Modeling, instrumentation and testing of a die insert built with the laminated metal tooling process

Laminated Metal Tooling, which is investigated in this thesis, is a Rapid Tooling (RT) technology. RT aims to build tools for short run production and prototyping which are cheaper and faster to make than the tools produced by conventional machining technologies. LMT is conceptually related to a Rapid Prototyping process called Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM) where sheets of paper are stacked, glued together and then cut into the desired geometry. In LMT, on the other hand, the paper is replaced by metallic sheets that are bonded by an adhesive, and then the required geometric profile is cut using a laser.; Layer-by-layer additive fabrication of the tool, for example, facilitates embedding internal sensors at critical areas to help monitor displacements and strains. Also, the replacement of worn layers or using materials with superior properties locally at areas with high contact stresses is made possible.; The objectives of this research were to build an insert using LMT, embed sensors for displacement detection within the insert structure, and finally test the insert under uniform pressure applied to the cavity. The research also aims at building an FEM model for the insert that can simulate the response of the adhesive material to the applied load.; In the first stage of this research, adhesively bonded lap joints were tested under tensile shear loading. Lap joint specimens were instrumented and connected to data acquisition system. This test resulted in a calibration curve that related the capacitance change to the applied displacement. Also, stress-strain results from testing the lap joints were used to build the Mooney-Rivlin (MR) material model that was found to best describe the behavior of the adhesive material.; In the second stage, multi-layered prismatic specimens with embedded sensors were constructed. By conducting through-the-thickness testing, better insight was gained into how the adhesive layers and metallic laminates interact. The capacitive sensors were also successfully tested as part of a multi-layered structure; their locations were varied across the horizontal symmetry plane of the specimens and the variation of capacitance values with bending load was recorded for each location.; The last stage in this thesis focused on building and testing a multi-layer structure with a cavity which simulated an injection mould insert. This insert had embedded sensors that were added as the insert was built through the LMT process. Pressure applied to the cavity by compression of plasticine allowed observation of the effects of applying the load on the embedded sensors. Calibration curves were obtained to relate the applied load to the signal measured from the sensors.