The present invention relates to a hot pressing method and a hot pressing system which executes this hot pressing method.
For example, a structural member for automobile is required to realize a reduction in weight while maintaining or improving mechanical strength from a viewpoint of improvement in fuel consumption and a viewpoint of protection of passengers. Generally, a material having high mechanical strength has low formability when being subjected to forming work such as presswork, and thus it is difficult to be worked into a complicated shape. As a working method for realizing the improvement in formability of the material having high mechanical strength, there can be cited a so-called hot pressing method (which is sometimes referred to as a hot stamping method, a hot pressing method, a die-quenching method, or the like as well) in which a heated material (a blank material or a pre-press-formed product) is formed in a press forming die and quenched, as described in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2. With the use of the hot pressing method, since the material is softened at a high temperature when being formed, it has excellent formability, and since the material is quenched and hardened in the press forming die, it is possible to obtain a press-formed product having high mechanical strength.
However, even if the hot pressing method is used, a crack sometimes occurs in a press-formed product. In order to prevent a crack in a press-formed product, Patent Literature 3 discloses a manufacturing method of a cold press-formed product of a member having a cross section in a hat shape which is curved in a planar view based on a line of sight orthogonal to a top plate. Patent Literature 4 discloses a method in which when forming a member having a cross section in a hat shape through hot press forming, an arc-shaped separately-operating punch is built in a metal mold (punch) and the separately-operating punch is made to operate at a forming bottom dead center. Patent Literature 5 discloses a hot press forming method performed by drawing in which formability is improved by cooling a specific portion of a material by using a cooling catalyst in a forming step. However, if the method described in Patent Literature 3 is applied to the hot pressing method, a crack sometimes occurs at a punch shoulder portion. Further, in the method described in Patent Literature 4, it is not possible to suppress a crack in a vertical wall portion that occurs until when the punch reaches the forming bottom dead center.
Further, in a press forming using a pair of metal molds, a method of supporting a blank material by using an inner pad provided in the metal mold is sometimes used. For example, Patent Literatures 5 to 7 disclose a configuration in which a blank material is pressed by an inner pad provided to a metal mold when performing press forming. However, such an inner pad has a volume smaller than that of a main body of the metal mold, so that a temperature thereof is likely to increase. Further, when the hot press forming is performed under a state where the temperature of the inner pad is increased, there is a case where the degree of hardening of a press-formed product to be manufactured is lowered and the mechanical strength is lowered. In particular, when the hot press forming is repeated to manufacture a plurality of press-formed products, since the inner pad is maintained in a state where the temperature thereof is increased, the mechanical strength of press-formed products to be manufactured is sometimes lowered.
Patent Literature 1: Specification of British Patent No. 1490535
Patent Literature 2: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-96031
Patent Literature 3: International Publication Pamphlet No. WO 2014-106932
Patent Literature 4: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2015-20175
Patent Literature 5: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 57-31417
Patent Literature 6: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2010-149184
Patent Literature 7: Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. H5-84418
In view of the above-described actual circumstances, a problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a hot pressing method and a hot pressing system capable of suppressing a crack in a press-formed product and realizing improvement of strength of the press-formed product.
As a result of earnest studies, the present inventor came up with various examples of the invention to be described below.
(1)
A hot pressing method, comprising
manufacturing a press-formed product by performing hot pressing on a blank material by using a metal mold having an upper die, a lower die, and an inner pad which is housed in the lower die in a movable manner and biased in a state of projecting toward the upper die, wherein:
a refrigerant path is provided inside the inner pad; and
by making a refrigerant flow through the refrigerant path, a surface temperature of the inner pad is cooled to a temperature satisfying the following mathematical expression in which an upper limit is set to 100° C., during a period from when removal of the press-formed product from the metal mold is completed to when the next blank material is set in the metal mold,
T≤100×(2.3/t)×(h/100)×(λ/30)×(W/2)×S
wherein
T: surface temperature of inner pad (C)
h: dimension in pressing direction of inner pad (mm)
t: thickness of blank material (mm)
λ: thermal conductivity of inner pad (W/mK)
W: volume ratio of refrigerant path inside inner pad (mm3/mm3)
S: flow rate of refrigerant in refrigerant path (mm/sec).
(2)
The hot pressing method according to (1), wherein
a period of time from when the removal of the press-formed product from the metal mold is completed to when the next blank material is set in the metal mold is set to a period of time satisfying the following mathematical expression in which a lower limit is set to five seconds,
A≥5×(t/2.3)×(100/h)×(30/λ)×(2/W)×(1/s)
wherein
A: period of time from when removal of press-formed product from metal mold is completed to when next blank material is set in metal mold (sec)
h: dimension in pressing direction of inner pad (mm)
t: thickness of blank material (mm)
λ: thermal conductivity of inner pad (W/mK)
W: volume ratio of refrigerant path inside inner pad (mm3/mm3)
S: flow rate of refrigerant in refrigerant path (mm/sec).
(3)
The hot pressing method according to (1) or (2), wherein
a dimension in a pressing direction of the inner pad satisfies the following mathematical expression in which a lower limit is set to 100 mm,
h≥100×(t/2.3)×(30/λ)×(2/W)×(1/S)
wherein
h: dimension in pressing direction of inner pad (mm)
t: thickness of blank material (mm)
λ: thermal conductivity of inner pad (W/mK)
W: volume ratio of refrigerant path inside inner pad (mm3/mm3)
S: flow rate of refrigerant in refrigerant path (mm/sec).
(4)
The hot pressing method according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein
a fluid refrigerant is jetted to the inner pad to cool the inner pad during the period from when the removal of the press-formed product from the metal mold is completed to when the next blank material is set in the metal mold.
(5)
The hot pressing method according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein:
the upper die is provided with a refrigerant jet hole capable of jetting the refrigerant toward the inner pad; and
during the period from when the removal of the press-formed product from the metal mold is completed to when the next blank material is set in the metal mold, the upper die is approximated to the lower die, and the refrigerant is jetted from the refrigerant jet hole toward the inner pad provided to the lower die to cool the inner pad.
(6)
A hot pressing system, comprising:
a press machine performing hot pressing on a blank material by using a metal mold having an upper die, a lower die, and an inner pad housed in the lower die in a movable manner, biased in a state of projecting toward the upper die, and having a refrigerant path provided therein; and
a cooling control unit controlling supply of a refrigerant which cools the inner pad, wherein
the cooling control unit makes the refrigerant flow through the refrigerant path to cool a surface temperature of the inner pad to a temperature satisfying the following mathematical expression in which an upper limit is set to 100° C., during a period from when removal of a press-formed product from the metal mold is completed to when the next blank material is set in the metal mold,
T≤100×(2.3/t)×(h/100)×(λ/30)×(W/2)×S
wherein
T: surface temperature of inner pad (° C.)
h: dimension in pressing direction of inner pad (mm)
t: thickness of blank material (mm)
λ: thermal conductivity of inner pad (W/mK)
W: volume ratio of refrigerant path inside inner pad (mm3/mm3)
S: flow rate of refrigerant in refrigerant path (mm/sec).
(7)
The hot pressing system according to (6), wherein
a period of time from when the removal of the press-formed product from the metal mold is completed to when the next blank material is set in the metal mold is set to a period of time satisfying the following mathematical expression in which a lower limit is set to five seconds,
A≥5×(t/2.3)×(100/h)×(30/λ)×(2/W)×(1/s)
wherein
A: period of time from when removal of press-formed product from metal mold is completed to when next blank material is set in metal mold (sec)
h: dimension in pressing direction of inner pad (mm)
t: thickness of blank material (mm)
λ: thermal conductivity of inner pad (W/mK)
W: volume ratio of refrigerant path inside inner pad (mm3/mm3)
S: flow rate of refrigerant in refrigerant path (mm/sec).
(8)
The hot pressing system according to (6) or (7), wherein
a dimension in a pressing direction of the inner pad satisfies the following mathematical expression in which a lower limit is set to 100 mm,
h≥100×(t/2.3)×(30/λ)×(2/W)×(1/S)
wherein
h: dimension in pressing direction of inner pad (mm)
t: thickness of blank material (mm)
λ: thermal conductivity of inner pad (W/mK)
W: volume ratio of refrigerant path inside inner pad (mm3/mm3)
S: flow rate of refrigerant in refrigerant path (mm/sec).
(9)
The hot pressing system according to any one of (6) to (8), further comprising
a refrigerant jet part jetting the refrigerant to the inner pad, wherein
the refrigerant jet part jets a fluid refrigerant to the inner pad to cool the inner pad during the period from when the removal of the press-formed product from the metal mold is completed to when the next blank material is set in the metal mold.
(10)
The hot pressing system according to any one of (6) to (9), wherein:
the upper die is provided with a refrigerant jet hole capable of jetting the refrigerant toward the inner pad; and
during the period from when the removal of the press-formed product from the metal mold is completed to when the next blank material is set in the metal mold, the press machine makes the upper die approximate to the lower die, and the cooling control unit jets the refrigerant from the refrigerant jet hole toward the inner pad provided to the lower die to cool the inner pad.
According to the present invention, it is possible to realize suppression of a crack in a press-formed product and improvement of strength of the press-formed product.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail while referring to the drawings. In the embodiments of the present invention, an example of manufacturing a first press-formed product by using a first metal mold and an example of manufacturing a second press-formed product by using a second metal mold will be described. For the convenience of explanation, it is set that when description is made simply as “metal mold”, this implies both of “first metal mold” and “second metal mold”, and when description is made as “press-formed product”, this implies both of “first press-formed product” and “second press-formed product”. Further, in the embodiments of the present invention, one press-formed product is manufactured through one time of a hot press forming cycle, and a plurality of press-formed products are continuously manufactured by repeating the hot press forming cycles. Further, in the respective drawings, a pressing direction is indicated by an arrow mark P. Note that the pressing direction P is set to indicate a relative moving direction between an upper die and a lower die when performing hot press forming, and is set to a longitudinal direction in the embodiments of the present invention.
<Press-Formed Product>
First, configuration examples of press-formed products 8, 9 manufactured by a hot pressing method according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. As the press-formed products 8, 9 manufactured by the hot pressing method according to the embodiment of the present invention, a first press-formed product 8 illustrated in
As illustrated in
Besides, as illustrated in
Note that each of the press-formed products 8, 9 illustrated in
<Metal Mold>
Next, a configuration example of metal molds 2, 3 used in the hot pressing method according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described while referring to
As illustrated in
The punch 21 or 31 has a punch projecting portion 211 or 311 projecting toward the side of the die 22 or 32, a punch top portion 212 or 312 provided to a tip of the punch projecting portion 211 or 311, two punch shoulder R portions 213 or 313 provided continuously from the punch top portion 212 or 312, and two punch vertical wall portions 214 or 314 provided continuously from the respective two punch shoulder R portions 213 or 313. The punch top portion 212 or 312 is a portion that forms the top plate portion 81 or 91 of the press-formed product 8 or 9, and has a configuration in a shape of flat surface which is substantially orthogonal to the pressing direction P, for example. The punch shoulder R portions 213 or 313 are portions which form the edge line portions 82 or 92 of the press-formed product 8 or 9, and have a configuration in a shape of curved surface having a predetermined radius of curvature. The punch vertical wall portions 214 or 314 are portions that form the vertical wall portions 83 or 93 of the press-formed product 8 or 9, and have a configuration in a shape of flat surface which inclines at a predetermined angle with respect to the pressing direction P or in a shape of flat surface which is parallel to the pressing direction P. Note that concrete shapes of the respective portions of the punches 21, 31 are specified according to the shapes and the like of the press-formed products 8, 9 to be manufactured, and are not limited to the shapes illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Further, the inner pad 23 is biased toward the die 22 side by the biasing mechanism 24, and the inner pad top portion 231 and the inner pad shoulder R portions 232 are maintained in a state of projecting by a predetermined dimension on the die 22 side from the punch top portion 212. The projecting dimension of the inner pad 23 is set to a dimension with which when the blank material 7 is placed on the inner pad top portion 231, the blank material 7 is not brought into contact with the punch top portion 212 and the punch shoulder R portions 213. However, the concrete projecting dimension is not particularly limited. Further, when the inner pad 23 is pressed from the die 22 side, it enters inside the inner pad housing hole 215, resulting in that the inner pad top portion 231 and the punch top portion 212 become the same in height. In other words, the inner pad top portion 231 and the punch top portion 212 become flush with each other. In this state, the inner pad top portion 231 becomes a part of the punch top portion 212.
As illustrated in
Further, also in the second metal mold 3, the inner pad 33 is biased toward the die 32 side by the biasing mechanism 34, and the inner pad top portion 331 is maintained in a state of projecting on the die 32 side from the low punch top portion 317. The projecting dimension is set to a dimension with which when the blank material 7 is placed on the inner pad top portion 331 and the high punch top portion 316, the blank material 7 is not brought into contact with the low punch top portion 317. Further, when the inner pad 33 is pressed from the die 32 side, it enters inside the inner pad housing hole 315, resulting in that the inner pad top portion 331 and the low punch top portion 317 become the same in height. In this state, the inner pad top portion 331 becomes a part of the low punch top portion 317.
Note that the inner pad 23 or 33 is only required to have a configuration capable of supporting a portion of the blank material 7 to be at least a part of the top plate portion 81 or 91 after the hot press forming. In particular, the inner pad 23 or 33 is only required to have a configuration capable of supporting a portion of the blank material 7 to which a tension is applied in a direction orthogonal to the pressing direction P and the vicinity of the portion when performing the hot press forming. Besides, the inner pad 23 or 33 may have a configuration capable of supporting the entire portion of the blank material 7 to be the top plate portion 81 or 91 after the hot press forming. In
Further, the biasing mechanism 24 or 34 is only required to have a configuration capable of biasing the inner pad 23 or 33 toward the side of the die 22 or 32, and a concrete configuration thereof is not limited. As the biasing mechanism 24 or 34, it is possible to employ publicly-known various biasing mechanisms such as, for example, a spring and a gas cushion.
The die 22 or 32 is provided with a die recessed portion 221 or 321 into which the punch projecting portion 211 or 311 can be fitted. To edge portions of the die recessed portion 221 or 321, die shoulder R portions 222 or 322 are provided. The die shoulder R portions 222 or 322 have a configuration in a shape of curved surface having a predetermined radius of curvature. On a bottom portion of the die recessed portion 221 or 321, a refrigerant jet hole 223 or 323 being a refrigerant jet part for jetting a refrigerant toward the inner pad 23 is provided at a position facing the inner pad 23 or 33 which is housed in the inner pad housing hole 215 or 315. The refrigerant jet hole 223 or 323 becomes a part of an inner pad cooling mechanism 13 (to be described later) that cools the inner pad 23 or 33. By jetting a refrigerant such as water or air from the refrigerant jet hole 223 or 323 toward the inner pad 23 or 33, it is possible to cool the inner pad 23 or 33.
<Configuration and Cooling Method of Inner Pad>
Here, detailed configuration example and cooling method of the inner pad 23 or 33 will be described. In the embodiment of the present invention, the blank material 7 heated in a temperature range of 700 to 950° C., preferably about 750° C., is formed by using the metal mold 2 or 3 and cooled, to thereby manufacture the press-formed product 8 or 9. Subsequently, when performing hot press forming, the blank material 7 is formed in a predetermined shape by the punch 21 or 31 and the die 22 or 32 while being supported by the inner pad 23 or 33. For this reason, when performing the hot press forming, a part of the blank material 7 is brought into contact with the inner pad 23 or 33.
In the press-formed product 8 or 9 to be manufactured as described above, in order to set the strength of the portion which was brought into contact with the inner pad 23 or 33 when performing the hot press forming to be 1500 MPa or more, there is a need to set a cooling rate at the portion to be 30° C./sec or more. However, the inner pad 23 or 33 has a volume which is smaller than that of the punch 21 or 31 and the die 22 or 32, so that the temperature thereof is likely to increase when performing the hot press forming. In particular, when a plurality of press-formed products 8 or 9 are continuously manufactured by repeating the hot press forming cycles, the inner pad 23 or 33 is likely to be maintained in a state where the temperature thereof is increased. Further, if the hot press forming is carried out in the state where the temperature of the inner pad 23 or 33 is increased, the cooling rate at the portion which is brought into contact with the inner pad 23 or 33, of the blank material 7 becomes small, resulting in that it becomes impossible to obtain the predetermined strength. Accordingly, in the embodiment of the present invention, the configuration and the cooling method of the inner pad 23 or 33 are set as follows, which makes it possible to increase the cooling rate at the portion which is brought into contact with the inner pad 23 or 33, of the blank material 7, to obtain the predetermined strength.
Although a material of the inner pad 23 or 33 is not particularly limited, it is preferably a material with a thermal conductivity λ of 30 W/mK or more and a specific heat C of 4.3 J/g·K or more. As such a material, it is possible to employ tool steel or the like, for example. Further, as illustrated in
Further, as a dimension (height) h in the pressing direction of the inner pad 23 or 33, a dimension satisfying the following mathematical expression (1) in which a lower limit is set to 100 mm is employed,
h≥100×(t/2.3)×(30/λ)×(2/W)×(1/S) Mathematical expression (1)
wherein
h: projecting dimension of inner pad (mm)
t: thickness of blank material (mm)
λ: thermal conductivity of inner pad (W/mK)
W: volume ratio of refrigerant path inside inner pad (mm3/mm3)
S: flow rate of refrigerant in refrigerant path (mm/sec).
Further, although an area of the inner pad top portion 231 or 331 (the surface which is brought into contact with the blank material 7) is specified according to the dimension and the like of the press-formed product 8 or 9 to be manufactured, it is possible to employ a range of 3000 to 20000 mm2, for example, and it is possible to employ about 5000 mm2 preferably. By specifying the dimension of the inner pad 23 or 33 as described above, it is possible to suppress the increase in temperature of the inner pad 23 or 33 when performing the hot press forming, and suppress the reduction in the cooling rate of the blank material 7. Specifically, if the volume of the inner pad 23 or 33 is small, there is a possibility that the temperature is increased by the heat of the blank material 7 when performing the hot press forming, which reduces the cooling rate of the blank material 7, resulting in that the hardening becomes insufficient. Accordingly, by setting the inner pad 23 or 33 to have such a dimension, if the blank material 7 is one having a thickness of 0.6 to 3.2 mm, for example, it is possible to secure the cooling rate of 30° C./sec or more.
Further, as described above, in order to set the tensile strength of the portion which was brought into contact with the inner pad 23 or 33 when performing the hot press forming to 1500 MPa or more, the cooling rate at the portion has to be set to 30° C./sec or more. For this reason, before starting the hot press forming (namely, at the point of setting the blank material 7 in the metal mold 2 or 3), the refrigerant is made to flow through the refrigerant path 233 or 333 of the inner pad 23 or 33 to perform cooling so that the surface temperature T of the inner pad top portion 231 or 331 becomes the predetermined temperature or less. Concretely, the surface temperature T of the inner pad top portion 231 or 331 before starting the hot press forming is cooled to satisfy the following mathematical expression (2) in which an upper limit is set to 100° C.,
T≤100×(2.3/t)×(h/100)×(λ/30)×(W/2)×S Mathematical expression (2)
wherein
T: surface temperature of inner pad (° C.)
t: thickness of blank material (mm)
h: projecting dimension of inner pad (mm)
λ: thermal conductivity of inner pad (W/mK)
W: volume ratio of refrigerant path inside inner pad (mm3/mm3)
S: flow rate of refrigerant in refrigerant path (mm/sec).
If the surface temperature T of the inner pad top portion 231 or 331 before starting the hot press forming satisfies the aforementioned mathematical expression (2) in which the upper limit is set to 100° C., the tensile strength of the portion which was brought into contact with the inner pad 23 or 33 when performing the hot press forming can be set to 1500 MPa or more.
Further, in order to satisfy the above-described temperature condition when manufacturing a plurality of press-formed products 8 or 9 by repeating the hot press forming cycles, there is a need to provide a period of time for cooling the inner pad 23 or 33 from when the removal of the press-formed product 8 or 9 manufactured by the previous hot press forming from the metal mold 2 or 3 is completed to when the next blank material 7 is set in the metal mold 2 or 3 (referred to as “waiting time A”, hereinafter). In the embodiment of the present invention, this waiting time A is set to a period of time expressed by the following mathematical expression (3) in which a lower limit is set to five seconds,
A≥5×(t/2.3)×(100/h)×(30/λ)×(2/W)×(1/s) Mathematical expression (3)
wherein
A: waiting time (sec)
t: thickness of blank material (mm)
h: dimension in pressing direction of inner pad (mm)
λ: thermal conductivity of inner pad (W/mK)
W: volume ratio of refrigerant path inside inner pad (mm3/mm3)
S: flow rate of refrigerant in refrigerant path (mm/sec).
Accordingly, it is possible to set the surface temperature T of the inner pad top portion 231 or 331 before starting the hot press forming to the aforementioned temperature.
<Hot Pressing System>
Next, a configuration example of a hot pressing system 1 capable of executing the hot pressing method according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The press machine 11 is only required to have a configuration capable of performing the hot press forming on the blank material 7 by using the metal mold 2 or 3, and a concrete configuration thereof is not particularly limited. As the press machine 11, publicly-known various press machines can be employed. The workpiece transfer mechanism 15 is only required to be able to perform the setting of the blank material 7 in the metal mold 2 or 3 and the removal of the press-formed product 8 or 9 from the metal mold 2 or 3, and a concrete configuration thereof is not particularly limited. For example, as the workpiece transfer mechanism 15, it is possible to employ publicly-known various transfer devices, transfer robots, and the like.
The inner pad cooling mechanism 13 is configured by including the refrigerant path 233 or 333 of the inner pad 23 or 33, the refrigerant jet hole 223 or 323 provided to the die 22 or 32, and a refrigerant supply source 131 which supplies the refrigerant to the refrigerant path 233 or 333 and the refrigerant jet hole 223 or 323. In the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to employ a fluid such as water or air as the refrigerant. Note that a temperature of the refrigerant may be a normal temperature (room temperature), but, it is also possible to use a refrigerant cooled to a temperature lower than the normal temperature. In this case, the inner pad cooling mechanism 13 further has a refrigerant cooling mechanism which cools the refrigerant. In the embodiment of the present invention, the cooling control unit 14 controls the supply of the refrigerant, to thereby control the cooling of the inner pad 23 or 33. For example, the cooling control unit 14 controls a timing at which the refrigerant is supplied to the refrigerant path 233 or 333 of the inner pad 23 or 33 and a flow rate of the refrigerant, and a timing at which the refrigerant is jetted from the refrigerant jet hole 223 or 323 of the die 22 or 32 and an amount of the refrigerant to be jetted.
Note that the configuration of the inner pad cooling mechanism 13 is not limited to one in which the refrigerant jet hole 223 or 323 is provided to the die 22 or 32. Here, another configuration example of the inner pad cooling mechanism 13 will be described.
For each of the press control unit 12, the cooling control unit 14, and the workpiece transfer control unit 16, an apparatus having a computer including a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM is employed. In the ROM of the computer of the press control unit 12, a computer program for controlling the press machine is previously stored. Further, the CPU reads the computer program stored in the ROM, and executes the computer program by using the RAM as a work area. Accordingly, the press machine 11 is controlled. The same applies to the cooling control unit 14 and the workpiece transfer control unit 16. Further, when the computers of the press control unit 12, the cooling control unit 14, and the workpiece transfer control unit 16 are cooperated, the hot pressing method according to the embodiment of the present invention is executed.
<Hot Pressing Method>
Next, the hot pressing method according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In the embodiment of the present invention, a temperature of the blank material 7 at a timing at which the blank material 7 is set in the metal mold 2 or 3 is set to fall within a temperature range of 700 to 950° C., and is preferably set to about 750° C. Further, a surface temperature of the metal mold 2 or 3 at the timing at which the blank material 7 is set in the metal mold 2 or 3 is set to 100° C. or less. In particular, the surface temperature T of the inner pad top portion 231 or 331 is set to a temperature satisfying the aforementioned mathematical expression (2) in which the upper limit is set to 100° C., as described above. Accordingly, it is possible to set a cooling rate of the blank material 7 when performing the hot press forming to 30° C./sec or more, and manufacture the press-formed product 8 or 9 having the predetermined mechanical strength.
First, a case of using the first metal mold 2 will be described. As illustrated in
Subsequently, as illustrated in
As described above, the inner pad top portion 231 is projected by the predetermined dimension from the punch top portion 212 toward a side close to the die 22 when starting the hot press forming, it is pressed by the die 22 via the blank material 7 in accordance with the approximation of the die 22 with respect to the punch 21, which reduces the projecting dimension, and when the die 22 reaches the bottom dead center, the inner pad top portion 231 becomes a part of the punch top portion 212. Further, in the hot pressing method according to the embodiment of the present invention, the die 22 is approximated to the punch 21 while supporting the blank material 7 by the inner pad 23, thereby manufacturing the first press-formed product 8.
Next, as illustrated in
Subsequently, in accordance with the control made by the workpiece transfer control unit 16, when the waiting time A satisfies the aforementioned mathematical expression (3) in which the lower limit is set to five seconds, the workpiece transfer mechanism 15 sets the next blank material 7 in the first metal mold 2. Accordingly, the next blank material 7 is set in the first metal mold 2 in a state where the surface temperature of the first metal mold 2 is 100° C. or less, particularly, the surface temperature T of the inner pad top portion 231 is cooled to the temperature expressed by the aforementioned mathematical expression (2) in which the upper limit is set to 100° C. Therefore, when the next blank material 7 is subjected to the hot press forming, it is possible to set the cooling rate at the portion which is brought into contact with the inner pad top portion 231 to 30° C./sec or more, resulting in that the first press-formed product 8 having the predetermined strength (which is 1500 MPa or more in this case) can be manufactured.
Next, an example of using the second metal mold 3 will be described. Note that explanation regarding a method same as the method of using the first metal mold 2 will be omitted.
As illustrated in
After that, as illustrated in
Subsequently, after the completion of the hot press forming cycle, the next hot press forming cycle is carried out. Note that the waiting time A is the same as that in the case of using the first metal mold 2. With the use of such a method, an effect similar to that of the case of using the first metal mold 2 is exhibited.
<Suppression of Crack Realized by Inner Pad>
Next, a function of suppressing a crack in the press-formed product 8 or 9 obtained by the inner pad 23 or 33 will be described by contrast with an example of using a metal mold 5 or 6 of a comparative example which does not have the inner pad 23 or 33. In a shape such as one of the first press-formed product 8 in which it is formed in a hat shape and having the curved portion 84, a crack is likely to occur in the vertical wall portion 83 on an outer peripheral side of the curved portion 84. Further, in a shape such as one of the second press-formed product 9 in which the top plate stepped portion 913 is provided to the top plate portion 91 in a hat shape, a crack is likely to occur in a portion in close vicinity to the top plate stepped portion 913 of the vertical wall portion 93. These portions have characteristics of the following (i) to (iii).
(i) The tension is applied in not only the pressing direction P but also a direction orthogonal to the pressing direction P during the hot press forming.
(ii) The portion is not brought into contact with the metal mold 2 or 3, so that a temperature thereof is maintained to a high temperature.
(iii) The portion is sandwiched by the die shoulder R portion 222 and the punch shoulder R portion 213 of the metal mold 2 or 3.
Further, in the first press-formed product 8, a strain is concentrated on the vertical wall portion 83 on the outer peripheral side of the curved portion 84 when performing the hot press forming. Further, in the second press-formed product 9, a strain is concentrated on a portion in close vicinity to the top plate stepped portion 913 of the vertical wall portion 93 (the portion at which the height of the top plate portion 91 changes). For this reason, in these portions, the plate thickness reduction rate becomes high, and a crack is likely to occur. Accordingly, in the hot pressing method according to the embodiment of the present invention, by using the inner pad 23 or 33, the range capable of preventing or suppressing the reduction in temperature is increased at the portion of the blank material 7 to be the vertical wall portion 83 on the outer peripheral side of the curved portion 84 and the portion of the blank material 7 to be the portion in close vicinity to the top plate stepped portion 913 of the vertical wall portion 93. Consequently, a local concentration of the strain is suppressed, thereby preventing or suppressing the occurrence of crack.
When the first press-formed product 8 is manufactured by using the metal mold 5 of the first comparative example which does not have the inner pad 23, the blank material 7 is subjected to hot press forming in a state of being supported by the punch top portion 212. Further, the die shoulder contacted portions 71 of the blank material 7 are cooled by being brought into contact with the die shoulder R portions 222, and the punch shoulder contacted portions 74 (which indicate portions of the blank material 7 which are brought into contact with the punch shoulder R portions 213) are cooled by being brought into contact with the punch shoulder R portions 213. If such a configuration is employed, a range of the non-contact portion 73 between the die shoulder contacted portion 71 and the punch shoulder contacted portion 74 is narrower than that in the method of using the first metal mold 2 having the inner pad 23. Specifically, a range of the portion at which the reduction in temperature is suppressed is narrow. Further, since the strain is concentrated on this small range, the plate thickness reduction rate becomes high, and a crack is likely to occur. Besides, if the configuration in which the curved portion 84 is provided to the first press-formed product 8 is employed, the concentration of the strain on the portion positioned at the curved portion 84 of the vertical wall portion 83 occurs significantly. This is because, when the edge line portions 82 are curved when viewed in the pressing direction, a flow of the blank material 7 becomes non-uniform when performing the hot press forming.
On the contrary, as illustrated in
Further, while maintaining this state, the punch 21 and the die 22 are made to approximate in a relative manner to perform clamping, thereby manufacturing the first press-formed product 8. At this time, the die shoulder contacted portions 71 of the blank material 7 are cooled by being brought into contact with the die shoulder R portions 222, and the inner pad shoulder contacted portions 72 are cooled by being brought into contact with, not the punch shoulder R portions 213 but the inner pad shoulder R portions 232. With the use of such a configuration, the range of the non-contact portions 73 (namely, the portions where the reduction in temperature is prevented or suppressed) can be increased, so that in the portion of the blank material 7 to be the curved portion 84, the concentration of strain is suppressed when performing the hot press forming. For this reason, the plate thickness reduction rate is reduced, and the occurrence of crack is suppressed.
Each of
As is apparent from the comparison between
Note that in the embodiment of the present invention, the first press-formed product 8 has the curved portion 84 curved when viewed in the pressing direction, and the method of preventing or suppressing the occurrence of crack in this curved portion 84 is described, but, it is possible to prevent or suppress the occurrence of crack also in a press-formed product having a shape other than the shape as described above. For example, the hot pressing method according to the embodiment of the present invention can also be applied to the manufacture of a press-formed product having edge line portions in a ring shape such as a circular shape, an elliptical shape, or a polygonal shape, and also in the press-formed products having these shapes, it is possible to prevent or suppress the occurrence of crack.
As illustrated in
In the embodiment of the present invention, by using the second metal mold 3 having the inner pad 33, the range of the portion where the reduction in temperature is prevented or suppressed is increased in the portion to be the vertical wall portion 93 (the portion in close vicinity to the top plate stepped portion 913, in particular). This makes it possible to alleviate the local strain concentration to prevent or suppress the occurrence of crack. Besides, as illustrated in
Further, by the operation of reducing the tension which occurs in the blank material 7 and the operation of increasing the range of the non-contact portion 73 of the blank material 7, the operations being obtained by the inner pad 33, the formability is greatly improved. As described above, by using the second metal mold 3 having the inner pad 33 when manufacturing the second press-formed product 9 provided with the high top plate portion 911 and the low top plate portion 912, it is possible to prevent or suppress the occurrence of crack due to the tension applied in the direction orthogonal to the pressing direction P, in the portion in close vicinity to the top plate stepped portion 913 of the vertical wall portion 93 (the vertical wall portion 93 continued to the low top plate portion 912).
Each of
As is apparent from the comparison between
Next, examples will be described. In the examples of the present invention, a press-formed product was manufactured by setting a target of the tensile strength to 1500 MPa, and measurements were conducted regarding (1) the surface temperature T of the inner pad top portion 231 or 331 at a timing of setting the blank material 7 in the metal mold 2 or 3, and mechanical strength of a portion which was brought into contact with the inner pad top portion 231 or 331, of the manufactured press-formed product 8 or 9, and (2) a relationship between the waiting time A (a period of time from when the removal of the press-formed product 8 or 9 from the metal mold 2 or 3 is completed to when the next blank material 7 is set) and the surface temperature T of the inner pad top portion 231 or 331.
The measurement conditions are as follows. A contact area between the blank material 7 and the inner pad 23 or 33 is 5000 mm2. The dimension h in the pressing direction of the inner pad 23 or 33 is 100 mm. The inner pad 23 or 33 is tool steel, the thermal conductivity λ thereof is 30 W/mK, and a specific heat C thereof is 4.3 J/g·K. The volume ratio W of the refrigerant path 233 or 333 inside the inner pad 23 or 33 is 0.02. The depth from the surface of the inner pad 23 or 33 to the refrigerant path 233 or 333 is 20 mm. As the blank material 7, a plate material of carbon steel with a carbon amount of 0.11% in terms of mass % and a thickness t of 2.3 mm was used. A temperature of the blank material 7 at the point of setting the blank material 7 in the metal mold 2 or 3 was set to 750° C. As the refrigerant, water was used. The flow rate of the refrigerant in the refrigerant path 233 or 333 was set to 1 m/s.
The embodiments of the present invention have been described above in detail while referring to the drawings. However, the above-described embodiments are merely exemplifications for implementing the present invention. The present invention can be implemented by appropriately changing the above-described embodiments within the scope which does not depart from the gist thereof, without being limited to the above-described embodiments.
The present invention can be utilized for an industry related to a hot pressing system which executes a hot pressing method.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2016/079386 | 10/4/2016 | WO | 00 |