Oñate and Agelet de Saracibar [5], Oñate et al. [6], Mattiasson [7], Kawka et al. [8], Wenner [9], Wang et al. [10], Mattiasson [11], Makinouchi [12] and Wenner [13]. State-of-the-art articles on the utilization of sheet forming simulation today, and outlooks against the future are given in Banabic and Tekkaya [14] and Roll and Weigand [15].