91av

Though technologists have been working metals since
the Iron Age, surprisingly little is known scientifically about bending and
pressing them into shape. “It’s still something of a black art,” says Peter
Hodgson, an engineering professor from Deakin University who heads up a new
centre of excellence recently launched at Ford Australia’s Geelong Stamping
Plant. The A$2.5 million centre, known as STAMP (Stamping Technology for
Automotive Manufacturing Processes), is a collaborative venture between the
company, Deakin, the Australian National University, BHP, Castrol, Victoria’s
Strategic Industry Research Foundation and IMAG Australia which develops
engineering software. Postgraduate students will work together in virtual
research groups. Their workstations will not only have access to ongoing
manufacturing data at the plant, but will also be in direct contact with
computing facilities at the universities—including the ANU
supercomputer—and with the research resources of Ford in the US. The idea
is to bring together what is known worldwide about the stamping metal panels, to
determine and work on the theoretical weaknesses of metal bending, and to
develop and apply the best practices.