Abstract
Hot stamping dies include cooling channels to treat the formed sheet. The optimum cooling channels of dies and molds should adapt to the shape and surface of the dies, so that a homogeneous temperature distribution and cooling are guaranteed. Nevertheless, cooling ducts are conventionally manufactured by deep drilling, attaining straight channels unable to follow the geometry of the tool. Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) is an additive manufacturing technique capable of fabricating nearly free-form integrated cooling channels and therefore shape the so-called conformal cooling. The present work investigates the design and manufacturing of conformal cooling ducts, which are additively built up on hot work steel and then milled in order to attain the final part. Their mechanical performance and heat transfer capability has been evaluated, both experimentally and by means of thermal simulation. Finally, conformal cooling conduits are evaluated and compared to traditional straight channels. The results show that LMD is a proper technology for the generation of cooling ducts, opening the possibility to produce new geometries on dies and molds and, therefore, new products.
Highlights
The die and mold industry plays a significant role in the manufacturing world [1]
Increasing demand in the automotive industry for high strength and lightweight components has led to the promotion and development of hot stamping processes [3]
A boron steel blank is heated until austenization at temperatures between 900 ◦ C and 950 ◦ C inside a furnace and transferred to an internally cooled die set, where it is simultaneously stamped and quenched
Summary
The die and mold industry plays a significant role in the manufacturing world [1]. This is due to the fact that most mass-produced parts are manufactured employing processes that include dies and molds, directly affecting the efficiency of the process, and the quality of the product [2]. Increasing demand in the automotive industry for high strength and lightweight components has led to the promotion and development of hot stamping ( known as Press Hardening) processes [3]. Through this technique, a boron steel blank is heated until austenization at temperatures between 900 ◦ C and 950 ◦ C inside a furnace and transferred to an internally cooled die set, where it is simultaneously stamped and quenched. If the cooling ducts are Metals 2018, 8, 102; doi:10.3390/met8020102 www.mdpi.com/journal/metals
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