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A panel assembly for use in any number of different applications, including a variety of vehicle applications, that reduces noise or vibrations, provides thermal insulation, and/or improves structural integrity. According to an exemplary embodiment, the panel assembly includes a main panel made from

A panel assembly for use in any number of different applications, including a variety of vehicle applications, that reduces noise or vibrations, provides thermal insulation, and/or improves structural integrity. According to an exemplary embodiment, the panel assembly includes a main panel made from a metal, one or more sound damping patches also made from a metal, and an adhesive layer that joins the patches to the main panel in a constrained layer construction. The sound damping patches may include one or more forming features, which are designed to improve the formability of the panel assembly without significantly impairing its sound damping characteristics. There are different types of forming features, including internal forming features (e.g., openings, holes, slits, slots, etc.) located within the interior of the patch and external forming features (e.g., projections, fingers, recesses, waveforms, etc.) located along the perimeter of the patch.

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1. A panel assembly, comprising: a main panel made from a metal;a sound damping patch made from a metal and including at least one forming feature that is configured to stretch, compress or both and is positioned on the sound damping patch at a location where it assists with formability of the panel

1. A panel assembly, comprising: a main panel made from a metal;a sound damping patch made from a metal and including at least one forming feature that is configured to stretch, compress or both and is positioned on the sound damping patch at a location where it assists with formability of the panel assembly during a metal stamping or drawing process involving complex material flow; andan adhesive layer joining the sound damping patch to the main panel, wherein the sound damping patch reduces noise or vibrations in the panel assembly. 2. The panel assembly of claim 1, wherein the adhesive layer is made from a viscoelastic adhesive that joins the sound damping patch to the main panel so that the panel assembly operates in a constrained damping layer capacity. 3. The panel assembly of claim 1, wherein the sound damping patch includes at least one internal forming feature that is located in the interior of the sound damping patch and assists with formability during the metal stamping or drawing process. 4. The panel assembly of claim 3, wherein the internal forming feature is located in an expansion zone of the sound damping patch and includes at least one feature selected from the group consisting of: an opening, a hole, a slit, or a slot. 5. The panel assembly of claim 3, wherein the internal forming feature is located in a compression zone of the sound damping patch and includes at least one feature selected from the group consisting of: an opening, a hole, or a slot. 6. The panel assembly of claim 1, wherein the sound damping patch includes a plurality of internal forming features that are located in the interior of the sound damping patch and assist with formability during the metal stamping or drawing process. 7. The panel assembly of claim 6, wherein the plurality of internal forming features includes a first internal forming feature that includes an opening, a hole, a slot or a slit and a second internal forming feature that includes an opening, a hole, a slot or a slit, and the first and second internal forming features are different types of internal forming features. 8. The panel assembly of claim 1, wherein the sound damping patch includes at least one external forming feature that is located along the perimeter of the sound damping patch and assists with formability during the metal stamping or drawing process. 9. The panel assembly of claim 8, wherein the external forming feature includes at least one feature selected from the group consisting of: a projection, a finger, a recess or a waveform. 10. The panel assembly of claim 1, wherein the sound damping patch includes a plurality of external forming features that are located along the perimeter of the sound damping patch and assist with formability during the metal stamping or drawing process. 11. The panel assembly of claim 10, wherein the plurality of external forming features includes a first external forming feature that includes a projection or a recess and a second external forming feature that includes a projection or a recess, and the first and second external forming features are different types of external forming features. 12. The panel assembly of claim 1, wherein the sound damping patch includes both internal and external forming features that assist with formability during the metal stamping or drawing process. 13. The panel assembly of claim 12, wherein the internal forming feature is an opening, a hole, a slot, or a slit and the internal forming feature is generally located within an external forming feature that is a projection. 14. The panel assembly of claim 1, further comprising: at least one weld that joins the sound damping patch to the main panel, wherein the forming feature is strategically located near the weld and is generally perpendicular to strain lines or draw lines of the sound damping patch so that the forming feature relieves some stress or pressure on the weld during the metal stamping or drawing process. 15. A vehicle wheel well made from the panel assembly of claim 1, wherein the main panel forms the wheel well and the sound damping patch reduces noise or vibrations emanating from a vehicle wheel. 16. A vehicle seat tub made from the panel assembly of claim 1, wherein the main panel forms the seat tub and the sound damping patch reduces noise or vibrations emanating from outside of the vehicle. 17. A vehicle dash panel made from the panel assembly of claim 1, wherein the main panel forms the dash panel and the sound damping patch reduces noise or vibrations emanating from an engine compartment. 18. A panel assembly, comprising: a main panel made from a metal;a sound damping patch made from a metal and including at least one internal forming feature that is configured to stretch, compress or experience other distortion and is positioned in the interior of the sound damping patch at a location so that it assists with formability during a metal forming process; andan adhesive layer joining the sound damping patch to the main panel, wherein the sound damping patch reduces noise or vibrations in the panel assembly;wherein the internal forming feature is located in an expansion zone of the sound damping patch and includes at least one feature selected from the group consisting of: an opening, a hole, a slit, or a slot, and the internal forming feature has a pre-forming border with a first dimension and a post-forming border with a second dimension, and during a metal forming process the first dimension expands by at least 10% to result in the second dimension. 19. A panel assembly, comprising: a main panel made from a metal;a sound damping patch made from a metal and including at least one internal forming feature that is configured to stretch, compress or experience other distortion and is positioned in the interior of the sound damping patch at a location so that it assists with formability during a metal forming process; andan adhesive layer joining the sound damping patch to the main panel, wherein the sound damping patch reduces noise or vibrations in the panel assembly;wherein the internal forming feature is located in a compression zone of the sound damping patch and includes at least one feature selected from the group consisting of: an opening, a hole, or a slot, and the internal forming feature has a pre-forming border with a first dimension and a post-forming border with a second dimension, and during a metal forming process the first dimension compresses by at least 10% to result in the second dimension. 20. A method of forming a panel assembly, comprising the steps of: (a) providing a main panel made from a metal;(b) providing a sound damping patch made from a metal, wherein the sound damping patch includes at least one forming feature that is configured to stretch, compress or both and is positioned on the sound damping patch at a location so that it assists with formability during a subsequent metal forming process;(c) joining the sound damping patch to the main panel with an adhesive layer to form the panel assembly; and(d) using a metal forming process involving complex material flow to form the panel assembly into a formed part, wherein the forming feature relieves force or strain on the panel assembly so that the panel assembly can be formed by the metal forming process without experiencing creasing or wrinkling in either the main panel or the sound damping patch. 21. A panel assembly, comprising: a main panel made from a metal;a sound damping patch made from a metal and including at least one forming feature that is configured to stretch, compress or both and is positioned on the sound damping patch at a location where it assists with formability during a metal stamping or drawing process, the sound damping patch reduces noise or vibrations in the panel assembly;an adhesive layer joining the sound damping patch to the main panel; andat least one weld also joining the sound damping patch to the main panel, wherein the forming feature is strategically located near the weld and along strain or draw lines in order to relieve stress or pressure on the weld during the metal stamping or drawing process.