Evaluation of Models for Cooling System Design in Hot Stamping Tools

Abstract

The hot stamping process is beneficial in the production of parts with high strength and light weight properties. In hot stamping, the sheet metal is firstly heated and rapidly formed and cooled in a closed tool. One of the critical goals in research linked to hot stamping involves the reduction in cycle time. This is mainly because the cycle time has an effect on the economics of the process and it also affects the resultant quality characteristics of the formed part. Hence recent studies have focused on improving the design of cooling systems and use of thermally conductive tool materials so as to increase the cooling performance of the tools. This enables the manufacture of a sound product and the reduction of the overall cycle time. Researchers have developed models which guide in the selection of optimum cooling system parameters. However, the models have some limitations and some of them are difficult to implement. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the developed models.