Single Action Draw Simulation with Top Pad and Drawbead

Learn how to perform a single action draw forming process that is set up with automatic tooling and positioning and is customized with added tools.

Open the Model

  1. From the File menu, select Open.
  2. In the Open File dialog, navigate to the file in the tutorials folder in the installation directory in Program Files\Altair\2022\InspireForm2022\tutorials\s_rail.x_t.
    The model should look something like this:

Define the Blank and Material

  1. On the Tryout tab, click the Blank icon.
  2. In the microdialog, click Single Blank for the blank type.
  3. On the model, select the blank.
    Note: To easily see the blank in the die set, you can hide parts that are blocking the view of the die. To hide a part, select it, right-click, then select Hide. Once you define the blank, unhide the parts.
    The blank turns red indicating your selection.
  4. To confirm the blank selection, on the model, select the blank again, or on the microdialog, click Assign.
    Once your selection is confirmed, the blank surface is displayed in a light gray color as indicated in the legend. Also notice in the legend that the dark gray color on the model indicates surfaces that are not yet defined for the analysis setup.
  5. After assigning the blank, in the microdialog that appears, click the ellipses button to access the Material Library.
  6. Enter material JAC440W.
  7. Click Assign, then Close.
  8. For material thickness, keep the default value.

Set Up the Single Action Draw Operation

  1. From the Tryout tab, select the Add operation icon.
  2. From the Add Operation window, select Single Action.
    The Single Action operation icon appears on the Tryout tab.
  3. To automatically configure the toolset in your model, on the Single Action operation you just added, click .
  4. In the guide bar, the Build tools option is selected by default. To confirm, click Auto configure.
    The Build tools option automatically identifies the required tools for the operation, which includes a top die, bottom die, and bottom binder. The option also automatically configures the tool set.
    Note: An additional option to Auto Position the tools is available in the Preferences > Tryout > Setup and is set by default.
    Figure 1. Model Setup for Single Action Draw
  5. To preview the forming action of the tryout, on the Single Action icon, click Edit Action .
    An animation of the forming operation is generated for the model.

Add Tools to the Single Action Draw Operation

  1. From the Tryout tab, select the Single Action operation you just added.
  2. Next to the default tools that appear, click the Add Tool button.
  3. From the Add Tool dialog that appears, select the Top Pad and Drawbead tools.
    The tools are added to the operation for you to configure. A user symbol is displayed indicating that a modification has been made to the default tool set.

Configure the Top Pad

  1. On the ribbon, select the Top Pad that you added to the single-action-draw operation.
  2. On the guide bar, next to Attach Tool, select Surfaces > Partition.
  3. On the model, select the surface to designate as the top pad.
  4. On the guide bar, click Create.
  5. In the microdialog, for Initial Force and Final Force, enter 5tf.
  6. On the guide bar, click Attach Tool.
    The preselected top die is highlighted.
  7. On the guide bar, click Assign.
    The top die is configured for the single-action-draw operation.

Configure the Drawbead

  1. Select the Drawbead that you added to the Single Action Draw operation.
  2. Click Attach Tool on the guidebar.
  3. On the model, select the bottom binder as the tool where you want to attach the drawbead.


  4. Click Assign to confirm.
  5. Click Drawbead.
  6. Select the lines where you want to create the drawbead.




  7. Click Accept to confirm.

Position the Die in the Forming Operation

The positioning arrow lets you preview the die set between the open and closed states. The position of the die set can be defined automatically or manually.
  1. On the ribbon, hover over the Single Action draw operation that you've added to your analysis.


  2. Click the Edit Position arrow.
  3. On the guide bar, in the first field, choose the tool state Open.
    The tool position is displayed for the open state. If you adjust the tool position, the last position of the corresponding state is saved.
  4. In the second field, select Auto.
  5. In the third field, click Position.
    The software automatically positions the tool set to the open position.

Run the Simulation

  1. From the Tryout tab, Run tools, click Run Analysis.
  2. In the Run Analysis dialog, type in a name, and click Run.
    Note: By default, the run name is the model name, and is saved in the run history directory that is specified in the Preferences.
    The Run Status dialog shows the progress of the simulation. A green check mark indicates that the run is completed.

Review the Simulation Results

The Analysis Explorer lets you choose a variety of results to review. An animation for each result type is included. By default, the results for thinning are displayed on the formed part.



  1. View the animation of the forming results by adjusting the slider that is located at the bottom of the modeling window:
    • To see what areas on your model are under the greatest thinning, click and move the slider.

    • To view the animation of the results, click the play button:

    • To adjust the animation settings, click the edit button:

      From the Animations Settings dialog, choose options for playback and display. To adjust the animation speed, move the slider to the right to increase or left to decrease the speed.

  2. To view additional results, from the Analysis Exporer, select a Run, Operation, and Result Type.