What kind of steel and technology is required for stamping dies?

High strength steel stamping dies

Today's high-strength steel and ultra-high-strength steel are very good at realizing the light weight of vehicles and improving their crash strength and safety performance, so they have become an important development direction for automotive steel. However, as the strength of the plate increases, the traditional cold stamping process is prone to rupture during the forming process and cannot meet the processing process requirements of high strength steel plates. When the forming conditions cannot be met, the hot stamping and forming technology for ultra-high strength steel sheets is gradually being studied internationally. This technology is a new process that integrates forming, heat transfer and tissue phase change, mainly using the high temperature austenite state, the plasticity of the plate increases and the yield strength decreases, and the process of forming through the mould. However, thermoforming requires in-depth research on process conditions, metal phase transformation and CAE analysis techniques, and the technology is monopolised by foreign manufacturers, with slow development in China.

In the past, when producing deep-drawn or heavy-drawn workpieces, it was accepted that pressure-resistant (EP) lubricants were the best choice for protecting the tooling. There has been a long history of sulphur and chlorine EP additives being mixed into pure oils to improve die life. But with the advent of new metals - high strength steels - and stringent environmental requirements, the value of EP oil-based lubricants has diminished, if not lost its market.

With the forming of high strength steels at high temperatures, EP oil-based lubricants have lost their ability to provide a physical die protection diaphragm in extreme temperature applications. In contrast, the extreme temperature IRMCO high solid polymer lubricant provides the necessary protection. As the metal is deformed in the stamping die and the temperature rises, the EP oil-based lubricants all become thinner and in some cases reach their flash point or burn (smoke).IRMCO high polymer lubricants generally start off with a much lower consistency when sprayed on. As the temperature rises during the forming process, it becomes thicker and tougher. In fact, polymeric extreme temperature lubricants are "heat-seeking" and stick to the metal, forming a diaphragm that reduces friction. This protective barrier controls friction and metal flow by allowing the part to stretch without breaking or bonding during the most demanding part forming. This effectively protects the die, extending its life and increasing the strength of the press.

The rapid development and organic combination of computer technology, mechanical design and manufacturing technology has resulted in the new technology of Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM).

CAD/CAM is the key technology to transform the traditional mould production method, is a high-tech, high-efficiency system engineering, it is in the form of computer software to provide users with an effective auxiliary tools, so that engineers and technicians can use the computer on the product, mould structure, forming process, CNC machining and cost design and optimisation. Mould CAD/CAM can significantly shorten the mould design and manufacturing cycle, reduce production costs and improve product quality has become a consensus.

With the emergence of powerful professional software and efficient integrated manufacturing equipment, three-dimensional modelling-based, parallel engineering (CE) based mould CAD/CAM technology is becoming the direction of development, it can achieve manufacturing and assembly-oriented design, the simulation of the forming process and CNC machining process simulation, so that the design, manufacturing integration.

Fast economic mould making technology in order to adapt to the needs of industrial production of many varieties, small batch production, speed up the manufacturing speed of mould, reduce the cost of mould production, the development and application of fast economic mould making technology is more and more people's attention. Fast economic mould making technology mainly has low melting point alloy mould making technology, zinc-based alloy mould making technology, epoxy resin mould making technology, spraying into shape mould making technology, laminated steel plate mould making technology, etc. The application of rapid economic mould making technology manufacturing mould, can simplify the mould manufacturing process, shorten the manufacturing cycle (than ordinary steel mould manufacturing cycle shortened by 70% ~ 90%), reduce the mould production cost (than ordinary steel mould manufacturing cost reduced by 60% ~ 80%), in industrial production has achieved significant economic benefits. To improve the development speed of new products, promote the development of production has a very important role.