Belanger will report, then, on Gestamp’s strategies for “extreme-size stamping,” tasked with addressing higher impact-energy levels. Process benefits include part-count reduction, reduced vehicle-build time and complexity, green-steel attributes and recyclability.
“We’re using a holistic approach to vehicle energy management,” he shares, “addressing the impact event in stages with the body structure. Although all impact events are critical, the side-impact and shallow-offset rigid barrier (SORB) are two with which Gestamp has a great deal of experience, providing many innovative solutions. Gestamp’s focus today is how to best use steel door-ring concepts to manage the IIHS 2.0 side-impact and SORB events, while protecting the occupant and battery enclosure.”
As an example, Belanger will highlight Gestamp’s OLPB (overlap-patch blank, an alternative to laser-welded blanks) door ring, and GES (the latest Gestamp hot stamping technology)-wire tailor-welded blank innovations that offer high-strength low-cost solutions to the energy-management challenge.
“The OLPB door ring comprises spot-welded blanks that offer a 7 to 10% cost savings over traditional architectures,” he says, “while reducing mass, part count and plant complexity. To further address cost savings, we’ve also introduced a second-generation multistep hot stamping process that produces parts three- to four-times faster than conventional hot stamping, while achieving parts with strength and ductility equal to or better than the conventional AlSi 1500-MPa material.”
Space-Saving Line for Hot Stamping of Large Blanks
Also tackling the challenge of hot stamping of larger blanks: Schuler Group, which has partnered with heat-treatment-system manufacturer BSN Thermprozesstechnik to develop a new compact rotation furnace (CRF). The CRF system, as will be explained in this presentation, solves these industry-wide challenges, per Schuler officials:
- Extremely long roller-hearth furnaces (to 130 ft.) often are required to achieve economic cycle times when hot stamping large tailor-welded blanks.
- Temperature deviations can lead to challenges with the connection tolerance throughout the assembly.
This presentation will highlight the new CRF technology and its clear advantages for competitive production, using hot stamping to form larger blanks in a compact, efficient and cost-effective process.
Rounding out day-one presentations, and leading up to the networking reception, is a talk, Root-Cause Analysis of Hot Stamping Defects, and Best Practices for Prevention. This presentation, provided by Mike Austin, director, manufacturing engineering at Diversified Tooling Group, Inc., will address how defects in hot-stamped parts compare to those in cold-stamped parts; how to manage the unique challenges of the hot stamping process; and how the heat-treatment process impacts part geometry and tolerances, as well as secondary production operations.
“I’ll also delve into determining the root cause of defects in hot-stamped parts,” Austin shares, “and the best ways to control defects once root causes are identified and correlated to hot stamping process variables.”
Day Two: Cutting, Welding and More
On day two (November 21), sparks fly as sessions kick off with a presentation on multi-axis laser-cutting technology enhancements for trimming hot-stamped parts. That talk, presented by Yama Fedai, key account manager/industry manager at Trumpf North America, will be followed by a best-practices tutorial on resistance welding of hot-stamped steel parts, titled Hot Stamped Steel and Projection Welding—Is It Possible?
“Hot-stamped steels usually have tensile strengths of 1500 MPa or more,” says session speaker Ray Michelena, a service technician with T.J. Snow Co., “making them desirable for many uses in the automotive industry. However, these grades can present severe complications during projection welding, as the softer projection tends to collapse before a good weld can be made, resulting in vaporized projections and failed welds. Normally this type of welding process leads to inconsistent torque and pushout values.”
It is possible to make successful projection welds on hot-stamped steels, Michelena offers, but it takes an understanding of the hot stamping process itself.
“Our discussion will look into the different methods of hot forming of steels and how each method affects the projection resistance-welding process,” he says. “Different resistance-welding methods also will be discussed, and I’ll explain how to properly test projection weldments—testing can be a key success factor when projection welding hot-stamped steels.”
Rounding Out the Morning Session
…is a talk on Managing the Hot Stamping Process: Critical Features When Ordering a Line Press, provided by Richard Uszynski, COO of Eagle Press & Equipment, followed by a presentation from Nucor, The Compact Strip Production Process for PHS Grades. Speaker Dean Kanelos, market development and product applications manager for the Nucor Automotive Group, will detail Nucor’s production process used to develop PHS grades for the automotive industry.
“Our compact strip production (CSP) process provides a high level of recycled content and a low carbon footprint,” he says. “And, we now are developing 2-GPa PHS, as well as other types of PHS grades.
“Nucor has a carbon intensity less than half of today’s world average total emissions,” Kanelos continues, “and now we’re committed to a 35% combined reduction in steel mill scope 1 and scope 2 GHG intensity by 2030.”
Kanelos will follow up his presentation by briefing attendees on the scheduled tour of the Nucor Steel Berkeley mill, in nearby Huger, SC, which employs the CSP process. During the tour, attendees will view the production of a variety of steel products, including structural steel, and carbon-steel plate and sheet products. Featured: low-carbon EAF steelmaking via tours of the plant’s melt shop, caster and hot mill. MF
See also: Eagle Press & Equipment Co. Ltd., Nucor Corp., NUCOR, Rhino Cutting Systems Inc., SIMPAC America Co. Ltd.
Technologies: Management, Stamping Presses
