Selective Blank Heating on a Centering Table for Tailored Hard Zones

The patent applies preliminary action by heating specific zones of the blank to elevated temperatures during the centering phase, before the actual forming operation. This pre-heating creates temperature gradients that will later produce different microstructures and mechanical properties in different zones after quenching, eliminating the need for separate post-processing steps.

The patent utilizes parameter changes by varying the temperature distribution across the blank during processing. By controlling which zones are heated and to what temperature, the process creates different thermal states in different regions, which subsequently lead to different microstructures (martensite in heated zones, softer structures in unheated zones) and thus different mechanical properties.

The patent applies local quality by selectively heating specific zones of the blank rather than the entire blank. This creates localized temperature differences that result in different microstructures only in the heated regions, while other regions maintain their original properties. This approach achieves zone-specific mechanical properties without modifying the overall tooling structure.

The patent replaces complex mechanical tooling modifications with a thermal field approach. Instead of designing and manufacturing complex die tools with different cooling channels, heating elements, or mechanical structures to create zone-specific properties, the invention uses controlled heating followed by quenching to achieve the same effect through thermal processing.

The patent applies dynamics by making the heating zones adjustable and reconfigurable. The system can dynamically change which zones are heated and to what temperature based on the specific design requirements, allowing the same equipment to produce different microstructure patterns for different component designs without physical reconfiguration of the tooling.

The patent achieves universality by creating a single processing system that can produce multiple different microstructure patterns and mechanical property distributions. The same heating and quenching equipment can be used to create various zone configurations depending on which heating elements are activated and at what power levels, eliminating the need for multiple specialized tooling sets.