Investigations on the Manufacturability of Thin Press Hardened Steel Components

In the recent years, the automotive industry is focusing on the reduction of the vehicles weight, so as to minimize the CO2 emissions, while improving the crashworthiness levels. In order to achieve a further body-in-white weight reduction and exploit the potential for lightweight construction of the hot-dip aluminized press hardening manganese-boron steel, further research on the design and development of a process chain for the production of thin hot stamped components is carried out. For this purpose the impact of different blank thickness-dependent process parameters on the component properties is determined through both simulation and experimental analysis. The temperature profile of the heating process is determined for different blank thicknesses and the development of the diffusion layer between the AlSi-coating and the base material is examined. With respect to the transfer process of the thin austenitized blanks from the roller hearth furnace into the forming tool, the time slot is determined via the analysis of the corresponding time-temperature curves. In addition, different simulation models are developed, aiming at the validation and optimization of the transfer process. In order to further investigate the manufacturability of thin press hardened components, the simulation of a hot stamping process is carried out. The developed models are verified by an optical 3D forming analysis of the hot stamped components. As a conclusion of the current investigations, thin hot stamped components can be manufactured only under the precondition that the process is optimally designed and the process chain properly adjusted.