Patent Grant
11135634
This is the U.S. National Phase application of PCT/JP2018/010829, filed Mar. 19, 2018, which claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-062450, filed Mar. 28, 2017, the disclosures of each of these applications being incorporated herein by reference in their entireties for all purposes.
The present invention relates to a press forming device press-forming abase sheet or a material to be processed (blank) obtained by applying bending or drawing to a base sheet beforehand into a hat cross-sectional shape not having a flange portion and a technology of producing a press-formed article of a hat cross-sectional shape not having a flange portion.
When a metal sheet (base sheet) is press-formed into a hat cross-sectional shape having a top sheet portion and right and left vertical wall portions continuous thereto as typified by a lower member which is a constituent component of a vehicle front impact-absorbing member, springback deformation due to elastic recovery occurs in a press-formed article after forming release, so that product dimensional accuracy resulting from the springback deformation poses a problem in some cases. Particularly in a recent automobile frame component, the use of thin high-tensile steel sheets for the constituent component has increased in order to simultaneously achieve both a body weight reduction and collision safety. However, when a metal sheet containing such materials is simply press-formed, the springback is large, so that poor dimensional accuracy becomes obvious.
The poor dimensional accuracy problem becomes obvious particularly when performing press-forming into a component in which at least one of vertical wall portions is curved as viewed from above as illustrated in
Herein, the collapse of the cross-sectional shape occurs due to a phenomenon in which the elasticity is recovered in a direction where the cross section of the pressed component is opened mainly due to an angle change in a bent portion which is a boundary portion between the top sheet portion and the vertical wall portions and the warping of the vertical wall portions.
Furthermore, when a component in which at least one of the vertical wall portions is curved in the longitudinal direction is produced, the springback deformation occurs in a waving shape in the vertical wall portions due to a difference in the warping degree of the vertical wall portion in each cross section in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, the waving of the vertical wall portions generated by the deformation poses a problem. The waving of the vertical wall portions is difficult to improve in expectation for a die shape. Therefore, a press-forming technology of reducing the warping itself of the vertical wall in each cross section is required.
As a countermeasure technology against the warping of the vertical wall portion, a forming technology of reducing a stress difference between the front and rear sides in the sheet thickness direction which is a principal factor of the warping has been conventionally considered.
For example, PTL 1 has proposed a technology of forming an intermediate component, which has been formed so as to be higher or lower by several millimeters than the vertical wall height of a product shape in a proceeding process, so as to have a vertical wall height of the product shape in the final process to thereby generate tensile or compression stress in the entire vertical wall to suppress vertical wall warping.
PTL 2 has proposed a technology of pressing a blank with an upper die and a lower die, and then applying compression stress to a component vertical wall portion in a state where the flange end is constrained by the elevation of a holder provided with a structure constraining end portions.
PTL 3 discloses a structure having a pair of die structures having an upper die and a lower die performing die clamping, in which a pad is provided on the undersurface side of the upper die and the lower die has a cushion. A technology has been proposed in which the upper die and the pad have a structure in which connection portions having irregular shapes are engaged with each other in order to prevent buckling of a vertical wall portion and compression stress is applied to the vertical wall portion in a state where blank end portions are constrained by the structure. In PTL 3, the compression amount between the upper die and the pad is adjusted based on the thickness of a shim inserted in a spacer insertion portion (Paragraphs 0035 and 0045).
PTL 1: JP 4879588 B
PTL 2: JP 5444687 B
PTL 3: JP 3856094 B
However, PTLs 1 and 2 assume a forming technology of a hat cross-sectional component having a flange portion, and thus are difficult to be applied to a hat cross-sectional component not having a flange portion, such as a lower member. Furthermore, PTLs 1 and 2 described above do not take effective countermeasures against the blank buckling which poses a problem in applying the compression stress to the component vertical wall portion, and therefore the compression amount which can be applied is limited.
PTL 3 has a mechanism of preventing the blank from buckling during compression by giving the irregular shapes to the connection portions of the upper die and the pad. However, according to the forming technology, not only the die structure becomes complicated but there is a risk that the die is greatly damaged when forming is performed in a state where the irregular shapes are not successfully engaged with each other, and therefore it is considered that the application to mass production is difficult. Moreover, the compression amount is also adjusted based on the thickness of the shim, and therefore the adjustment becomes correspondingly complicated.
The present invention has been made focusing on the above-described problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a press forming device capable of reducing warping of a vertical wall portion occurring in a component shape not having a flange portion without causing buckling when performing press-forming into a press-formed article of a hat cross-sectional shape not having a flange portion and a method for producing a press-formed article.
The present inventors have extensively examined the warping of a curved vertical wall portion caused by springback. As a result, the present inventors have obtained knowledge that, by applying compression stress to the vertical wall portion in a state where blank end portions are constrained with stoppers and out-of-plane deformation of the blank end portions is constrained with a bending blade and a punch, the stress difference between the rear and front sides in the sheet thickness direction generated before the application of the compression decreases, so that the vertical wall warping can be reduced.
The present invention has been made based on such knowledge.
In order to solve the problems, a press forming device of one aspect of the present invention is a press forming device for performing a first process of bend-forming a base sheet or a material to be processed obtained by applying bending or drawing to a base sheet beforehand into a hat cross-sectional shape having a top sheet portion and right and left vertical wall portions continuous to both sides in the width direction of the top sheet portion and not having a flange portion and a second process of applying compression by a preset compression amount in a direction along the press direction to the vertical wall portions in the formed state by the first process, and the press forming device is provided with
a punch and a pad sandwiching the top sheet portion therebetween in the sheet thickness direction, bending blades disposed on the sides of the punch and the pad and bend-forming the vertical wall portions, and stoppers facing the bending blades in the press direction and constraining end portions of the material to be processed, in which the pad and the bending blades configure an upper die,
the punch is supported by a first cushion component elastically expandable and contractible in the press direction,
the bending blades each have an upper die component and a lower die component which are vertically divided in the middle of the press direction and disposed facing each other in the press direction with an interval equal to or larger than the compression amount to be applied and a second cushion component interposed between the upper die component and the lower die component, maintaining the interval, and contractible in the press direction at a predetermined pressure or more, and
the cushion pressure of the second cushion component is lower than the cushion pressure of the first cushion component and has such cushion pressure that the second cushion component does not contract during the bend-forming of the vertical wall portions in the first process.
A method for producing a press-formed article of one aspect of the present invention includes a first process of forming a base sheet or a material to be processed obtained by applying bending or drawing to a base sheet beforehand into a hat cross-sectional shape having a top sheet portion and right and left vertical wall portions continuous to both sides in the width direction of the top sheet portion and not having a flange portion and a second process of applying compression by a preset compression amount in a direction along the press direction to the vertical wall portions in the formed state by the first process, in which,
using a die which is provided with a punch and a pad sandwiching the top sheet portion therebetween in the sheet thickness direction, bending blades disposed on the sides of the punch and the pad and bend-forming the vertical wall portions, and stoppers facing the bending blades in the press direction and constraining end portions of the material to be processed and in which the pad and the bending blades configure an upper die and the bending blades each have an upper die component and a lower die component vertically divided in the middle of the press direction and disposed facing each other in the press direction with an interval equal to or larger than the compression amount to be applied and a cushion component interposed between the upper die component and the lower die component, maintaining the interval, and contractible in the press direction at a predetermined pressure or more,
in the first process, the vertical wall portions are bend-formed by moving the bending blades in the press direction while maintaining a state where the cushion component does not contract by cushion pressure until the end portions of the material to be processed abut on the stoppers and the lower die components abut on the stoppers while sandwiching the top sheet portion with the punch and the pad and
in the second process, the bending blades are further moved in the press direction by the preset compression amount following the first process, so that the vertical wall portions are sandwiched between the bending blades and the side surface of the punch, whereby the interval becomes small while preventing buckling, so that the compression is applied to the vertical wall portions.
One aspect of the present invention can provide a press-formed article having good dimensional accuracy by reducing the warping of vertical wall portions occurring when performing press-forming into a component shape having the top sheet portion and the vertical wall portions continuous thereto and not having a flange portion.
Next, an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.
Herein, the following description is directed to a hat cross-sectional shape having a top sheet portion 1A and right and left vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb continuous to both sides in the width direction of the top sheet portion 1A and not having a flange portion as illustrated in
The present invention in an embodiment particularly exhibits the effects when a material to be processed 2 is a metal sheet having tensile strength of 440 MPa or more and preferably 590 MPa or more.
<Die>
A press forming device of this embodiment is provided with a punch 21 and a pad 11 sandwiching the top sheet portion 1A therebetween in the sheet thickness direction, bending blades 12 disposed on the sides of the punch 21 and the pad 11 and bend-forming the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb, and stoppers 22 facing the bending blades 12 in the press direction and constraining end portions of the material to be processed 2 (see
Herein, the cushion component is a device provided with a pressure maintaining function to generate reaction force against a formed article by hydraulic pressure, pneumatic pressure, or the like. The reaction force generated by the cushion component serves as the cushion pressure.
Next, a specific example of the press forming device of this embodiment is described with reference to
The press forming device of this embodiment is provided with an upper die 10 and a lower die 20 as illustrated in
The upper die 10 is provided with the pad 11 and the bending blades 12. The pad 11 is attached to the undersurface of a press sheet 13 for upper die through a third cushion component 15. In the third cushion component 15, the axis in the expanding and contracting direction is set in the press direction (vertical direction in
The bending blades 12 are disposed on the sides of the pad 11 and used for bend-forming the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb. The bending blades 12 each are divided into the upper die component 12A and the lower die component 12B by a plane crossing the press direction at arbitrary positions among positions facing the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb. The upper die components 12A have shoulder portions 12Aa having upper end portions fixed to the press sheet 13 for upper die and bend-forming connection portions of the top sheet portion 1A and the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb.
The interval D between the upper die component 12A and the lower die component 12B is set to the interval D equal to or larger than the preset compression amount. The interval D is maintained by the second cushion component 14 interposed between the upper die component 12A and the lower die component 12B. The interval D may be set to a size of several millimeters which is less than 10 mm. By setting the interval D to be equal to or larger than the assumed compression amount, a plurality of compression amounts can be simply dealt with.
The second cushion component 14 is formed by a gas spring, for example, and is contractible when pressure equal to or higher than the preset predetermined pressure is applied in a direction along the press direction. For example, when the predetermined pressure described above is applied, the second cushion component 14 begins to contract. The interval D decreases by the amount corresponding to the magnitude of the applied pressure. The second cushion component 14 is provided so as to be contractible until the upper die component 12A and the lower die component 12B abut on each other, i.e., the interval D becomes zero. The cushion pressure of the second cushion component 14 is set to 3 ton, for example.
The lower die 20 is provided with the punch 21 and the stoppers 22 disposed on the sides of the punch 21.
The punch 21 is set to face the pad 11 in the press direction and provided through the first cushion component 24 with respect to the upper surface of a press sheet 23 for lower die. The first cushion component 24 is formed by a die cushion, such as a cushion pin, for example, and is elastically expandable and contractible in the press direction. The cushion pressure of the first cushion component 24 is set to 50 ton, for example.
The stoppers 22 are fixed to the upper surface of the press sheet 23 for lower die. The gap between the punch 21 and the stoppers 22 is set to be less than the thickness of the material to be processed 2, e.g., 0.02 mm or less, as viewed in the press direction.
Herein, the cushion pressure of each of the first cushion component 24, the second cushion component 14, and the third cushion component 15 is set to satisfy the following relationship.
First cushion component 24>Third cushion component 15
Third cushion component 15>Second cushion component 14
However, the cushion pressure of the second cushion component 14 is set to be equal to or higher than such cushion pressure that the interval D between the upper die component 12A and the lower die component 12B does not vary, i.e., the cushion component does not contract, in a state where the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb are bend-formed and compressive force in a direction along the press direction is not applied to the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb.
By setting the relationship of “Cushion pressure of first cushion component 24>Cushion pressure of third cushion component 15”, the punch 21 placed on the first cushion component 24 can be set so as not to move up and down when bend-forming is advanced by the bending blades 12 while pressing the top sheet portion 1A with the pad 11.
When the cushion pressure (pressure) of the second cushion component 14 is set to 3 ton or more, the interval D between the upper die component 12A and the lower die component 12B can be maintained constant in bend-forming the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb.
Moreover, by setting the relationship of “Cushion pressure of first cushion component 24>Cushion pressure of second cushion component 14”, a desired compression amount can be applied to the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb by lowering the upper die 10 in a second process.
<Method for Producing Press-Formed Article 1>
Next, a method for producing the press-formed article 1 using the above-described press forming device is described.
The method for producing the press-formed article 1 of this embodiment has at least the first process and the second process performed following the first process.
The first process includes bend-forming the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb of a base sheet or the material to be processed 2 (blank) obtained by applying bending or drawing to a base sheet beforehand into a hat cross-sectional shape having the top sheet portion 1A and the right and left vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb continuous to both sides in the width direction of the top sheet portion 1A and not having a flange portion to achieve a first formed state. More specifically, the first process is a process of forming the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb by setting the material to be processed 2 (blank) in the die, and then sandwiching the top sheet portion 1A of the material to be processed 2 with the punch 21 and the pad 11 and lowering the lower bending blades (lower die components 12B) of the divided bending blades 12 until the undersurfaces of the lower bending blades contact the stoppers 22.
The second process includes applying compression to the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb by the preset compression amount in a direction along the press direction in the bend-formed state by the first process to achieve a second formed state. More specifically, the second process is a process in which the upper die 10 is further lowered while maintaining the state where the entire component is sandwiched with the pad 11, the bending blades 12, and the punch 21 after the first formed state by the first process, and then the punch 21 placed on the first cushion component 24 is lowered accompanying the lowering. At this time, the upper die 10 is lowered until the second cushion components 14 (gas spring) set in the divided bending blades 12 contract, so that the interval D of the divided bending blades 12 decreases by the preset compression amount. Moreover, end portions (lower end portions of the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb) of the material to be processed 2 are constrained by being perpendicularly pressed against the surfaces of the stoppers 22 and do not move.
An operation of the die in the press-forming is described with reference to
First, the top sheet portion 1A of the blank is placed on the punch bottom as illustrated in
Next, the upper die 10 is lowered, whereby the top sheet portion 1A of the blank 2 is sandwiched with the punch 21 and the pad 11 as illustrated in
In this state (see
Next, after the first formed state, the upper die 10 is further lowered by the preset compression amount as illustrated in
Finally, the upper die 10 is raised as illustrated in
As described above, this embodiment can form the blank (material to be processed 2) into a component of a hat shaped cross section not having a flange portion, apply target compressive force to the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb, and reduce the warping of the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb occurring in performing the press-forming into the component shape having the top sheet portion 1A and the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb continuous thereto and not having a flange portion only by adjusting the lowering amount of the upper die 10. As a result, the press-formed article 1 with good dimensional accuracy can be provided.
Next, Examples based on embodiments of the present invention are described.
A 440 MPa grade cold-rolled steel sheet (sheet thickness of 1.0 mm) and a 1180 MPa grade cold-rolled steel sheet (sheet thickness of 1.0 mm) as base sheets were press-formed into the press-formed article 1 of the hat cross-sectional shape having the top sheet portion 1A, the linear vertical wall portion 1Bb, and the curved vertical wall portion 1Ba and not having a flange portion as illustrated in
At this time, in order to vary the compression amount to the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb of the press-formed article 1, blanks in which the blank shapes were individually adjusted so that the blank lengths of the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb were longer by 1 to 5 mm than the heights of the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb of a formed article as in the developed blank shape illustrated in
Then, each blank above was subjected to usual processing of performing foam forming in a state where the top sheet portion 1A was sandwiched with the pad 11 beforehand, and then sprung back by forming release to create a blank (material to be processed 2). Then, the blank was press-formed using the die described in the embodiment.
The compression amount to be set corresponds to the length made larger than the heights of the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb of the formed article. More specifically, the compression amount was set in the range of 1 to 5 mm. The compression amount can be adjusted by the lowering amount of the upper die 10.
The heights of the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb in the product shape were set to 83 mm as illustrated in
Then, the deviation degree of the cross-sectional shape when each compression ratio was applied from the component shape as a product after the press-forming was measured along the longitudinal direction.
Table 1 illustrates the amount in which the vertical wall portion 1Ba was lengthened from the component shape and the compression ratio generated in the vertical wall portions 1Ba, 1Bb at this time. The amount obtained by subtracting the minimum value from the maximum value of the deviation amount from the product shape along the longitudinal direction is defined as the waving amount. In the evaluation of this Example, a case where the waving amount was 5 mm or less was determined that the shape fixability was excellent, which was expressed by “◯” in Table 1. Some actual products are passed even when the waving amount is 10 mm or less in some cases. Even when the waving amount determination was “x” in Table 1, some products are passed as a product in some cases. Herein, the compression ratio is a ratio of the compression amount to the height of the vertical wall portion 1Ba ((Compression amount/Height of vertical wall portion)×100) in the final product shape.
As is understood from
Next, the buckling wrinkle height was acquired from the cross-sectional shape at a position 50 mm below the shoulder R stop of the punch 21 of the vertical wall portion 1Ba on the curved side at positions illustrated in
As is understood from
Although the description is given referring to a limited number of embodiments herein, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. It is obvious for those skilled in the art to alter and modify the embodiments based on the disclosure above.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP2017-062450 | Mar 2017 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2018/010829 | 3/19/2018 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2018/180712 | 10/4/2018 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5211047 | Kaneyuki | May 1993 | A |
| 10220427 | Yoshikawa et al. | Mar 2019 | B2 |
| 20070125149 | Yoshitome | Jun 2007 | A1 |
| 20130040161 | Gerlach | Feb 2013 | A1 |
| 20140000336 | Alm | Jan 2014 | A1 |
| 20160263637 | Yoshikawa | Sep 2016 | A1 |
| 20170182539 | Makabe | Jun 2017 | A1 |
| 20180264534 | Aso | Sep 2018 | A1 |
| 20190022729 | Suzuki | Jan 2019 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 202180145 | Apr 2012 | CN |
| 202893911 | Apr 2013 | CN |
| 204052626 | Dec 2014 | CN |
| 105792960 | Jul 2016 | CN |
| 19853130 | May 2000 | DE |
| 59220227 | Dec 1984 | JP |
| 04284921 | Oct 1992 | JP |
| 2003290833 | Oct 2003 | JP |
| 3856094 | Dec 2006 | JP |
| 3856094 | Dec 2006 | JP |
| 2010099700 | May 2010 | JP |
| 4879588 | Feb 2012 | JP |
| 5444687 | Mar 2014 | JP |
| 2018164919 | Oct 2018 | JP |
| 2012128707 | Sep 2012 | WO |
| 2015083812 | Jun 2015 | WO |
| Entry |
|---|
| International Preliminary Report on Patentability and Written Opinion for International Application No. PCT/JP2018/010829, dated Oct. 1, 2019, 8 pages. |
| Chinese Office Action with Search Report for Chinese Application No. 201880019877.1, dated Jun. 9, 2020, 13 pages. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for International Application No. PCT/JP2018/010829, dated Jun. 19, 2018—5 pages. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20200101509 A1 | Apr 2020 | US |
