Circle grid analysis also known as circle grid strain analysis, is a method of measuring the strain levels of sheet metal

Sheet metal

Sheet metal is simply metal formed into thin and flat pieces. It is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and can be cut and bent into a variety of different shapes. Countless everyday objects are constructed of the material...

 after a part is formed by stamping

Stamping (metalworking)

Stamping includes a variety of sheet-metal forming manufacturing processes, such as punching using a machine press or stamping press, blanking, embossing, bending, flanging, and coining. This could be a single stage operation where every stroke of the press produce the desired form on the sheet...

 or drawing

Drawing (manufacturing)

Drawing is a metalworking process which uses tensile forces to stretch metal. It is broken up into two types: sheet metal drawing and wire, bar, and tube drawing. The specific definition for sheet metal drawing is that it involves plastic deformation over a curved axis...

. The name itself is a fairly accurate description of the process. Literally, a grid of circles of known diameter is etched to the surface of the sheet metal to be formed. After the part is formed, the circles have been stretched into ellipses. By measuring the longest part of the ellipse (called the “major strain”) and the shortest part of the ellipse (called the “minor strain”), it is possible to determine how close any stamped part is to splitting or fracturing.

The goal of using circle grid strain analysis is to predict potential problems before they become problems. Once you have a forming problem, chances are circle grid analysis won’t be able to help you, unless it’s intermittent enough to form a “good” part from time to time.