HK1243037A - Hybrid induction- and laser-heated metal stamping method and its apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Stamping method and device with hybrid electromagnetic induction and laser heating

Technical Field

The invention relates to a stamping method and a stamping device with hybrid electromagnetic induction and laser heating.

Background

Based on the obvious increase of the demand of modern people on light-weight parts, light-weight design has been paid attention to various large industrial fields, such as industries of automobiles, consumer electronics products, medical equipment, household appliances and the like. As for the production process, the metal forming process can manufacture parts having good mechanical properties and surface finish, and the manufacturing process can achieve low material consumption, high yield, and the like, which cannot be achieved by other manufacturing processes such as die casting, conventional metal cutting, powder injection molding, and the like.

The application of light alloy materials is one of the methods for realizing the light weight of products. Compared with the common steel, the aluminum material can be reduced by 30 to 50 percent, and the magnesium material can be reduced by 40 to 70 percent. In addition to the use of light alloy materials, the use of high strength steel also enables the weight reduction of products. Under the condition of ensuring that the product has the same rigidity, the higher the strength of the material is, the less the material consumption is needed, and therefore, the weight of the part can be reduced. However, the high mechanical strength of parts produced from these materials significantly increases the forming load, and therefore, large-scale punching machines are required for production. Further, the increase in the forming load further accelerates the wear of the die, shortens the fatigue life of the die, and finally leads to an increase in the production cost. At the same time, such materials generally have poor forming ability at normal temperature and large deformation areas are prone to fracture, which limits the geometry of the formed part.

Although complex shaped parts can be manufactured today by combining multiple processes such as forming, annealing, and then forming, the forming cycle is long and disadvantageous to production. While conventional high temperature forming processes can improve the formability of the material and reduce the forming load, this method can result in poor surface quality of the formed part, imprecise geometry, and long production cycle times. In addition, when the size of the formed part is reduced, since the ratio of the volume of the workpiece to the area thereof becomes small, the forming temperature of the workpiece is not easily controlled, and the temperature rapidly drops during the conveyance of the workpiece, so that it is difficult to achieve the intended effect.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the different equipment such as punching machines and the like adopted by parts produced globally, a method which can improve the production without changing the original equipment is urgently needed.

The invention provides a stamping method combining electromagnetic induction and laser heating.

The stamping mode comprises deep drawing, bending, punching and embossing.

The stamping method specifically comprises the following three steps:

the method comprises the following steps: an electromagnetic induction heating process: conveying the sheet metal to an electromagnetic induction heating station of forming equipment, and generating eddy current in the metal to cause Joule heating of the metal due to resistance;

step two: laser heating process: conveying the sheet metal to a laser heating station of forming equipment, and controlling laser generated by a laser emitting device to irradiate the sheet metal by a laser guide device according to a set route so as to locally raise the temperature of the sheet metal;

step three: the sheet metal forming process comprises the following steps: and conveying the heated sheet metal to a forming station of forming equipment, and enabling the die to collide with the sheet metal so as to deform the laser heating area and form the part.

The invention also provides a stamping device with hybrid electromagnetic induction and laser heating, which comprises a forming device, an electromagnetic induction heating device, a laser emitting device and a laser guiding device, wherein the laser emitting device is connected with the laser guiding device, and the electromagnetic induction heating device and the laser guiding device are both arranged above the forming device.

One side of the laser guide device is close to a die of the forming equipment, and the other side of the laser guide device is close to the electromagnetic induction heating device.

The device also comprises a feeder which can feed the electromagnetic induction heating device, the laser guide device and the forming equipment.

The feeder is a servo feeder, a mechanical feeder or a pneumatic feeder.

The forming device is a punch press.

The laser protection device is arranged below the laser guide device.

The laser protection device is a V-shaped bottom plate, and the V-shaped bottom plate is arranged at a laser heating station of the forming equipment.

The invention has the advantages that: electromagnetic induction and laser heating are combined on a sheet metal stamping processing line, and an area needing large deformation is quickly irradiated by adopting electromagnetic induction heating and laser before the sheet metal is stamped, so that the flowing capability of the area is improved, the deformation load in the forming process is reduced (by up to 70 percent), the productivity is improved, the service life of a die is prolonged, and the forming steps of parts are simplified. The area of the high-brightness shearing surface can be increased in the punching process, so that the smoothness of the punched part is similar to that of the precision punching. The sheet metal is heated to the highest temperature that the material does not have microstructure change through electromagnetic induction, the laser heating amplitude is greatly reduced, the power of a required laser machine is reduced, hardware capital investment is reduced, and production cost and technical threshold are reduced.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a sheet metal of the present invention heated by an electromagnetic induction coil.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view showing that the preheated sheet metal is heated by laser irradiation in the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the whole production equipment.

Detailed Description

The present invention is further described with reference to the following drawings and specific examples so that those skilled in the art can better understand the present invention and can practice the present invention, but the examples are not intended to limit the present invention.

The invention provides a stamping method and a device thereof with mixed electromagnetic induction and laser heating. Therefore, complex geometric characteristics are formed, the stamping force is reduced, and the service life of the die is prolonged. The invention utilizes the electromagnetic induction method to raise the temperature of the sheet metal in advance, can reduce the required laser heating amplitude, and then reduce the laser power requirement, thereby reducing the capital investment of laser equipment. Fig. 1 and 2 show the electromagnetic induction preheating and the laser irradiation of the local heating process of the sheet metal respectively, and fig. 3 shows the overall equipment design. The specific process flow of the stamping method comprises the following three steps:

the method comprises the following steps: the process of heating the sheet metal by electromagnetic induction comprises the following steps:

the sheet metal is generally selected to be a pure metal material or an alloy material. As shown in fig. 1, the sheet metal 1 is first conveyed by a feeder 2 to a heating station of electromagnetic induction. The electromagnetic induction coil 3 starts to work, the sheet metal material in the electromagnetic induction coil 3 is heated, the heating temperature is determined according to the actual material, and the sheet metal is heated to a temperature point slightly lower than the change of the microstructure under the optimal condition, so that the performance of the finished part is ensured not to change, and the required laser power is reduced to the maximum extent. In addition, the electromagnetic induction heating time, the laser irradiation heating time and the distance between the stations need to be calculated, and the complexity and the process requirements of the part forming process step are considered. The factors are coordinated and integrated to obtain a specific matching scheme aiming at a certain example, and the heat loss of materials and the waste of production time are avoided.

Step two: heating process of laser irradiation of sheet metal: the metal sheet 1 preheated by electromagnetic induction is conveyed to a laser irradiation heating station. The hatched portion in fig. 2 represents that the sheet metal passing through the electromagnetic induction station has been heated in its entirety, and after the sheet metal reaches the laser heating station, the laser guiding device 4 receives the laser from the laser emission source and the information of the controller, which includes the employed laser scanning speed, emission intensity, the number of scanning cycles, scanning path, and the like. And emitting a laser beam 9 to form a local temperature rising region 5 on the sheet metal 1, wherein the heating region 5 is a part of the sheet metal 1 to be greatly deformed so as to improve the deformation capability of the material in the region. The sheet metal used in this example was high strength steel QSTE500TM, sheet metal thickness 2.5mm, 4000W laser source, irradiation speed 2000mm/s, and 100 scanning cycles. The heating station needs to ensure that laser does not leak, and the safety of a production field is ensured.

Step three: the sheet metal forming process comprises the following steps: as shown in fig. 3, the heated sheet metal 1 is conveyed to a forming station of a forming apparatus so that the sheet metal 1 is positioned between an upper die 6 and a lower die 7. In the forming process, one of the upper die 6 or the lower die 7 is fixed, and the other part of the die moves towards the sheet metal 1 and collides with the sheet metal 1, so that the heating area 5 of the sheet metal 1 is deformed. The punch diameter is 17mm in this example and the punching speed is 1 minute 65 times.

The invention also provides a stamping device with hybrid electromagnetic induction and laser heating. As shown in fig. 3, the parts feeder 2, the electromagnetic induction heating device 3, the laser guide device 4, the upper die 6, the lower die 7, and the forming apparatus 8 are included. The feeder 2 is capable of feeding the electromagnetic induction heating device 3, the laser guide device 4, and the forming apparatus 8. The electromagnetic induction heating device 3 and the laser guide device 4 are positioned above the forming equipment 8, wherein one side of the laser guide device 4 is close to the upper die 6 and the lower die 7, and the other side is close to the electromagnetic induction heating device 3. After the material is irradiated by the laser beam 9 in the laser guide device 4, the material can be directly sent to a punch press for forming, and the heat energy loss is reduced to the maximum extent. The thickness of the sheet metal 1 is controlled within 5 mm. Because of the need of using thicker sheet metal 1 and higher forming temperature for producing high-strength parts, high-strength laser is needed, and the output power is generally more than 500W. The safety of production personnel needs to be guaranteed in the same mode of the installation position of the laser emitting device, and direct damage to a human body caused by scattered laser is avoided, so that the sheet metal 1 and a laser emitting area need to be enclosed into a closed space. The arrangement mode of the die (comprising the upper die 6 and the lower die 7) and the forming device 8 is not changed from the structure of the conventional punching device. A laser protection device is arranged below the sheet metal 1, and can be a V-shaped bottom plate 10 made of low-carbon metal. The direction of the V-shaped opening faces to the vertical direction of the movement of the sheet metal, the specific size is determined according to the specific laser guiding device 4, but the projection area of the structure is ensured to be larger than or equal to the maximum allowable moving area of the laser, and all laser irradiation is ensured to be in the range of the V-shaped structure so as to ensure the protection performance.

The above-mentioned embodiments are merely preferred embodiments for fully illustrating the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. The equivalent substitution or change made by the technical personnel in the technical field on the basis of the invention is all within the protection scope of the invention. The protection scope of the invention is subject to the claims.

Claims (10)

1. A stamping method combining electromagnetic induction and laser heating is characterized in that a sheet metal is heated to a temperature at which a material does not have microstructure change by an electromagnetic induction method, then a region needing large deformation is heated by laser irradiation, and finally a forming process of a part is completed by a stamping mode.

2. The hybrid electromagnetic induction and laser heating stamping method of claim 1, wherein the stamping means includes deep drawing, bending, punching, and embossing.

3. The hybrid electromagnetic induction and laser heating stamping method of claim 1, comprising the following three steps:

the method comprises the following steps: an electromagnetic induction heating process: conveying the sheet metal to an electromagnetic induction heating station of forming equipment, and generating eddy current in the metal to cause Joule heating of the metal due to resistance;

step two: laser heating process: conveying the sheet metal to a laser heating station of forming equipment, and controlling laser generated by a laser emitting device to irradiate the sheet metal by a laser guide device according to a set route so as to locally raise the temperature of the sheet metal;

step three: the sheet metal forming process comprises the following steps: and conveying the heated sheet metal to a forming station of forming equipment, and enabling the die to collide with the sheet metal so as to deform the laser heating area and form the part.

4. The utility model provides a stamping device who mixes electromagnetic induction and laser heating, includes former, its characterized in that still includes electromagnetic induction heating device, laser emitter and laser guiding device, laser emitter connects laser guiding device, electromagnetic induction heating device with laser guiding device all set up in the top of former.

5. The hybrid electromagnetic induction and laser heating stamping device of claim 4, wherein one side of the laser guide device is adjacent to a die at the forming apparatus and the other side of the laser guide device is adjacent to the electromagnetic induction heating device.

6. The hybrid electromagnetic induction and laser heating press apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a feeder capable of feeding said electromagnetic induction heating device, laser directing device and forming equipment.

7. The hybrid electromagnetic induction and laser heating stamping device of claim 6 wherein the feeder is a servo feeder, a mechanical feeder, or a pneumatic feeder.

8. The hybrid electromagnetic induction and laser heating stamping device of claim 4, wherein the forming apparatus is a punch press.

9. The hybrid electromagnetic induction and laser heating stamping device of claim 4, further comprising a laser protection device disposed below the laser guide device.

10. The hybrid electromagnetic induction and laser heating stamping device of claim 9, wherein the laser protection device is a V-shaped base plate disposed at a laser heating station of a forming apparatus.