Abstract
Keywords:
Tooling, Wear, High Strength Steel
Abstract
Dual phase steels and martensitic steels are increasingly popular in the automotive industry. There are several reasons for this; weight savings and safety considerations are perhaps the most important. There are however drawbacks in production when using these steels. Lower formability, springback problems and increased tool wear are often associated to these steels by people working in production and with production issues. This paper deals with the tooling problem. Several dual phase steels and a martensitic steel have been investigated together with coated and uncoated tool steels. Hole punching and U-bending have been performed in the laboratory in very long series as a means to assess tool wear. It is seen that, with the proper tooling selection, even the highest strength steels can be formed and punched without excessive wear. In some cases wear can be reduced to almost zero level with the correct tooling and/or coating materials. The laboratory findings are verified by examples in running production today.