Hot-press deep-drawing forming method and hot-press deep-drawing forming method apparatus

Abstract

A hot-press deep-drawing forming apparatus includes a punch that constitutes a lower die and a die that constitutes an upper die. The punch has an inner-face forming surface that forms the inner face of a product, and a bent corner against which a scrap section S of a workpiece W abuts. The die has an outer-face forming surface that forms the outer surface of the product. A blank holder and a pre-forming die that clamp the scrap section are caused to move, together with the die, until the clamped scrap section abuts the bent corner. The movement of the blank holder and the pre-forming die is stopped after the scrap section has abutted the bent corner.

Claims

1. A hot-press deep-drawing forming method of forming a product that has a main body of U-shaped cross-sectional shape provided with a front wall and a side wall, and a flange that is contiguous with the main body, through press-working of a workpiece made of a steel plate and heated at or above a transformation temperature, the method comprising: a pre-forming die movement step of causing a die, having a built-in cooling mechanism and provided with an outer-face forming surface that forms an outer surface of the product, as well as a blank holder and a pre-forming die that clamp a scrap section of the workpiece, to relatively perform an approach movement towards a punch, having a built-in cooling mechanism and provided with an inner-face forming surface that forms an inner face of the product, and with a bent corner against which the scrap section abuts, the approach movement being performed until the scrap section contacts with the bent corner; and a final forming step of stopping the movement of the scrap section that is clamped by the blank holder and the pre-forming die, while the die moves towards the punch after the scrap section has contacted with the bent corner.

2. The hot-press deep-drawing forming method according to claim 1, wherein the punch is a lower die, the die is an upper die that is vertically movable towards the punch, the pre-forming die is mounted on the upper die via an elastic member, the blank holder is mounted on the lower die by a holder driving member, and while the die moves towards the punch after the scrap section has contacted with the bent corner, the elastic member is caused to contract and the movement of the pre-forming die is stopped.

3. The hot-press deep-drawing forming method according to claim 1, wherein the punch is a lower die, the die is an upper die that is vertically movable towards the punch, the pre-forming die is mounted on a slide die that is mounted on the die so as to be vertically movable, the blank holder is mounted on the punch by a holder driving member, and while the die moves towards the punch after the scrap section has contacted with the bent corner, the movement of the pre-forming die is stopped by the slide die.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the bent corner is an arcuate bent corner in cross-section.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising separation of the scrap section from a remainder of the workpiece following completion of the die moving towards the punch after the scrap section has contacted with the bent corner.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the separation is carried out by a cutting operation.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein there is avoided heat dissipation at the scrap section by having a spacing gap formed between exterior siding of the die and punch combination and interior siding of the pre-forming die and the blank holder in a region where the scrap section bridges the spacing gap.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the forming includes having the scrap section extend so as to be sandwiched between the die and the punch combination.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising applying a heat removal treatment to a product section of the work piece with the punch and the die without applying a heat removal treatment to the scrap section.

10. A hot-press deep-drawing forming apparatus for forming a product that has a main body of U-shaped cross-sectional shape provided with a front wall and a side wall, and a flange that is contiguous with the main body, through press-working of a workpiece made of a steel plate and heated at or above a transformation temperature, the apparatus comprising: a punch, having a built-in cooling mechanism and provided with an inner-face forming surface that forms an inner face of the product, and with a bent corner against which a scrap section of the workpiece abuts; a die, having a built-in cooling mechanism, provided with an outer-face forming surface that forms an outer surface of the product, and performing an approach-separation movement relatively to the punch; a blank holder against which the scrap section abuts; a pre-forming die that clamps the scrap section together with the blank holder; and a double action mechanism that causes the blank holder and the pre-forming die to move, together with the die, until the scrap section clamped by the blank holder and the pre-forming die contacts with the bent corner, and that stops the movement of the blank holder and of the pre-forming die while the die approaches the punch after the scrap section has contacted with the bent corner.

11. The hot-press deep-drawing forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the punch forms a lower die, the die forms an upper die that is vertically movable towards the lower die, the pre-forming die is mounted on the upper die via an elastic member, the blank holder is mounted on the lower die by a holder driving member, and while the die moves towards the punch after the scrap section has contacted with the bent corner, the elastic member is caused to contract and the movement of the pre-forming die is stopped.

12. The hot-press deep-drawing forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the punch forms a lower die, the die forms an upper die that is vertically movable towards the punch, the pre-forming die is mounted on a slide die that is mounted on the die so as to be vertically movable, the blank holder is mounted on the punch by a holder driving member, and while the die moves towards the punch after the scrap section has contacted with the bent corner, the movement of the pre-forming die is stopped by the slide die.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein bent corner is an arcuate bent corner in cross-section.

14. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein there is a spacing gap formed between exterior siding of the die and punch combination and interior siding of the pre-forming die and the blank holder in a region where the scrap section bridges the spacing gap.

15. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the die and punch are configured such that the scrap section extends so as to be sandwiched between the die and the punch combination.

16. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the apparatus is configured as to enable a heat removal treatment to a product section of the workpiece with the punch and the die without applying a heat removal treatment to the scrap section.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1A is a front-view diagram illustrating an example of a product that, is formed by deep-draw forming, FIG. 1B is a left side-view diagram of FIG. 1A, and FIG. 1C is a plan-view diagram of FIG. 1A;

(2) FIG. 2A is a front-view diagram illustrating another example of a product, FIG. 2B is a left side-view diagram of FIG. 2A; and FIG. 2C is a plan-view diagram of FIG. 2A;

(3) FIG. 3A is a perspective-view diagram illustrating yet another example of a product, and FIG. 3B is a longitudinal cross-sectional diagram of FIG. 3A;

(4) FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional diagram illustrating an initial stage of forming in a hot-press deep-drawing forming apparatus in an implementation;

(5) FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional diagram illustrating the hot-press deep-drawing forming apparatus of FIG. 4 in a state where forming has progressed from that in FIG. 4;

(6) FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional diagram illustrating the hot-press deep-drawing forming apparatus of FIG. 4 in a state where a pre-forming die movement process is over;

(7) FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional diagram illustrating the hot-press deep-drawing forming apparatus of FIG. 4 in a state where a final forming process is over;

(8) FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional diagram illustrating an initial stage of forming in a hot-press deep-drawing forming apparatus in another implementation;

(9) FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional diagram illustrating the hot-press deep-drawing forming apparatus of FIG. 8 in a state where a final forming process is over; and

(10) FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional diagram depicting a hot-press deep-drawing forming apparatus that is illustrated as a comparative example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(11) Implementations of the present invention will be explained next in detail with reference to accompanying drawings. A product 10a illustrated in FIG. 1 has a main body 15 provided with a front wall 11 that extends in a longitudinal direction and with side walls 13, 14 that are contiguous with the front wall 11, on both sides in the width direction of the front wall 11, by way of respective arc-shaped bends 12, as illustrated in FIGS, 1A and 1B. The width dimensions of both side walls 13, 14 are substantially identical. The reverse side of the main body 15 with respect to front wall 11 constitutes an opening end, with the side walls 13, 14 being slightly tilted outwards facing the opening end. The width dimension of the opening end is slightly larger than the width dimension of the front wall 11, and the transversal cross-sectional shape of the main body 15 is U-shaped. The flanges 16, 17, that are integral with the main body 15, are contiguous with the side walls 13, 14 by way of respective arc-shaped bends 18, and are parallel to the front wall 11. Further, the product 10a does not extend completely straight in the longitudinal direction but is bent, at a portion of a bend 19, to an overall dogleg shape as illustrated in FIG. 1C.

(12) The entire shape of a product 10b illustrated in FIG. 2 is substantially identical to that of the product 10a illustrated in FIG. 1. The product 10b differs from the product 10a in that herein the width dimension of the side wall 13 is larger than the width dimension of the side wall 14.

(13) A product 10c illustrated in FIG. 3 has a main body 24 that is provided with a circular front wall 21, and a cylindrical side wall 23 that is contiguous with the outer periphery of the front wall 21 via a bend 22. The reverse side of the main body 24 with respect to the front wall 21 constitutes an opening end. The cylindrical side wall 23 is slightly tilted outwards facing the opening end. A flange 25 is integral with the main body 24. The flange 25 is contiguous with the side wall 23, by way of an arc-shaped bead 26, and is parallel to the front wall 21.

(14) In the products 10a to 10c above, a steel plate as a workpiece undergoes plastic working to a three-dimensional shape, by hot-press deep drawing work, and is then quenched i.e. subjected to a quenching process.

(15) FIG. 4 to FIG. 7 are cross-sectional diagrams illustrating a hot-press deep-drawing forming apparatus 30 for forming the product 10a illustrated in FIG. 1, through deep drawing of a workpiece W. The workpiece W that is worked to the product 10a has a cuboid shape and includes a product section T that encompasses the main body 15 and the side walls 13, 14, and a scrap section S that is contiguous with the outside of the product section T. The workpiece W made of a steel plate is heated beforehand at the austenitizing transformation temperature, and is conveyed to the forming apparatus 30 illustrated in the figure.

(16) The forming apparatus 30 has a lower die 31 made up of a punch. The lower die 31 has an inner-face forming surface 32 that forms the inner face of the product 10a, The inner-face forming surface 32 has an inner-face forming surface 32a that forms the inner face of the thee front wall 11, inner-face forming surfaces 32b that form the inner faces of the bends 12, and inner-face forming surfaces 32c that form the inner faces of the side walls 13, 14, and further has inner-face forming surfaces 32d that form the inner faces of the bends 18, and inner-face forming surfaces 32e that forms the inner faces of the flanges 16, 17. The scrap section S of the work piece W abuts against bent corners 33 that are provided on both sides of the lower die 31. The cross-sectional shape of the bent corners 33 is arcuate, such that the ends of the bent corners 33 are contiguous with respective lower die side faces 34 that extend in the vertical direction, A base 35 is provided at the lower end of the lower die 31. The lower die 31 is fixed to a bolster, i.e. a platform, not shown in the figures, of the base 35.

(17) A cooling system 36 through which a cooling medium circulates is built into the lower die 31, for the purpose of quenching the workpiece W, by cooling, once press-working of the workpiece W is over. A coolant, as a cooling medium, is supplied into the cooling system 36 by a pump, not shown, such that the lower die 31 is cooled down to a predetermined quench temperature by the cooling mechanism that is configured by the cooling system 36.

(18) The forming apparatus 30 has an upper die 41 made up of a die. The upper die 41 is disposed above the lower die 31 that is made up of a punch, and can move so as to come close to and draw apart from the lower die 31, i.e. is vertically movable. The upper die 41 has an outer-face forming surface 42 that forms the outer surface of the product 10a. The outer-face forming surface 42 has an outer-face forming surface 42a that forms the outer surface of the front wall 11, outer-face forming surfaces 42b that form the outer surfaces of the bends 12, and outer-face forming surfaces 42c that form the outer surfaces of the side walls 13, 14, and further has outer-face forming surfaces 42d that form, the outer surfaces of the bends 18, and outer-face forming surfaces 42e that form the outer surface the flanges 16, 17. The outer-face forming surfaces 42e are contiguous with upper die side faces 44 that extend in the vertical direction. A base 45 is provided at the upper end of the upper die 41, such that the upper die 41 is attached to a vertical movement mechanism, not shown, at a portion of the base 45.

(19) A cooling system 46 through which a cooling medium circulates is built into the upper die 41, for the purpose of quenching the workpiece W, by cooling, once press-working of the workpiece W is over. A coolant, as a cooling medium, is supplied into the cooling system 46 by a pump, not shown, such that the upper die 41 is cooled down to a predetermined quench temperature by the cooling mechanism that is configured by the cooling system 46.

(20) Blank holders 51 that abut the scrap section S of the workpiece W are disposed at the base 35 of the lower die 31, on both sloes of the lower die 31. The blank holders 51 are mounted on the lower die by holder driving members 52 that run through the base 35. Bottoming blocks 53 that abut the bottom faces of the blank holders 51 are attached to the base 35, in order to restrict the descent position of the blank holders 51. The bottoming blocks 53 may be attached to the bottom faces of the blank holders 51.

(21) Pre-forming dies 61 are provided above the blank holders 51 such that the scrap section S of the workpiece W is clamped between the blank holders 51 and the pre-forming dies 61. The pre-forming dies 61 are mounted on the base 45 or the upper die 41 by way of elastic members 62, for instance rubber, coil springs or the like. By virtue of the elastic force of the elastic members 62, the scrap section S is brought to state of being pinched between the blank holders 51 and the pre-forming dies 61, i.e. a clamped state. Clearance blocks 63 are attached to the bottom faces of the pre-forming dies 61, in order to provide a clearance corresponding to the thickness of the scrap section S between the pre-forming dies 61 and the blank holders 51. The clearance blocks 63 may be attached to the top faces of the blank holders 51. A corner 64 is formed at the bottom of each pre-forming die 61 at a portion facing the upper die 41.

(22) The holder driving members 52 constitute a movable pressure source that exerts a clamping force on the scrap section S. The elastic members 62 constitute a pressure source that exerts a clamping force on the scrap section S, via the pre-forming dies 61. A double action mechanism 65 is configured by the holder driving members 52, the bottoming blocks 53 and the elastic members 62. The double action mechanism 65 clamps the scrap section S between the blank holders 51 and the pre-forming dies 61, during deep-draw forming at an early stage of work in which the upper die 41 is caused to approach the lower die 31, and then brings both the blank holders 51 and the pre-forming dies 61 closer to the lower die 31, until the scrap section S abuts the bent corners 33 of the lower die 31. The occurrence of wrinkles in the workpiece W at the time of deep drawing work is suppressed thanks to this approach movement. As a result of the approach movement of the pre-forming dies 61 towards the lower die 31, the blank holders 51 abut the bottoming blocks 53 when the scrap section S abuts the bent corners 33. The descent of the blank holders 51 and the pre-forming dies 61, i.e. the approach movement thereof towards the lower die 31, is arrested thereby, and the movement stops.

(23) In a state where the movement of the blank holders 51 and the pre-forming dies 61 has stopped, the upper die 41 moves then closer to the lower die 31, whereupon a portion of the product 10a becomes formed by the lower die 31 and the upper die 41, without the scrap section S coming into contact with the bent corners 33 or the lower die side faces 34 of the lower die 31. The elastic members 62 contract in response to the movement of the upper die 41, since the movement of the blank holders 51 and the pre-forming dies 61 at this time is stopped. With the blank holders 51 in a stopped state, heat is not transmitted from the scrap section S to the lower die 31 and so forth, and excessive heat removal is thus prevented.

(24) In the hot-press deep drawing work by the forming apparatus 30, thus, the blank holders 51 and the pre-forming dies 61 function as blank holders upon a predetermined initial forming stroke, such that heat removal of the workpiece W is suppressed after the blank: holder fraction is stopped. As a result, it becomes possible to form the workpiece W to the product 10a of predetermined shape, without occurrence of forming defects, upon hot-press deep drawing work of a steel plate, as the workpiece, to a three-dimensional shape such as the one illustrated in FIG. 1.

(25) An explanation follows next, with reference to FIG. 4 to FIG. 7, on a forming method that involves deep-draw forming of the workpiece W using the forming apparatus 30.

(26) The workpiece W, in a state of having been heated beforehand at or above the transformation temperature, is conveyed onto the lower die 31. At this time, the upper die 41 is at an upper-limit position retracted from the lower die 31. In this state, the upper die 41 is driven and is brought thereby closer to the lower die 31, whereupon the scrap section S of the workpiece W becomes clamped by the blank holders 51 and the pre-forming dies 61. FIG. 4 illustrates a forming initial stage wherein as a result of the movement of the upper die 41 and the pre-forming dies 61, the scrap section S of the workpiece W is clamped by the blank holders 51 and the pre-forming dies 61, whereby the scrap section S is folded downward, of the inner-face forming surface 32a of the lower die 31, and the outer-face forming surfaces 42d of the upper die 41 abut the workpiece W.

(27) When the upper die 41 approaches the lower die 31, i.e. descends, the outer-face forming surfaces 42d of the upper die 41 abut the workpiece W, whereby the side walls 13, 14 become formed accompanying this descent, as illustrated in FIG. 5. At this time, the blank holders 51 and the pre-forming dies 61 as well descend together with the upper die 41.

(28) FIG. 6 illustrates a state wherein the scrap section S abuts the bent corners 33 of the lower die 31 as a result of the descent of the upper die 41 together with the blank holders 51 and the pre-forming dies 61. At this time, the blank holders 51 abut the bottoming blocks 53, as illustrated in FIG. 6, and the descent of the blank holders 51 and the pre-forming dies 61 is stopped. The process of descent of the upper die 41 until the stop of the descent of the blank holders 51 and the pre-forming dies 61 constitutes a pre-forming die movement process. In this pre-forming die movement process the scrap section S is clamped, and hence occurrence of wrinkles in the workpiece W is suppressed. In a state where the scrap section S abuts the bent corners 33 of the lower die 31 only a small portion of the scrap section S comes in contact with the lower die 31, since the bent corners 33 have an arcuate cross-sectional shape.

(29) The process where the upper die 41 approaches the lower die 31 down to a descent limit position, from a state in which one scrap section S abuts the bent corners 33 and the descent of the blank holders 51 and the pre-forming dies 61 is stopped, constitutes herein a final forming process. In this final forming process, the movement of the scrap section S that is clamped by the blank holders 51 and the pre-forming dies 61 in a stopped state is discontinued, such that, when the upper die 41 moves down to the descent limit position, the product 10a having the flanges 16, 17 and the main body 15 made up of the front wall 11 and the side walls 13, 14 undergoes deep drawing work by the product section T of the workpiece W, as illustrated in FIG. 7.

(30) In the final forming process, the outer-face forming surfaces 42d of the upper die 41 abut the outer surface of the workpiece W, and move towards the lower die 31. Hence, the inner-face forming surfaces 32c of the lower die 31 and the outer-face forming surfaces 42c of the upper die 41 move gradually so as to come closer to a portion, in the product 10a, that corresponds to the side walls 13, 14. The final forming process is over when the flanges 16, 17 of the product 10a are clamped between the inner-face forming surfaces 32e of the lower die 31 and the outer-face forming surfaces 42e of the upper die 41. At this point in time, the entirety of the product section T in the workpiece W is in contact with the inner-face forming surface 32 of the lower die 31 and the outer-face forming surface 42 of the upper die 41. The product section T is then quenched by undergoing a heat removal treatment.

(31) In the final forming process, as illustrated in FIG. 7, only part of the scrap section S is in contact with the bent corners 33, in that the scrap section S wraps around the bent corners 33 of the lower die without coming in contact with the lower die side faces 34. Therefore, the final forming process is performed in a state of enhanced formability, without excessive removal of heat from the workpiece W. The product 10a after forming is then subjected to quenching while in contact with the lower die 31 and the upper die 41. The product. 10a having a three-dimensional shape such its the one illustrated in FIG. 1 can be formed as a result with good yield and free of forming defects. The scrap section S of the workpiece W after quenching is cut off at a portion of a boundary L between the scrap section S arid the product section T. The product 10a of three-dimensional shape illustrated in FIG. 1 is thus worked as the product section T. The product 10b illustrated in FIG. 2 and the product 10c illustrated in FIG. 3 are worked similarly.

(32) In the forming apparatus 30 illustrated in FIG. 4 to FIG. 7, both the blank holders 51 and the pre-forming dies 61 are brought closer to the lower die 31 until the scrap section S abuts the bent corners 33 of the lower die 31, and in the final forming process, the double action mechanism 65 for stopping the blank holders 51 and the pre-forming dies 61 is configured by the holder driving members 52, the bottoming blocks 53 and the elastic members 62.

(33) The pre-forming dies 61 need not necessarily be provided in the upper die 41 via the elastic members 62; alternatively, the ore-forming dies 61 may be attached to respective slide dies that are provided on the upper die 41 side, so that, as a result, the pre-forming dies 61 may similarly undergo a double action.

(34) FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 illustrate a variation of the forming apparatus 30 in which the pre-forming dies 61 are caused, to move vertically, in synchrony with the blank holders 51, by a forming die driving member, i.e. a vertical movement mechanism. In FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, those members shared with the members that make up the forming apparatus 30 described above will be denoted by identical reference symbols.

(35) FIG. 8 illustrates a state, corresponding to FIG. 4, in which the pre-forming dies 61 have descended, by a predetermined distance, together with the upper die 41. FIG. 9 illustrates a state where the final forming process is over, with the upper die 41 closest to the lower die 31. As illustrated in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, slide dies 41a are mounted on the upper die 41 so as to be vertically movable. The forming apparatus 30 has a double action press structure. The pre-forming dies 61 are attached to the slide dies 41a. Except for the pre-forming dies 61 being attached to the slide dies 41a, other features are identical to those of the forming apparatus 30 described above.

(36) In this forming apparatus 30, the scrap section S of the workpiece W is clamped, by the blank holders 51 and the pre-forming dies 61; the pre-forming dies 61 are thereafter caused to descend, by the slide dies 41a, towards the lower die 31, in synchrony with the blank holders 51.

(37) The descent of the pre-forming dies 61 is stopped by the slide dies 41a after the scrap section S abuts the bent corners 33. The descent of the blank holders 51 as well is stopped at this time by the holder driving members 52. A double action operation on the pre-forming dies 61 may be performed thus by resorting to the slide dies 41a.

(38) FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional diagram illustrating a hot-press deep-drawing forming apparatus 30a as a comparative example. In this comparative example, the scrap section S is clamped between the blank holders 51 and clamping surfaces 71 that are provided on the upper die 41; formation of the scrap section S proceeds thereupon until the upper die 41 moves down to the descent limit position. Accordingly, the scrap section S is brought to a state of being pressed against the bent corners 33 and the lower die side faces 34, as illustrated in FIG. 10, and hence the lower die 31 removes heat from, the workpiece W before the final forming process. Concerns arise as a result, in the forming apparatus 30a illustrated, in FIG. 10, of forming defects such as wrinkles or breakage in the formed product, and reduced forming yield.

(39) In the various forming apparatuses 30 described above, the lower die 31 constitutes a punch that forms the inner face of the product, and the upper die 41 constitutes a die that forms the outer surface of the product. Alternatively, hot-press deep drawing work can be similarly performed on a product having a three-dimensional shape, with good yield and while suppressing the occurrence of wrinkles, using the upper die as the punch and the lower die as the die.

(40) The present invention is not limited to the above implementations, and may accommodate various modifications without departing from the gist of the invention. Products that can be worked using the forming apparatus 30 are not limited to those illustrated in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, and products of various shapes can undergo deep drawing work if the products involve a significant degree of drawing. In the forming apparatus 30 illustrated in the figures, the punch is the lower die 31 and the die is the upper die 41, but the top-bottom configuration may be reversed, and the upper die may serve as the punch and the lower die may serve as the die. Further, the punch may be caused to move vertically, instead of the die moving vertically. Also, both the die and the punch may be set to move vertically, so long as a relative approach-separation movement relationship between the die and the punch is obeyed.