Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology 8(9): 1139-1148, 2014

ISSN: 2040-7459; e-ISSN: 2040-7467

Maxwell Scientific Organization, 2014
Submitted:
June 08, 2014
Accepted: July 19, 2014
Published: September 05, 2014

Geometrical Defect in Precision Blanking/Punching: A Comprehensive Review on

Burr Formation
H.Y. Chan and A.B. Abdullah
School of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Engineering Campus, 14300 Nibong
Tebal, Penang, Malaysia
Abstract: Burr is the main problem in precision blanking. Uncontrolled burr not only affects the geometrical
precision of the blanked parts, it also ruins their assembly. In this study, a comprehensive review on burr formation
and the parameters that become the source of its occurrence are discussed. The analysis was made on the most
relevant literatures and categorized based on key words and the methodology used. Based on the analysis, it is found
that die clearance is the most relevant parameters, which carried out experimentally. The paper also presented the
current challenges facing by the manufacturer as well as researcher on burr problem and outlined some of the
solutions suggested to overcome this problem. In addition, the authors raised the problem on measurement of the
burr as the size of the component become smaller and level of precision is higher.
Keywords: Burr, die clearance, precision blanking, punching
INTRODUCTION
A burr is a raised edge or small pieces of material
remaining attached to a workpiece after a modification
process. There are three types of burrs that can be
formed from machining operations: Poisson burr,
rollover burr and breakout burr. The rollover burr is the
most common (Ingarao et al., 2011). Burrs may be
classified by the physical manner of formation. Plastic
deformation of material includes lateral flow (Poisson
burr), bending (rollover burr) and tearing of material
from the workpiece (tear burr). Solidification or
redeposition of material results in a recast bead.
Incomplete cutoff of material causes a cutoff projection.
Burrs can be minimized or prevented by considering
materials, function, shape and processing in the design
and manufacturing engineering phases of product
development (Aoki and Sasada, 2004) (Fig. 1).
Aoki and Sasada (2004) proposed a new method
for burr free blanking using pushback blanking method.
They found that the success of this method depends on
the clearance and rigid control of punch penetration
depth. A piezoelectric actuator is utilized in this
method, which has good controllability and repeatable
stability. However, due to the limitation of the
piezoelectric element, a displacement magnifying
mechanism needs to be created. The mechanism was
analyzed using the FEM and experimental method. In
fact, both of the methods agreed very well. Quazi and
Shaikh (2012) proved that blanking clearance, the wear
state of the tool and the thickness of the sheet are three
main factors that can influence the mechanical and

Fig. 1: Sheared-cut edge terminologies

geometrical aspect of the sheared edge during the

blanking operation. They obtained optimum clearance
based on the direction of crack propagation coincides
with the line joining the points of crack initiation, hence
the formation of secondary crack is prevented. In their
study, the diagonal angle and the angle of the direction
of crack propagation for different clearances were
selected to determine the optimum clearance. The
optimum clearance for the values of the parameters
used in this study is between 11 and 12%. It is observed
that punch penetration increases as the clearance/
thickness ratio increases. Consequently, with larger
clearance, the material can deform more easily, so that
greater punch penetration is necessary before cracks are
initiated. Brokken et al. (2000) predicted the shape of
blanked products using an elasto-plastic finite element
model. For extremely large deformations, it is handled

Corresponding Author: A.B. Abdullah, School of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Engineering Campus,
14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia

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by using an operator split Arbitrary Lagrange-Euler
(ALE) method combined with remeshing. Meanwhile
for ductile fracture, local criterion is adopted and it is
simulated by discrete fracture approach. Discrete crack
model is based on Rice and Traceys void growth
model and it has to be performed striving for
consistency between applied load and crack length.
Hilditch and Hodgson (2005) found that, in general the
burr height and rollover depth increased with increasing
clearance for all examined materials. However, there
were differences in the fracture surface profile shape,
the burr shape and the mechanism of burr formation,
between the two steels and the two light alloys. The
major cause of these differences appeared to be the rate
of crack propagation through the sheet material.
Meanwhile, rollover is also affected by materials
ductility and work hardening. Different burr formation
mechanisms existed for the two classes of materials.
Rapid crack propagation and part/scrap separation at a
low punch penetration in both the aluminum and
magnesium alloy samples resulted in a curved fracture
profile and right-angle shaped burr. From their
research, they found that slow crack propagation after
crack initiation in the steel samples and subsequent
part/scrap separation at a significantly higher punch
penetration, resulted in a straight fracture profile and a
v shaped burr. Kim et al. (2005) found counter
blanking process can produce the hole without any burr,
but the fracture face was relatively large and rough due
to the growth of micro voids. Therefore, they proposed
a hydro-mechanical punching method to delay fracture
initiation by applying pressure medium in the place of
counter punch or the backpressure on the piercing
punch. However, new problem on hole diameters
discrepancies occurs. They solved the problem using
backpressure on the upper withdrawing piercing punch
method. Comparatively, the conventional punching
hole have relatively large portion of fracture surface
and burr compared with the propose hydro-mechanical
punching method. Hambli (2002) observed that burr
height depends on clearance, wear state of tool and
thickness of sheet. The research done focuses on the
prediction of tool wear changes and relationship to
clearance using a combination of numerical analysis
and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) modelling. The
numerical results were utilized to train the developed
simulation environment based on back propagation
neural network modelling. The major advantage of the
developed model is faster and accurate burr height
estimation. In addition, it can reduce the trial and error.
The developed model has been validated with
experimental observation. Wang et al. (2013) proposed
a method called as fine hydro-mechanical blanking to
investigate the influence of blanking on the shear zone
length under different design factor conditions.
Optimization based on the integrated Taguchi method
and Genetic Algorithm (GA) was used to determine the
longest shear-zone length. In addition, the influence of
the hydraulic pressure in the V-ring cavity and the
shear-zone length also was investigated. As a

conclusion, this new approach was proven able to cut

the surface of a workpiece and the burnishing surfaces
were influenced by hydraulic pressure in the V-ring
cavity and in the ejector chamber. Furthermore, the
magnitudes of the hydraulic pressures in the V-ring
cavity and ejector chamber are controllable and
adjustable, which can provide a new way of evaluating
the significant parameters of the blanking process.
Tekiner et al. (2006) carried out experimental study to
examine the effect of different clearances on smoothsheared depth, burr height and blanking force. There are
several conclusions can be made based on the
experiment results. First, the smooth-sheared value
increases when the clearance value decreases. Second,
the burr depth value increases when the clearance value
increases. Third, when the clearance increases, the roll
over depth increases. Forth, the punch force value
increases when diameter of material increases. Fifth,
decrease in clearance value only will increase the punch
force value by about 5 to 10%. Hence, in overall, it is
necessary to keep the clearance low in order to get a
more qualified surface roughness.
Maiti et al. (2000) evaluated the influence of tool
clearance, friction, sheet thickness, punch/die size and
blanking layout on the sheet deformation. As expected,
the blanking load increases with a reduction in the tool
clearance in the case of both single and double
blanking. Furthermore, change in the clearance in the
range 020% of the sheet thickness does not affect the
growth of plastic zone for both cases. The blanking load
also increases with an increase in the coefficient of
friction at the tool sheet interfaces. Meanwhile, for the
same diameter to sheet thickness ratio, the change in
thickness does not affect the blanking load. However,
for the same sheet thickness, with an increase in the
blank diameter, the blanking load reduces. As a
conclusion, they suggested that an intermediate range of
tool clearance (about 10% of the sheet thickness)
appears good from the point of view of requirement of
load and sheet deformation. Makich et al. (2008)
identified a relationship between burrs and punch wear,
based on 3D topographical images namely Infinite
focus Alicona. Meanwhile punch wear was calculated
by combination of a mathematical model to the
geometric shape of punch. They defined the height of
burr as the difference between the highest point of burr
and the surface of the sheet metal immediately adjacent
to the burr. Begins with straightening of the image
around the blanked shape, follow by extracting the
profile that vertically from the contour of the blanked
shape. Then again, the profiles are extracted in
multiples to build a rectangular matrix. Finally, the
volume is determined only in the burr presence on the
image. As a conclusion, burr volume increases with the
increasing of number of press stoke.
Picart et al. (2005) simulated a blanking process
and
predicted
geometrical
and
mechanical
characteristics of the blanked component utilizing the
damage modeling or fracture criterion. A finite element
separation method denoted discrete cracking method is

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performed to describe the crack propagation. Numerical
results showed that a first crack is initiating near the die
corner at punch penetration of 76% then a second crack
is appearing on the punch side before two cracks
eventually propagate to one another and the crack
initiation is correctly predicted at 2 mm of punch
penetration. They validated the result through
experimental method. Rachik et al. (2002) found that
the maximum punch force is strongly related to the
plastic flow but that the burr height estimation requires
damage modeling. In addition, Gursons modified
model eeatly improves the punch force prediction.
Bubphachot (2009) investigated the microstructure of
fine blanking process to avoid fracture surface on
blank. Study observed that optimum condition will
result in higher elongation while having small decrease
in tensile strength. It revealed that facture surface
became shear surface after heat treatment over 10 h.
Goijaerts et al. (2002) investigated both process and
force and fracture initiation for blanking of a ferrite
stainless steel in various geometries. The numerical
simulation carried out based on the rate-independent
elasto-plastic constitutive model combined with a
fracture criterion and extended with respect to ratedependence by employing an elasto-viscoplastic
constitutive model. The result shown that the blanking
speed has no influence on the punch displacement at
ductile fracture initiation up to blanking velocities of 10
mm/sec. Meanwhile, the maximum blanking force will
increase as the punch speed increasing. However, for
the larger blanking speed the numerical predictions start
to deviate from the experiments. This may be caused by
thermal softening and the material parameters that were
quantified by performing different tensile tests with
strain rates varying.
In other work, Goijaerts et al. (1999) elaborated
two approaches using a local ductile fracture model to
the ductile fracture initiation, in order to predict product
shapes in the blanking process. The first approach
incorporates the characterization of a ductile fracture
model in a blanking experiment and should take place
under loading conditions, comparable to the
application. Meanwhile, the second approach uses a
tensile test to characterize the fracture model, instead of
a complex and elaborate blanking experiment. Hence,
this approach is more favorable for industry. As a
conclusion, it can be stated that for the investigated
material, the first approach gives very good results
within the experimental error. The second approach, the
more favorable one for industry, yields results within
6% of the experiments over a wide, industrial range of
clearances, when a newly proposed criterion is used.
Khadke et al. (2004) studied the effect of various
process parameters on the extent of burr formation and
optimal process parameters which would yield
minimum burr formation. They found that shear failure

model to be the most suitable model for the numerical

simulations of the shearing process. The results show
that the burr heights are at a minimum at small
clearances close to 5% and for cutting angle greater
than 17. Furthermore, burr height will be insensitive to
the blade radius at these clearances and cutting angles.
Hambli and Richir (2003) compared a damage model is
more representative of crack initiation and propagation
simulation than the Lemaitre damage models and found
that they can be predicted accurately. Totre et al. (2013)
stated that there are several factors affecting in blanking
process. First factor is the clearance. With correct
clearance, the angle of fractures will permit clean break
below the burnish zone because the upper and lower
fracture will extend toward one another. The second
factor is punch geometry since it will affects the punch
stresses and temperature as well as punch life. The third
factor is tool wear. This is because it somehow similar
to the punch corner radii. The forth factor is sheet
thickness. Sheet thickness is highly related to the
energy requirement in blanking and proportions of the
different depth characteristics of the sheared profile.
The last factor is material. Materials with large
ductility, low yield strength and homogeneity will have
better blanked edge quality, dimensional tolerances and
longer tool life. Nishad et al. (2013) combined Design
of Experiments, Finite Element Method, Neural
Network Analysis and Genetics Algorithm approaches
to predict optimum parameters involved in the sheet
metal blanking process. They found that, Design of
experiments technique helps to find the most effective
parameter leading towards optimal combination of
parameters setting. While, finite element simulation
give the best tool setting for the optimum process
output. For Neural Network Analysis, a network using
artificial intelligence have to be trained which is an
costly and time consuming procedure. Next, the
genetics algorithm technique consists of a series of
mathematical formulaes and algorithms to come out
with optimum results. Similarly Al-Momania and
Rawabdeh (2008) integrate a Finite Element Method
(FEM) and Design of Experiments (DOE) approached
to optimize the sheet metal blanking process. The
process parameters such as the material type, the
punch-die clearance, the thickness of the sheet and the
blank holder force and their interactions on the burrs
height have been investigated. The results show that the
higher the clearance the higher the burrs height and the
lower the blank holder force the lower the burr height.
The material type has effect but the thickness effect is
insignificant. In order to minimize the burrs height, the
clearance should be set at about 5% with almost no
blank holder force. When blank holder force is set to
zero, the process is slightly more robust to clearance
changes than when a high blank holder force is used.
However a small value in the order of about 2% of the

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blanking force is favorable since it can prevent the
remaining skeleton from moving out of plane. In other
work, Goijaerts et al. (2000) have developed finite
element model to optimize the blanking process and
validate using a planar experimental set-up. They not
only measured the punch load, but also the logarithmic
strain-fields. Besides that, they measured the
displacement fields, coupled with a second order
method to calculate strain-fields by using a digital
image correlation. The results show that a change in
clearance influences the experimental and numerical
techniques similarly, both in the strain-field and in the
punch load. The numerical simulation predicts a plane
strain strain-field about 10% larger than the
experimental strain-field. Quazi et al. (2013) employed
the Taguchi Method to evaluate the influence of tool
clearance, sheet thickness and sheet material thus
optimizing clearance which affects other process
parameters in blanking process of aluminum and brass
material. The experiment results were analyzed using
ANOVA and regression analysis. For aluminum,
clearance was found to be the major factor affecting the
burr height (23%). A percent contribution of sheet
thickness is much lower, being (1.4%). The minimum
burr height (0.0602468) corresponds to clearance value
of (0.04531). While for brass, clearance was found to
be the major factor affecting the burr height (22%). A
percent contribution of sheet thickness is much lower,
being (1.1%). The minimum Burr height (0.077876)
corresponds to clearance value of (0.05844). In
conclusion, the clearance should be set at about 5%
with almost no blank holder force to minimize the burrs
height. Sandwikar and Chandgude (2012) have
conducted experimental studies under varying sheet
thickness, clearance and wear radius. Taguchi quality
design concept of L27 orthogonal array has been used
to determine main effect, Signal to Noise ratio (S/N),
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for determining most
significant parameters affecting the blanking process.
Based on the ANOVA method, the highly effective
parameters on burr height were found as tool wear
radius and clearance, whereas sheet thickness was less
effective factor. The result show that tool wear radius
was about two times more important than the clearance
for controlling burr height. An optimum parameter
combination for the minimum burr height was obtained
by using S/N ratio.
Hambli (2002a) carried out a Design of Experiment
of blanking process using tools with four different wear
states and four different clearances. The study focus on
the effects of the interaction between the clearances, the
wear state of the tool and the sheet metal thickness on
the evolution of the blanking force and the geometry of
the sheared profile. The results were analyzed using
response surface methodology and the result shown that
the clearance should be set at 10%, in order to minimize
the blanking force. However, it is advisable to set the

clearance at 5% to minimize the fracture angle and the

fracture depth. When the clearance is set at 10%, the
process is slightly more robust to tool wear, as far as the
blanking force response is concerned and it is
considerably more robust to tool wear and sheet
thickness as far as the fracture depth response is
concerned. Whether clearance should be set at 5 or 10%
ultimately depends on the priorities of the practitioners.
Franke et al. (2010) had performed a round robin
test to compare different burr measurement systems.
The burr can be quantified based on burr height, burr
area, burr thickness and burr radius. Six measurement
methods were compared, including the digital fringe
projection, Confocal measurement system Depth of
Focus (DoF), Confocal White Light Interferometer,
Non-Contact 3D Measurement System, Stylus
Profilometer and Metallographic Cross Sections. The
results show that the burr height measured in cross
sections differed from the results of non-destructive
measurement methods. It has to be taken into account
that cross sections only regard one specific burr
position and not the whole burr. The workpiece position
has a large impact on the results of burr measurement.
Further work is necessary to develop approaches for
standardization burr measurements to enable
comparison.
Ko and Park (2006) had employed Triangulation
method, conoscopic holography method and
interferometry method are analyzed for effective
measurement of micro burr geometry. The authors had
measured cylinder with 0.5 mm diameter in order to
select a proper sensor. Then, burr with 1.0 mm height
and 30 m height are measured by all methods. The
results show that the conoprobe sensor by conoscopic
holography method is most recommended to measure
the sharp edges of burr. This is because laser
triangulation method produces unstable signal in
measuring the surface with high slope. Interferometry
method also fails in producing proper interference
pattern at sharp edge near the top of burr. As a first step
of development of burr measurement system, proper
sensor must be determined considering measuring range
and accuracy.
Nakao and Watanabe (2006) had developed a
drilling burr measurement system based on image
processing techniques to measure the burr profiles (burr
height and thickness). An image of the measured burr
specimen is taken with a CCD camera located right
above the burr specimen. The angle between mirror
surface and setup base is 45, located around the
measured burr. Then the images of the side surfaces of
the burr by means of the set of four mirrors are taken.
Binary image processing, the noise reduction and the
labeling are applied before burr analysis measurement
is performed. Total measurement accuracy of the
system depends on the accuracy of both the
measurement process using developed instrument and

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the analyzing processes using developed software.
Besides that, by using this developed method, it is
possible to investigate repeatability of the drilling burr
formation by same machining condition and classify
types of created burrs such as uniform-type burr and
crown-type burr. In other case, Jana and Ong (1989)
examined the effects of varying the punch-die clearance
and hardness of the specimen on the surface finish and
quality of blanked specimens for a variety of metals.
The blanking speeds used were both low (0.13 m/sec)
and high (10 m/sec) by using a developed accelerator.
The materials used were aluminium alloy 2024-T4,
brass (60/40), copper (0.99 Cu), mild steel and Thyssen
1730 steel (AISI 1045), all of 9.5 mm thickness. The
results show that the use of high punch-speeds has
resulted in blanks being produced with an improved
surface finish as compared to those obtained at low
speed, over the range of radial clearances tested. This
improvement is particularly marked for mild-steel
blanks, as secondary shears are eliminated when a high
speed is used. Less distortion was obtained also as a
result of a high punch speed. Although there is no
significant difference in the surface finish of blanks
produced at high punch speeds, for all the clearances
tested the distortion of the blanks increases with
increase in the radial clearance.
Rai et al. (2013) found that the factors causing burr
can be summarized into man (operator awareness, skill
of operator), material (raw material grade and
thickness), machine (alignment, clearance) and method
(part handling). Besides that, the authors also explain
how the selection of tool material will affect the tool
life, part quality and tool sharpening frequency. A brief
guideline about the correct die-punch alignment and
tool assembly also had been included in this study.
Grban et al. (2007) had carried out a blanking test
on different copper alloys to show that the blanking
profile was strongly influenced by the mechanical
characteristics and the microstructure of the alloys. The
experiment results show that the roll-over is hardly
influenced by the geometry of the blanking process
(blanking punch/die clearance). The sheared and
fracture zones are mainly influenced by the mechanical
properties of the sheet. The more work hardened it is,
the greater the fracture zone is. It can be easily
understood that the fracture occurs all the earlier as
resilience is weak. Therefore, it leads to a weaker
sheared zone, more detrimental to the overall good
quality of the blanking process. Besides that, burr
growth is independent of the work hardening state of
the sheet; it is hardly influenced, on the contrary, by the
precipitates.
Taupin et al. (1996) had performed several
blanking simulations and the results were compared
with the previous experimental studies. It was shown
that the influence of process variables such as punchdie clearance, material properties and punch and die
wear could be simulated with a good correlation to

experimental results. It was experimentally and

simulation observed that with a decreased clearance of
4.5% the roll over, the rupture zone and the burr height
decrease, whereas the shear zone increases to
approximately 75% of the material thickness. A
decreasing clearance also results in a slight increase in
blanking force. Besides that, the simulation outcome
shows almost the same characteristics as were observed
after 150,000 hits during wear experiments. The dull
cutting edges cause more plastic deformation before
shearing starts. The result is an increased roll over and
burr height, while the shear zone is decreasing.
Compared to the simulation with a sharp punch and die,
the maximum load increased approximately 10% and
the punch penetration until fracture 15%.
DISCUSSION
Analysis carried out by categorizing the studies
done on burr in various manufacturing process,
especially blanking process, so that the extraction of
important information can be easier in future. In
addition, categorizing also will make better use of data.
Data need to be organized and coordinated so that it is
readily accessible. Hence, two categorizing technique
are used to categorize the literatures. The two
techniques are as following i.e., based on keywords and
methodology used.
Keywords: Most journals require the author to identify
three or four key words which represent the major
concept of the paper. These are used for indexing
purposes and the key words selected should be widelyaccepted terms. Total keyword collected from all
literatures is 120 words. The keywords collected can be
categorized into 44 groups. The categorizing result is
shown in Fig. 2.
The result shows that the keyword of Blanking/
Double Blanking/Fine Blanking/Planar Blanking/
Punching/Shearing/Trimming
has
the
highest
occurrence number-25 literatures. It is followed by
keyword of Burr/Burr Amount/Burr Height/Burr
Formation which has 14 literatures involved. The third
highest occurrence keyword is Finite Element Modeling
which has 10 literatures related. The detail of analysis is
tabulated in Fig. 2.
Methodology used: Various methodologies can be
used by the author to carry out their research or
experiment. The methodologies are as following.
Experiment investigation: A test under controlled
conditions that is made to demonstrate a known truth,
examines the validity of a hypothesis, or determines the
efficacy of something previously untried.
Design of Experiments (DOE) method: Designed
experiments are a systematic approach to optimizing

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Fig. 2: Analysis of literature categorizing based on keywords

process performance, they are also used for knowledge

acquisition. Traditionally, the setting of a single factor
is changed at a time until the response is improved.
Finite Element Method (FEM): Finite Element
Method (FEM) is a numerical technique for finding
approximate solutions to boundary value problems for
differential equations. It uses variation methods (the
calculus of variations) to minimize an error function
and produce a stable solution.
Genetic algorithm: In a genetic algorithm, a
population of candidate solutions (called individuals,
creatures, or phenotypes) to an optimization problem is
evolved toward better solutions.
Neural network analysis: The networks are employed
as numerical devices for substituting the finite element
code needed for the optimum clearance prediction of
the sheared part. Since the main material variable
describing the fracture initiation and propagation
conditions is the strain at rupture, the input data for the
artificial neural network is the material elongation A%
and the output data is the optimum clearance. The
methodology used can be categorized into 9 groups.
The result is shown in Fig. 3.
The result shows that the method of Experimental
Investigation has the highest occurrence number i.e., 9
literatures. It is followed by method of Experimental
Investigation + FEM which has 4 literatures involved.
The third highest occurrence method is Finite Element

Modeling which has 4 literatures related. The detail of

analysis is tabulated in Fig. 3.
PROCESS/DESIGN PARAMETERS THAT
MAY CAUSE THE BURR
Mechanical and geometrical aspects of the sheared
edge during the blanking operation are the main
concern of many researchers. It is affected by several
parameters such as the clearance, material properties/
work hardening/microstructure, thickness of material,
wear state of the tool/tool radius, punch/die size/
geometry, friction, layout, blank holder force, punch
speed, punch-die alignment and cutting angle. The
detail of parameter suggested by various literatures is
tabulated in Table 1. Based on the literatures, die
clearance become main parameter that has been studied.
Followed by mechanical and physical properties of the
workpiece material.
RECENT CHALLENGES
Presence of burr will affect assembly, which result
in possible part jamming and misalignment and in most
cases may cause injury to the operator due to sharp
edges. For bigger part such automotive parts, the
problem of burr may not critical. But for miniature
component especially in optics, electronic and medical
industries, this problem may affect their productivity.
Debris of the burrs can cause serious damage on the
moving parts. In electrical components, they can cause

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Fig. 3: Analysis of literature based on methodology used

Table 1: Process/design parameters that may cause the burr
Process/design parameters
No. of literatures related
Die clearance
19

Material properties/work
hardening/microstructure

10

Thickness of material

Wear state of the tool/tool radius

Punch/die size/geometry
Friction
Layout
Blank holder force
Punch speed
Punch-die alignment
Cutting angle

3
2
2
2
2
1
1

References
Aoki and Sasada (2004), Quazi and Shaikh (2012), Brokken et al. (2000),
Hilditch and Hodgson (2005), Hambli (2002a), Tekiner et al. (2006), Maiti
et al. (2000), Khadke et al. (2004), Totre et al. (2013), Nishad et al. (2013),
Al-Momania and Rawabdeh (2008), Goijaerts et al. (2000), Quazi et al.
(2013), Sandwikar and Chandgude (2012), Jana and Ong (1989), Rai et al.
(2013) and Taupin e et al. (1996)
Hilditch and Hodgson (2005), Hambli (2002b), Bubphachot (2009), Totre
et al. (2013), Nishad et al. (2013), Quazi et al. (2013), Ko and Park (2006),
Rai et al. (2013), Grban et al. (2007) and Taupin et al. (1996)
Quazi and Shaikh (2012), Maiti et al. (2000), Totre et al. (2013), Nishad
et al. (2013), Al-Momania and Rawabdeh (2008), Quazi et al. (2013),
Sandwikar and Chandgude (2012) and Rai et al. (2013)
Quazi and Shaikh (2012), Hambli (2002b) Makich et al. (2008), Khadke
et al. (2004), Totre et al. (2013), Sandwikar and Chandgude (2012) and
Taupin et al. (1996)
Maiti et al. (2000), Totre et al. (2013) and Nishad et al. (2013)
Maiti et al. (2000) and Nishad et al. (2013)
Maiti et al. (2000) and Nishad et al. (2013)
Nishad et al. (2013) and Al-Momania and Rawabdeh (2008)
Goijaerts et al. (2002) and Nishad et al. (2013)
Nishad et al. (2013)
Khadke et al. (2004)

short circuits. To address this problem, several deburring methods have been introduced, including
ultrasonic, magnetic abrasive, abrasive jet and
electrochemical machining methods. However, these
methods all have some shortcomings, such as
mechanical damage, over-machining, changes in the
material properties of the finished surface, sharp edge
blunting and the requirement for subsequent processing

to remove chemical residues (Aurich et al., 2009;

Gillespie, 1979).
BURR FREE TECHNOLOGY
Recently researchers are striving to suggest the
most reliable burr free technology to be used. Burr free
can be described as producing blanked or punched part

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Res. J. Appl. Sci. Eng. Technol., 8(9): 1139-1148, 2014

Fig. 4: Concept of counter blanking developed by Altan

(2007)

V-ring (4 and 2, respectively, in Fig. 4) are used. The

main purpose of these tool components is to generate
compressive stresses and hold the material against
horizontal movement. Three forces, V-ring Force (F R ),
counterforce (F G ) and blanking Force (F S ) act on the
blank. In general, this operation is carried out on tripleaction hydraulic presses on which the punch, guide
plate and die movements are controlled individually.
Forces in fine blanking have great influence on a parts
quality. During the beginning of the process, F R and F G
are applied. These forces provide a firm clamp on the
material before blanking begins. F S acts when the press
moves down and completes the blanking operation.
Kim et al. (2005) utilized pressure by specially
designed hydro actuated punching to achieve fine
blanking without burr. The mechanism involves half
piercing and counter hydro punching. The hydromechanical punching applies pressure medium in the
place of counter punch. Figure 5 shows the schematics
of hydro-mechanical punching. The exerted high
pressure would increase hydrostatic pressure in
shearing zone of the workpiece, which help delay
fracture initiation. Then, the clean sheared surface is
expected by postponing the fracture. In other case, Aoki
and Masada (2004) employed a piezoelectric actuator to
drive the counter punch mechanism and they
successfully carried blanking process with burr-free on
thin copper foil.
Another challenge is the measurement of the burr.
The use of contact measurement may damage the burr.
Hambli (2002a) predicted the height of burr using
neural network. Makich et al. (2008) obtained the
profile of the burr using 3D surface measurement
method namely Alicona system and they managed to
formula the relationship between the burr and the wear.
CONCLUSION

(a)

(b)

Fig. 5: Schematics of hydro-mechanical punching, (a)

mechanical half piercing, (b) hydro counter punching
(Aoki and Sasada, 2004)

without burr or at very minimal level. There numbers of

methods proposed in achieving burr free in their
blanking process. Wisselink et al. (2009) have
successfully modeled the two steps burr free blanking
process using LS-Dyna. Wang (2011) employed a cam
technology in achieving fine blanking process. Counter
blank is another effective to achieve fine blanking or
blanked free from burr. Conventional for blanking
process, only die, guide plate and punch are involve,
but to carried out counter blanking steps, additional
mechanism requires actuating the tools. In fine
blanking, Altan (2007) proposed a new design of
tooling that consist of an ejector or counterpunch and a

In conclusion, after carried out comprehensive

literature, there are few observations that can be made:

1146

Most of studies are preferring experiment

investigation as their methodology.
Furthermore, die clearance and material properties
are the most influential process/design parameters
that may cause to the formation of burr.
Recent demand on micro-blanking with burr-free
becomes a major challenge to the manufacturer.
Present discoveries on development of a method of
producing burr-free technology using counter
blanking process gives hope but the mechanism is
still difficult to be used for mass production at
lower cost.
As the burr become very small, another challenge
is on measurement of the burr, as the conventional
contact may damage the burr during measurement.

Res. J. Appl. Sci. Eng. Technol., 8(9): 1139-1148, 2014

Most of the blanking and punching were carried

out on metal. None of the literature discuss on
application of the processes to the non-metal
material such as composites, which has been
widely used in various industries. Typically holes
are produced using drilling, but the process is time
consuming. Therefore, punching that is faster than
drilling has good potential to be applied on
composite to produce hole. The challenge is mainly
on determination of the optimal process and design
parameters to perform precision hole punching.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors want to acknowledge Universiti Sains

Malaysia for their sponsorship through Short Term
Grant (AC#60312014).
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