Enhancement of process stability and part quality for the press hardening of sheet metal

The production of high-strength structural components can be accomplished using methods like press hardening of sheet metal, tubes and profiles. However, the current needs of the automotive manufacturers can only be met using components with localized tailored properties. Initial approaches used tailored products, which resulted in complex manufacturing processes for semifinished products incurring higher associated costs. The influencing of part properties using controlled temperature management in the forming tool has shown great potential to satisfy the requirements of the automotive manufacturers. Recent studies focussed on the tool design, aiming to increase the process stability and part quality. The article primarily deals with the determination of the heat transfer coefficient (HTC) and the simulation of the temperature distribution in the tool in order to attain parts with tailored properties