The objective of this study is to design the optimal die profile that can prevent material fracture in the tube drawing process for automobile steering input shaft. First, the CDV(Critical Damage Value) of material is obtained by the compression test and FE-analysis. The occurrence of fracture is estimated by the FE-analysis considering the CDV. In order to achieve the objective of this study, optimization technique and FE-analysis are applied. FPS(Flexible Polyhedron Search) method, which is one of the non-gradient optimization techniques often used in engineering, is used to search optimal die profile. The drawing die profile is represented by Bezier-curve to generate all the possible die profile. Using FPS method and FE-analysis the optimal drawing die profile is determined. To verify the effectiveness of the redesigned optimal die, the tube drawing experiment is performed. In the experimental result, it is possible to produce sound product without material fracture using the redesigned optimal die.
