Experimental Investigations of Induction Heating in Warm Forming of Stainless Steel Sheets

The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of heating conditions on the temperature distribution in sheet metal. An AMS5604 stainless steel sheet was heated in an induction heater. Then, the hot workpiece was transported to the stamping tool. The uniform temperature distribution is a key factor influencing the possibility of forming and quality of warm-formed parts. To study the temperature distribution in sheet plate we carried out the measurements using termoelements. Furthermore, thermovisual measurements were performed using a FLIR P 640 thermovisual camera. It was found that to improve the uniformity of the temperature distribution in the workpiece the time of heating should be increased. However, the time of transport of the sheet to the tool should be decreased. During air cooling a decrease of the difference between the maximal and minimal temperature of the sheet is observed