Early in his career, long before most regional toolrooms used forming simulation, Bill Wolf was handed a stamped part design that looked routine. Nothing in the model suggested trouble. But when he ran the simulation, the screen filled with indicators of material thinning and edge wrinkling. The part would not survive the forming process as designed.
Catching that issue early prevented the toolroom from spending weeks chasing cracks and wrinkles in the press. It saved the customer significant rework and kept the launch on schedule. For Wolf, it was a clear demonstration that simulation has value long before the first detail is machined.
Today, Wolf brings that mindset to ATD, where simulation is integrated directly into the quoting and design process. Built into the company’s broader metal stamping and value-added services, this capability helps customers validate designs and understand manufacturing long before tooling begins.
Before any steel is cut, forming simulation gives manufacturers the insight they need to validate designs, improve manufacturability, and avoid costly surprises. ATD is one of the only Northeast Ohio suppliers with this capability in-house.
Simulation helps customers:
Wolf, who has spent more than two decades working with DFM and forming simulation, summarizes it simply: “Every issue you catch before the tool hits the floor saves money. Sometimes it prevents months of unnecessary adjustments.”
In a previous role, his simulation-driven approach contributed to more than $33 million in total annual customer savings by addressing forming issues before they reached the press. ATD now applies this level of foresight to support manufacturers in Ohio and the Midwest.
ATD uses simulation throughout the entire workflow, not just at one checkpoint.
This quick evaluation, often completed within a few hours, provides immediate insight into manufacturability. ATD can see:
This step often shapes quoting discussions and helps customers make informed design decisions before committing to tooling.
Incremental simulation shows how the part behaves through each forming step. Draws, restrikes, trims, flanges, springback, and material flow are all modeled sequentially.
This is especially valuable for complex components, where each forming stage influences the next.
For challenging parts, simulations continue as the tool is designed and built. This reduces tryout time and helps ensure the tool performs as expected once it reaches the press.
Simulation gives ATD a precise view of how a part will behave under real forming conditions. Common findings include:
In a recent project involving a front-end component for a major automotive customer, the design initially appeared workable. However, once simulated, the model revealed several issues:
Because the issues surfaced early, ATD was able to return to the customer with specific engineering recommendations.
ATD uses advanced forming software originally developed for crash test modeling, which is highly accurate in calculating real-world material behavior.
The system includes:
These tools help ATD evaluate material flow, binder forces, thinning, stress, and geometry changes long before tooling begins.
Simulation is becoming increasingly essential for manufacturers facing tight timelines, limited skilled labor, and rising material costs. ATD’s in-house capability offers several advantages:
Simulation reflects ATD’s commitment to precision and thorough engineering. It enables the team to identify risks early, refine designs proactively, and help customers move into production with fewer unknowns.
By integrating simulation into its process, ATD provides a higher level of predictability and collaboration. Customers receive guidance based on data, not assumptions, and can make decisions that support long-term quality and tooling performance.
ATD encourages engineering managers, plant leaders, sourcing teams, and design engineers to:
Simulation offers clear visibility into forming behavior, helping manufacturers avoid costly revisions and launch parts with confidence.
ATD’s engineering team can provide early feasibility checks, identify forming risks, and help you launch parts with greater predictability and lower cost.