Abstract: Optimum blank design is a very important issue in sheet metal forming. There are several approaches used to determine blank. But many problems also queue up for being dealt with. A new method to obtain optimum blank is first put forward in the paper and it is named physical inverse method. The mechanical comparability between metal and macromolecule polymer in a special temperature and the shape-remembering of macromolecule polymer are used to gain optimum blank. The concerned theory and examination are given in the paper. The results show that the new approach is a better method for optimum blank design. The product quality will be improved and the cost will be reduced by this new approach.

Key words: sheet forming, blank, shape-remembering, physical inverse method, macromolecule polymer