Design of a Combined Tool for Sheet Tailoring during Press Hardening

Abstract

Press hardening is used to produce complex parts by hardening them in a die. This results in martensitic structures with high strength values but low ductility. However, for real components, the combination of places with high strength or high ductility is required. One possibility is using a combined tool (i.e., tailoring methods) instead of joining parts by welding or gluing. Therefore, this work was focused on the construction and design of a partly heated and partly cooled tool for press hardening. This makes it possible to process high-strength steels and achieve different mechanical properties at different points in the stamping. To achieve intensive cooling, part of the tool was made by 3D printing, making it possible to create effective cooling channels in the functional part of the tool. The second part of the tool was heated by heating cartridges. FEM in DEFORM software was used to lay out the heating cartridges and cooling channels. The tool was successfully installed on a hydraulic press, including the first tests to achieve omega profiles with different mechanical properties.