A method for producing a motor vehicle component is disclosed having the steps of providing a strain-hardened blank composed of a 5000 grade aluminum alloy, partially heating the blank in a first region to a temperature higher than 350° C., in particular higher than 400° C., and in a second region to a temperature between 150° C. and 350° C., preferably to 300° C., in less than 20 s, preferably less than 10 s and in particular in 2 to 5 s, and transferring the blank into a cooling tool, and performing cooling in less than 20 s, preferably less than 10 s and in particular in 2 to 5 s.

A metal or metal alloy including a region with hierarchical micro-scale and nano-scale structure shapes, the surface region is super-hydrophobic and has a spectral reflectance of less than 30% for at least some wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation in the range of 0.1 μm to 10 μm. Methods for forming the hierarchical micro-scale and nano-scale structure shapes on the metal or metal alloy are also described.

Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a cold-rolling strip steel (1) with the strength and hardness thereof varying in a thickness direction, the method comprising the steps: smelting, continuous casting, hot rolling, cold rolling, and continuous annealing. When quenching is performed in the continuous annealing step, an asymmetric quenching and cooling process is performed on both surfaces of the strip steel. In addition, also disclosed is a cold-rolling strip steel (1) with the strength and hardness thereof varying in a thickness direction, which is prepared by the above manufacturing method. The manufacturing method realizes asymmetric mechanical property distribution of the strip steel by performing an asymmetric quenching and cooling process on the strip steel, thereby obtaining a gradual hardness gradient in a thickness direction, so as to obtain the combined properties of high hardness and high strength, and also excellent toughness, plasticity and formability, which can effectively deal with the contradiction between the strength, plasticity and toughness of ultra high-strength steel.

A die apparatus including a first die element, a plurality of second die elements, a plurality of actuators, and a controller is provided. Each of the plurality of actuators is mounted to one of the plurality of second die elements. The controller is programmed to activate the actuators to contact and compress portions of a blank disposed between the die elements at separate pressures to influence microstructure forming for one of a geometry transition region, a deformation region, and a joining region. One of the separate pressures applied to one of the portions of the blank may be approximately 5 N/mm.sup.2 or less to form a soft strength zone. The pressure of approximately 5 N/mm.sup.2 or less may be applied to the one of the portions of the blank for approximately one to two seconds.

The present invention is a method to treat an external layer on a steel or stainless steel substrate. More particularly the disclosure provides a method to increase the amount of manganochromite spinel (Cr.sub.2MnO.sub.4) in the outer most surface of a steel or a stainless steel. The present disclosure seeks to provide a process to prepare a treatment of an external surface on a steel or stainless steel substrate by subjecting the surface to an atmosphere of steam and air or synthetic air (a combination of oxygen and other inert gases such as nitrogen or argon) while subjecting the substrate to a static electrical charge from +7.0 to +14.0 kV. The present disclosure also seeks to provide the coated substrate.

A device and method are provided for peening a surface. The peening device comprises a rotatable member, a flexible line that extends from the rotatable member and a peening element that is provided on the flexible line. In use, the line and peening element are rotated about the rotatable member such that when the peening element comes into contact with the surface, the surface is peened as result of kinetic energy of the peening element.

A high strength member according to the present invention is the high strength member having a bending ridge line portion formed from a steel sheet, the member having a tensile strength of 1470 MPa or higher, a residual stress of 300 MPa or lower in an end surface of the bending ridge line portion, and a Vickers hardness (HV) of 200 or higher and 450 or lower in the end surface of the bending ridge line portion.

The present disclosure provides a metal back plate and a manufacturing process thereof, a backlight module and an electronic device. The metal back plate is used for the backlight module. The metal back plate includes a first area and a second area. The grain size of the metal material in the first area is larger than the grain size of the metal material in the second area. The first area is formed with a first opening.

Disclosed is a tempering station for the partial heat treatment of a metal component, the station including a processing plane arranged in the tempering station, at least one nozzle, aligned to the processing plane, for discharging of a fluid flow for the cooling of at least a first sub-area of the component, and at least one nozzle box, arranged above the processing plane. The at least one nozzle box forms at least one nozzle area in which the at least one nozzle is at least partially arrangeable and/or which at least partially delimits a propagation of the fluid flow, with the at least one nozzle box being at least partially formed with a ceramic material. The tempering station permits a sufficiently reliable thermal delimitation of heat treatment measures partially acting on the component and/or a sufficiently reliable thermal separation of different heat treatment procedures partially acting on the component.

A die apparatus including a first die element, a plurality of second die elements, a plurality of actuators, and a controller is provided. Each of the plurality of actuators is mounted to one of the plurality of second die elements. The controller is programmed to activate the actuators to contact and compress portions of a blank disposed between the die elements at separate pressures to influence microstructure forming for one of a geometry transition region, a deformation region, and a joining region. One of the separate pressures applied to one of the portions of the blank may be approximately 5 N/mm.sup.2 or less to form a soft strength zone. The pressure of approximately 5 N/mm.sup.2 or less may be applied to the one of the portions of the blank for approximately one to two seconds.