Werkzeugauslegung für das temperierte Umformen

Due to the need for a significant reduction in the weight of parts in automotive manufacturing, the use of lightweight materials such as magnesium and aluminium on the one hand, but also high strength steel on the other hand, is becoming increasingly important. Unfortunately, these materials are often associated with limited cold formability. Because of this, production of large, complex sheet metal components using forming technology frequently entails greater cost. To extend the application of these materials in manufacturing processes, it is essential to identify strategies which permit improvement of the forming behaviour of these materials. The use of elevated temperatures as a process parameter in forming operations is a strategy which has potential in terms of the search for a solution to counter the aforementioned disadvantages. Firstly, it permits a distinct increase in the ductility and formability of the material. Secondly, it reduces deformation resistance and hence the forming forces and pressures required. One of the most important things for the successful implication of thermal aided forming processes is the required tool design. Thereby the tool has to ensure constant thermal conditions during the whole forming process. Important for the tool design are the results of thermal-mechanical coupled forming simulations. Based on this it's possible to calculate and to design the tool heating and /or cooling system depend on the requested process strategy. Typically tool included cooling or heating methods are the use of electrical heating cartridges or integrated channels for the use of a fluid media. An intelligent thermal system inside the tool allows fields of different temperatures, subject to the requested forming conditions of the part. In future the use of thermal forming processes will become more and more relevance because of the increasing part complexity and the request to lightweight structures. Intelligent tool design will permit complex parts with excellent characteristics and energy and resources efficient manufacturing processes.