Finite element analysis (FEA) has currently been developed into an efficient, user-friendly tool for investigation of metal forming processes. At the same time, cheap, efficient computers have been developed that allow simulation of metal forming to be done by use of the finite element method (FEM), within reasonable times. This recent development is, as this book will show, about to revolutionize the art of metal forming.

This technology has made it possible to build realistic FEM models of perhaps any metal forming process, including complex three-dimensional forming operations, in which complex products are shaped by means of complex dies. Thus, by FEA, it is now possible to visualize any metal forming process on the computer screen and to study strain, stress, and other important forming conditions inside the workpiece, as they develop throughout the duration of the process. Because of this, FEA has also become an important industrial tool in connection with development and design of new metal forming processes.

However, in spite of this development, there is still need for classical theory as a tool for providing knowledge about forming. For a person to be able to utilize the new FEA technology and to evaluate the results obtained in FEA, it is required that he or she have deep insight into the theory of metal forming.

In order to establish correct FEM models, it is still required to investigate metal forming by means of experiments performed in the laboratory or on industrial equipment.