Method and system for controlling dimensions of metal hydroformed parts
10940520 ยท 2021-03-09
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
International classification
Abstract
Some embodiments of the disclosure provide methods and systems for controlling dimensions of metal hydroformed parts. According to an embodiment, a control method includes: obtaining an inner cavity volume of a target part and an inner cavity volume of a tube blank; injecting a liquid into the tube blank under a high pressure condition; determining a liquid volume compression compensation quantity according to the inner cavity volume of the target part; determining a liquid volume increment-target part corner radius relationship according to the inner cavity volume of the target part, the inner cavity volume of the tube blank, and the liquid volume compression compensation quantity; determining a liquid volume increment according to the liquid volume increment-target part corner radius relationship; and controlling dimensions of a metal hydroformed part according to the liquid volume increment.
Claims
1. A method for controlling dimensions of a metal hydroformed part, wherein: a dimensional accuracy of a tubular part is controlled through a volume of a liquid injected into a tube blank; and a technical process of the method comprises the steps of: obtaining an inner cavity volume of a target part and an inner cavity volume of the tube blank; injecting the liquid into the tube blank under a high-pressure condition; determining a liquid volume compression compensation quantity according to the inner cavity volume of the target part; determining a liquid volume increment-target part corner radius relationship according to the inner cavity volume of the target part, the inner cavity volume of the tube blank, and the liquid volume compression compensation quantity, comprising: determining the liquid volume increment-target part corner radius relationship using a formula
2. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the determining the liquid volume compression compensation quantity according to the inner cavity volume of the target part comprises the steps of: obtaining the bulk modulus of the liquid medium injected into the tube blank; and determining the liquid volume compression compensation quantity according to the liquid bulk modulus and the inner cavity volume of the target part.
3. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the determining the liquid volume increment according to the liquid volume increment-target part corner radius relationship comprises the steps of: obtaining an expected corner radius of the target part, the expected corner radius being a corner radius of the target part after forming; and determining the liquid volume increment according to the liquid volume increment-target part corner radius relationship and the expected corner radius.
4. A dimensions control system for a metal hydroformed part, comprising: an inner cavity volume obtaining module, configured to obtain an inner cavity volume of a target part and an inner cavity volume of a tube blank; a liquid volume compression compensation quantity determining module, configured to inject a liquid into the tube blank under a high pressure condition, and determine a liquid volume compression compensation quantity according to the inner cavity volume of the target part; a liquid volume increment-target part corner radius relationship determining module, configured to determine a liquid volume increment-target part corner radius relationship according to the inner cavity volume of the target part, the inner cavity volume of the tube blank, and the liquid volume compression compensation quantity, comprising: a liquid volume increment-target part corner radius relationship determining unit, configured to determine the liquid volume increment-target part corner radius relationship by a formula
5. The control system according to claim 4, wherein the liquid volume compression compensation quantity determining module comprises: a liquid bulk modulus obtaining unit, configured to obtain the bulk modulus of the liquid medium injected into the tube blank; and a liquid volume compression compensation quantity determining unit, configured to determine the liquid volume compression compensation quantity according to the liquid bulk modulus and the inner cavity volume of the target part.
6. The control system according to claim 4, wherein the liquid volume increment determining module comprises: an expected corner radius obtaining unit, configured to obtain an expected corner radius of the target part, the expected corner radius being a corner radius of the target part after forming; and a liquid volume increment determining unit, configured to determine the liquid volume increment according to the liquid volume increment-target part corner radius relationship and the expected corner radius.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1)
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(11) The following describes some non-limiting exemplary embodiments of the disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings. The described embodiments are merely a part rather than all of the embodiments of the disclosure. All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the disclosure without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the disclosure.
(12)
(13) As shown in
(14) As shown in
(15) As shown in
(16)
(17)
(18) Step 701: Obtain an inner cavity volume of a target part and an inner cavity volume of a tube blank.
(19) Step 702: Inject a liquid into the tube blank under a high pressure condition, and determine a liquid volume compression compensation quantity according to the inner cavity volume of the target part.
(20) Step 703: Determine a liquid volume increment-target part corner radius relationship according to the inner cavity volume of the target part, the inner cavity volume of the tube blank, and the liquid volume compression compensation quantity.
(21) As shown in
(22)
(23) In formula (1), rR, and a liquid medium bulk modulus E.sub.V for hydroforming is determined. After the inner cavity of the tube blank is filled with the liquid, the liquid of a volume increment V.sub.L for hydroforming needs to be injected. When compression compensation is not taken into consideration, the liquid volume increment is equal to the difference between the inner cavity volumes.
V.sub.L=V.sub.0(2)
(24) Under the high pressure condition, compression compensation needs to be taken into consideration.
V.sub.L=V.sub.0+V(3)
(25) In formula (3), V is a liquid volume compression compensation quantity. A calculation formula of a liquid volume compression theory is shown in the following formula (4).
(26)
(27) In formula (4), p is an internal pressure, E.sub.V is a liquid bulk modulus, V is an inner cavity volume of the target part, and V is a liquid volume compression compensation quantity.
(28) In the hydroforming process, the highest internal pressure is required in a calibrating stage to form the smallest corner and ensure the dimensional accuracy. A formula for calculating the pressure required in this stage is as shown in the following formula (5).
p=t.sub.s/r(5)
(29) The formula (5) is substituted into the formula (4), to obtain a variation relation between the liquid volume compression compensation quantity and the transition corner radius of the target part as shown in the following formula (6).
(30)
(31) The formula (6) is substituted into the formula (3), to obtain a variation relation between the liquid volume increment and the transition corner radius of the target part as shown in the following formula (7).
(32)
(33) In formula (7), V.sub.L represents a liquid volume increment (unit: L), V represents an inner cavity volume of the target part of hydroforming (unit: L), V.sub.0 represents an inner cavity volume of the tube blank (unit: L), t represents a wall thickness of the part (unit: mm), .sub.s represents a material yield strength of the tube blank (unit: MPa), E.sub.V represents a liquid medium bulk modulus (unit: MPa), and r represents a radius of a cross-section transition corner of the target part (unit: mm).
(34) Step 704: Determine a liquid volume increment according to the liquid volume increment-target part corner radius relationship.
(35) Step 705: Control dimensions of a metal tube according to the liquid volume increment, to form a metal hydroformed part.
(36) The disclosure implements precise control over the dimensional accuracy of the corner of the hydroformed part by controlling the volume of the liquid injected into the inner cavity of the tube blank, which may solve the problems of a large size scatter, poor accuracy, and a high rejection rate of the conventional pressure loading-based hydroforming technology.
(37) A corresponding relationship between the liquid volume increment for hydroforming and the corner radius is established by considering the liquid volume compression compensation quantity under the high pressure condition. In the hydroforming process, the sensor is configured to measure a radius value of the currently formed corner of the tube, the measured corner radius value is fed back to the control system. The control system calculates, according to the relationship between the liquid volume increment and the corner radius, a volume increment of the liquid medium that needs to be injected. The high pressure source injects the liquid medium of the required volume into the tube, thus implementing precise control over the dimensional accuracy of the formed part. Meanwhile, the dimensional accuracy of the corner of the hydroformed part is not dependent on the accuracy of the die, but is dependent on the accuracy of the volume of the injected liquid. In the forming process, corner radii of the tube correspond to liquid volume increments in a one-to-one manner. The corner of the tube may meet the design requirement without being fully attached to the die surface, thereby simplifying the operation steps.
(38)
(39) An inner cavity volume obtaining module 1001 is configured to obtain an inner cavity volume of a target part and an inner cavity volume of a tube blank.
(40) A liquid volume compression compensation quantity determining module 1002 is configured to inject a liquid into the tube blank under a high pressure condition, and determine a liquid volume compression compensation quantity according to the inner cavity volume of the target part.
(41) The liquid volume compression compensation quantity determining module 1002 includes: a liquid bulk modulus obtaining unit, configured to obtain a bulk modulus of the liquid injected into the tube blank; and a liquid volume compression compensation quantity determining unit, configured to determine the liquid volume compression compensation quantity according to the liquid bulk modulus and the inner cavity volume of the target part.
(42) A liquid volume increment-target part corner radius relationship determining module 1003 is configured to determine a liquid volume increment-target part corner radius relationship according to the inner cavity volume of the target part, the inner cavity volume of the tube blank, and the liquid volume compression compensation quantity.
(43) The liquid volume increment-target part corner radius relationship determining module 1003 includes: a liquid volume increment-target part corner radius relationship determining unit, configured to determine the liquid volume increment-target part corner radius relationship by using a formula
(44)
In this formula, V.sub.L is the liquid volume increment, V is the inner cavity volume of the target part, V.sub.0 is the inner cavity volume of the tube blank, t is a wall thickness of the part, .sub.s is a material yield strength of the tube blank, E.sub.V is a liquid bulk modulus, and r is a radius of a cross-section transition corner of the target part.
(45) A liquid volume increment determining module 1004 is configured to determine a liquid volume increment according to the liquid volume increment-target part corner radius relationship.
(46) The liquid volume increment determining module 1004 includes: an expected corner radius obtaining unit, configured to obtain an expected corner radius of the target part, the expected corner radius being a corner radius of the target part after forming; and a liquid volume increment determining unit, configured to determine the liquid volume increment according to the liquid volume increment-target part corner radius relationship and the expected corner radius.
(47) A control module 1005 is configured to control dimensions of a metal tube according to the liquid volume increment, to form a metal hydroformed part.
An Exemplary Embodiment
(48) Using a DP590 steel tubular part with square cross section as an example. A diameter d.sub.0 of a tube blank is 65 mm, a wall thickness t.sub.0 of a tube blank is 2.6 mm, a tube length l.sub.0 is 300 mm, a material yield strength .sub.s is 570 MPa, a length a of the cross section is 84 mm, a width b of the cross section is 66 mm, a radius r of a transition corner is 7.60.1 mm (with an expansion rate of 40.6%). A corresponding relationship between the liquid volume increment V.sub.L and the transition corner radius r of the target part is obtained according to the formula (7), that is
(49)
The liquid bulk modulus E.sub.V is 1950 MPa, the inner cavity volume of the tube blank is
(50)
and by substituting the known parameters into the formula, it is obtained that V.sub.0=0.84 L. A relationship between the inner cavity volume V of the target part and the corner radius r is obtained according to a geometrical relationship of a rectangular cross section, that is, V=[(a2r2t.sub.0).Math.(b2r2t.sub.0)+2(rt.sub.0)(a+b4r4t.sub.0)+(rt.sub.0).sup.2]l.sub.0. By substituting the known parameters into the formula, it is obtained that V=1.22 L. Then, a difference between the inner cavity volumes of the target part and the tube blank is V.sub.0=VV.sub.0=0.38 L. By substituting the transition corner radius r=7.6 mm and related parameters into the relation between the liquid volume increment V.sub.L and the corner radius r, it is obtained that V.sub.L=0.52 L. That is, after the tube blank is filled with the liquid, the volume V.sub.L of the liquid that needs to be injected into the tube blank for forming is 0.52 L.
(51) Step 1. Determine related parameters of a tube.
(52) Step 2. Establish a relationship between a liquid volume increment V.sub.L and a corner radius r. After a tube blank is filled with the liquid, a volume V.sub.L of the liquid injected into the tube blank for forming is 0.52 L, and the value is input to an internal pressure control system.
(53) Step 3. Place a DP590 tube blank in a die.
(54) Step 4. An upper die moves downwards to close the die; contacts of contact displacement sensors are in contact with an external side of the tube blank; seal punches feed to seal the tube blank; the inner cavity of the tube blank is filled with the liquid medium through an injection hole; the tube blank bulges under the action of the liquid medium, and values of the displacement sensors change.
(55) Step 5. A high pressure source continues to inject the liquid medium; the displacement sensor contacts detect that values of the corner radii change; the control system determines the forming accuracy, and corrects deviations of fixed parameters in the relationship between the liquid volume increment V.sub.L and the corner radius r; the seal punches feed the material, and the straight side of the tube blank is attached to the die surface.
(56) Step 6. The high pressure source continues to inject the liquid medium to a target value, and corners of the part are formed; the displacement sensors feedback signals to the control system; the control system determines that the current transition corner radii of the formed part meet a dimensional accuracy requirement; then, the high pressure source releases the pressure; the die is open, thereby obtaining a hydroformed part meeting a design requirement.
(57) According to an embodiment, the disclosure associates the volume of the liquid medium with the dimensional accuracy of the hydroformed part, and provides a method and system for controlling dimensions of metal hydroformed parts, which relate to the dimensional accuracy control over the corner of the hydroformed part. The basic conception is that the variation of the inner cavity volume is a constant value from the tube blank to the target part in the hydroforming process, and the dimensional accuracy of the tubular part is controlled by measuring and controlling, in real time, the volume of the liquid injected into the tube blank.
(58) Various embodiments of the disclosure may have one or more of the following effects.
(59) Some embodiments of the disclosure may provide apparatus, methods, and systems for improving the accuracy of the dimensions of the metal hydroformed parts in hydroforming process. The apparatus, methods, and systems may be easy to implement, promote, and apply in production. Control apparatus, control methods, and control systems provided in the disclosure may have simple implementation steps and a mature process technique.
(60) In some embodiments, precise control over the accuracy of the corner radius of the tubular part may be implemented through liquid volume loading. The problems of a large size scatter, poor accuracy, and a low rejection rate of the conventional pressure loading-based hydroforming may be solved. The control approach for the dimensional accuracy of the hydroformed part may be simplified. By controlling only one process parameter, that is, the volume increment, dimensional accuracy of parts may be formed from tube blanks in different batches may meet the design requirement.
(61) In other embodiments, the corner of the tube does not need to be attached to the die surface during forming, which may lower the accuracy requirement of the die. When the corner radius of the target part is greater than or equal to the corner radius of the die, the formed corner does not need to be attached to the die surface, and a corner radius meeting the design requirement may be obtained by merely controlling the volume increment of the injected liquid. The corner accuracy of the hydroformed part is not dependent on the accuracy of the die, but is dependent on the accuracy of the volume of the injected liquid.
(62) In further embodiments, one set of die may be used for hydroforming parts with different corner radii. Because the corner radii of parts and the liquid volume increments may be in a one-to-one corresponding relationship, on the premise that the corner radius of the target part is greater than or equal to the corner radius of the die, a corresponding liquid volume increment may be calculated provided that an expected target value of the corner radius is given. In the forming process, by merely controlling the volume increment of the injected liquid, a corresponding corner radius of the part may be obtained. There is no corner attached to the die surface in this process. Therefore, parts with different corner radii may be obtained while the inner cavity of the die remains constant.
(63) Additional embodiments of the disclosure may further have one or more of the following effects. According to a dimensions control method and system for a metal hydroformed part, by using a quantitative relationship between a liquid volume increment and a corner radius of a tubular part, dimensional accuracy of a corner of a hydroformed part may be controlled precisely by merely controlling a volume increment of an injected liquid. The dimensional accuracy of the corner of the tubular parts may be dependent not on the accuracy of the die or the value of an internal pressure, but may be dependent on the accuracy of the liquid volume increment. Compared with the conventional method for controlling dimensions of a formed part by using such a variable as internal pressure, the disclosure controls the dimensions of the formed part by using a constant quantity, which may achieve one or more of the advantages such as real-time precise control over the dimensional accuracy, low requirements on the accuracy of a die, high process stability, and low costs. The disclosure may provide a method and system for controlling dimensions of a metal hydroformed part, which may solve the problems such as low accuracy and a large scatter of dimensions of a formed part in the existing pressure control-based hydroforming technology.
(64) Each embodiment of the present specification is described in a progressive manner, each embodiment focuses on the difference from other embodiments, and the same and similar parts between the embodiments may refer to each other. For a system disclosed in the embodiments, since it corresponds to the method disclosed in the embodiments, the description is relatively simple, and reference can be made to the method description.
(65) Several examples are used for illustration of the principles and implementation methods of the present invention. The description of the embodiments is used to help illustrate the method and its core principles of the present invention. In addition, those skilled in the art can make various modifications in terms of specific embodiments and scope of application in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. In conclusion, the content of this specification shall not be construed as a limitation to the invention.
(66) Many different arrangements of the various components depicted, as well as components not shown, are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Embodiments of the present disclosure have been described with the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art that do not depart from its scope. A skilled artisan may develop alternative means of implementing the aforementioned improvements without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
(67) It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations and are contemplated within the scope of the claims. Unless indicated otherwise, not all steps listed in the various figures need be carried out in the specific order described.