Reinforced Vehicle Component Openings With Burr-Reduced Hot Cutting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for manufacturing reinforced automotive components with openings face challenges in achieving precise and burr-free cutting during the hot forming and press hardening process, particularly when using steel alloys.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a double-layered structure of a steel sheet and reinforcing patch, where a larger opening is pre-formed in one part and a smaller opening is cut during or after hot forming, maintaining an optimal cutting temperature between 500°C and 800°C, ensuring minimal burr formation and precise cutting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If hot cutting is performed on reinforced automotive components during or after hot forming, then openings can be created in the component, but burr formation occurs at the cut edges
Solution Approach 1:
A larger opening is pre-formed in one of the two parts (steel sheet blank or reinforcing patch) before the hot cutting process. This preliminary opening serves as a guide and reduces the cutting burden, allowing the subsequent hot cutting to create a smaller, precise opening with minimal burr formation. The pre-formed opening enables the cutting tool to start from an existing aperture rather than cutting through solid material.
Solution Approach 2:
The opening creation process is divided into two segments: first creating a larger opening in one part, then creating a smaller opening through hot cutting that aligns with the pre-formed opening. This segmentation allows each step to optimize for its specific function - the first step provides access and guidance, while the second step achieves the final precise geometry with minimal burrs.
2Strength
If a single-layer structure is used for automotive components, then manufacturing is simpler, but reinforcement and structural integrity are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses a composite structure consisting of a steel sheet blank and a reinforcing patch bonded together to form a double-layer component. The reinforcing patch is made of different material properties than the base steel sheet, creating a composite structure that provides enhanced strength and structural integrity while maintaining manufacturability through the hot forming and hot cutting process.
Solution Approach 2:
The steel sheet blank and reinforcing patch are merged into a single integrated component through bonding and hot forming. The hot cutting process then cuts through both layers simultaneously, creating aligned openings in both parts. This merging allows the component to function as a unified structural element with enhanced properties.
3Ease of manufacture
If hot cutting is performed at high temperature, then the steel material is softer and easier to cut, but tool wear increases and cutting precision decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention utilizes the temperature-dependent properties of steel by performing hot cutting at elevated temperatures (above Ac3 transformation temperature). At this temperature, the steel exhibits austenitic structure with lower flow stress, making it significantly easier to cut. The pre-formed opening further aids precision by providing a starting point for the cutting tool.
Solution Approach 2:
The pre-formed opening is created before hot cutting to provide a starting aperture that guides the cutting tool. This preliminary action ensures that the hot cutting process begins at the correct location and maintains precision throughout the cutting operation, even at high temperatures where material softness could compromise accuracy.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method achieves high tensile strength components with almost burr-free edges and improved precision in cutting, reducing tool wear and enhancing the manufacturing process efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a sheet metal blank made of a hardenable steel alloy is heated to a temperature above Ac3. This is typically around 900°C or higher. This is also known as austenitizing.
Implementation Method 2
it undergoes press hardening in a subsequent step. This process can also be called quench hardening. It is cooled at a rate that can also be described as the critical cooling rate, from the temperature above the austenitizing temperature so rapidly that the previously austenitic microstructure is transformed into a hardened microstructure, particularly a martensitic microstructure.
Implementation Method 3
a smaller opening is cut during or after hot forming, maintaining an optimal cutting temperature between 500°C and 800°C, ensuring minimal burr formation and precise cutting
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2a~2e
Figure 3a~3e
AI summary
The invention relates to a motor vehicle component (1) manufactured by hot forming and press hardening from a hardenable steel sheet blank (9), wherein the motor vehicle component (1) has a reinforcing patch (10) which forms a double layer (11) with the steel sheet blank (9) at least partially, characterized in that the motor vehicle component (1) has an opening (12) in the area of the reinforcing patch (10), such that an opening (12) is formed in the reinforcing patch (10) and an opening (12) is formed in the steel sheet blank (9), wherein one of the two openings (14) is larger than the other and that the smaller opening (13) is introduced during or after hot forming.