Introducing Keysight Stamping: A New Stamping Simulation Solution for Automotive Body Manufacturing

Keysight has recently unveiled its latest innovation, Keysight Stamping, a new stamping solution specifically designed for the automotive market. Keysight Stamping marks the first of a series of anticipated advancements in Keysight's suite of manufacturing solutions. This initial release signals a broader vision that extends beyond single-part manufacturing to encompass the entire body manufacturing process, including assembly and performance aspects in future updates.

To delve deeper into this exciting new product, we spoke with Frederic Guillon, Senior Product Manager, to understand the unique features and benefits of Keysight Stamping. In this blog post, we’ll explore the insights from our interview with Frederic as he explains how the solution was developed, what sets it apart from Keysight’s existing Sheet Metal Forming solution, and what this means for the future of automotive body manufacturing. Join us as we take a closer look at this powerful tool and how it could reshape the industry.

What is Keysight Stamping?

Keysight Stamping is our new stamping solution and is tailored exclusively for key automotive stamping processes, including line die/transfer die, hotforming, and progressive die operations. Featuring an intuitive graphical interface and a highly accurate solver, the software ensures reliable simulation results for formability, dimensional accuracy (springback), and cosmetic quality (surface defects). It provides a fully virtual pressline environment in which any line die process can be defined, tested, and optimized long before physical tools are produced and stamping try-outs begin. This approach greatly reduces the risk of late-stage modifications, high costs, and extended lead times.

Our primary goal is to offer high-quality simulation capabilities accessible to users of all skill levels. With an open, flexible platform, the solution also supports future integration of third-party tools, such as those for die face design and CAD reconstruction for compensated tools.

This initial release primarily focuses on the validation phase for cold-formed stamped components with line/transfer die process and integrates with major CAD platforms for smooth data continuity. However, in addition, Keysight Stamping provides also already distinct advantages in early feasibility stages, especially for Class-A panels, by identifying cosmetic defects, and addressing challenges like unexpected edge-cracking and excessive springback in high-strength steel structural components.

Before releasing Keysight Stamping, we were already well-known for its highly accurate stamping simulation tool, PAM-STAMP. What led to the decision to create a completely new addition to this established solution?

We are shifting our focus on providing comprehensive solutions for automotive manufacturing, rather than just isolated tools for individual processes. Our goal is to create virtual value chains, where data can flow seamlessly between different stages and processes. This approach will help our customers to manage the entire automotive production process more efficiently.

With our new initiative, Keysight Stamping, we took a major step forward. Our aim is to cover not only stamping but also casting, assembly, and performance validation, including crashworthiness, in one unified platform. By integrating this solution into the Keysight Visual Environment, we fill the gap for stamping manufacturing, enabling users to switch smoothly between processes like stamping, casting, and assembly based on their needs.

Another key motivation was accessibility. We’ve simplified the simulation setup dramatically. Users no longer need advanced finite element expertise or to manually adjust complex numerical parameters. Keysight Stamping mimics stamping shop-floor practices, so even those with little experience in simulation can use it effectively. This opens up our high-precision simulation tools to a wider audience, making the stamping engineering process more efficient and reliable.

With PAM-STAMP already a strong player in the automotive sector, and a major competitor in the market, why do you believe Keysight Stamping will succeed? What sets it apart, and why is there a need for this new solution?

First of all, we’re confident because it’s designed to offer the same high accuracy as PAM-STAMP while adding enhanced simplicity and usability. For existing PAM-STAMP users, specifically in the automotive stamping industry, Keysight Stamping maintains our trusted precision but streamlines and simplifies the workflow. It brings added value by being easier to use, more efficient, and specifically tailored for the key automotive stamping processes.

Secondly, many companies using a competitor’s solution still face delays and high costs during physical trials because of the gap between simulation and actual outcomes. This is especially true for tough-to-manufacture parts, like high-strength steel or aluminum components. While our PAM-STAMP solver already addresses these issues, Keysight Stamping simplifies the entire process modeling. It completely removes the need for complex numerical adjustments as well as manual meshing, making the stamping simulation accessible to engineers at all skill levels. Keysight Stamping allows users to get up to speed very quickly — learning the basics in just an hour and becoming productive within a day.

How has the market responded to Keysight Stamping, and what makes it a viable alternative to existing solutions?

There’s rapidly growing interest in Keysight Stamping, especially since many customers are facing steep price increases with their current solutions, often without seeing meaningful improvements. Keysight Stamping offers competitive pricing, flexible licensing options like paid-up, lease, annual, multi-year, and LAN or WAN, and dynamic resource allocation through our token-based system. These tokens can be used across various processes, like stamping, casting, or assembly, and can also be allocated to boost simulation power by temporarily reducing the number of graphical interfaces in use, providing greater flexibility for our customers. This helps them optimize their investment, reduce costs, and adapt as their simulation needs evolve. The software stands out by offering a high-value alternative that combines ease of use, accuracy, and scalability with adaptable licensing, making it a compelling choice for the automotive industry.

We’ve been hearing whispers about this new stamping simulation solution for quite some time — what led to the decision to release it now?

We wanted to ensure that our new solution would meet and even exceed the expectations of both current and future customers, so we avoided rushing a partial version to market. Instead, we launched an early adopter program, partnering with a select group of OEMs who received in-depth training on the product. These participants used the solution extensively, providing regular feedback that we integrated into updates released approximately every three months. This approach allowed us to quickly refine and enhance the tool based on real-world input.

Now, as the early adopters transition the solution into production, we’re seeing proof of the value created through this collaborative process. Their successful adoption confirms that the product is not only effective but also capable of delivering accurate stamping results efficiently. This journey has allowed us to validate that our solution can genuinely handle the complexities of stamping and deliver high-quality outcomes, meeting the rigorous demands of our customers.

What are the main new key features compared to PAM-STAMP?

As I mentioned before, our new solution is all about making things easier to use. One of the biggest improvements is that you no longer have to deal with tedious mesh corrections. Our new automated meshing algorithms, along with smart data cleaning, handle it for you.

The solution also simplifies setup by enabling rapid development of the overall process plan. Users can in one feature specify the number of operations and designate active tools, and then assign them to either the RAM or BED of the press. CAMs can be linked directly to RAM progression, with automatic tool assignments for forming or trimming actions.

To ensure ease of use, the solution offers company-specific templates, which help engineers switch smoothly between feasibility checks and detailed validation simulations, minimizing errors and promoting consistent results.

Understanding the iterative nature of stamping engineering, the solution also includes a flexible replace function for tool swapping via drag-and-drop, which will trigger an automatic update of the setup.

Additional functionalities include accurate multi-operation springback compensation, integrated surface defect detection in a virtual light room through light reflection analysis, and a dedicated module for addressing the impact of specific tool designs and press choices on final part quality, by taking into account the small elastic deformations occurring during the stamping process.

Designed for customization, the solution supports multiple languages and offers a script-based, ASCII input foundation, enabling customers to tailor the tool to their needs and streamline integration into existing workflows.

Did you also integrate a completely new solver?

No, we didn’t change the solver. Instead, we’ve integrated our trusted PAM-STAMP solver into the new solution, so users can rely on 25 years of proven performance. The PAM-STAMP solver is known for its accurate physics representation and great scalability, making it a powerful tool for everyone—from OEMs and major suppliers to smaller tool shops.

One of its best features is its scalability. For most parts, you can run a feasibility check for a first draw operation on a standard laptop with 4-8 cores, usually in under 30 minutes. When you need to do more extensive validation for large car body components with multiple operations, our solver scales really well. Even with the extra computation power needed, you can still get the highest accuracy in results in under 2 hours on a high-performance cluster, allowing for multiple of these investigations per day.

On top of that, the solver now comes equipped with a much more intuitive and efficient interface, making it easier to use than ever. This blend of proven accuracy and user-friendly interface, positions ESI’s new stamping solution as a game-changer in the industry, empowering users to achieve outstanding results with ease.

With the new Keysight Stamping emerging in the market, what will happen to the PAM-STAMP environment?

As Keysight introduces its new stamping simulation solution for automotive processes, the well-known PAM-STAMP will transition into a maintenance phase for the primary automotive processes. This shift means that while PAM-STAMP will continue to receive support and maintenance to ensure consistent quality during the migration, Keysight Stamping will become the primary tool for automotive stamping simulations going forward.

However, PAM-STAMP remains a crucial resource for advanced forming processes commonly used in the aerospace sector, including tube bending, stretch forming, stretch bending, superplastic forming, membrane flex forming, and rubber pad forming. These specialized applications require  a high degree of flexibility in process modeling and frequently also a need for tailoring the input data, which requires access to numerical parameters.

With this dual approach, Keysight can provide dedicated solutions for both the automotive and aerospace industries, ensuring that existing customers experience a seamless transition while continuing to support advanced aerospace processes through PAM-STAMP. This strategy not only preserves the strengths of PAM-STAMP but also allows us to push the boundaries of innovation in automotive stamping with Keysight Stamping.

To learn more visit the dedicated Keysight Stamping webpage.

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