Page 20 - MetalForming August 2019

September 17, 2019 Lapeer, MI
Hot Stamping
forming, robotic gas-metal-arc and resistance welding, plastic injection molding, casting, and more.
In Lapeer, 3-Dimensional Services houses its prototype and low-volume hot stamping capabilities, courtesy of Urgent Design & Manufacturing. Hot Stamping Experience and Tour attendees will see how Urgent meets the needs of its OEM and Tier-One customer base.
3-Dimensional Services Group is a family-owned organization operated by 400 skilled employees across 300,000-plus sq. ft. of manufacturing space. Over its 25 years, the company has accumulated a wealth of capabili- ties, and directs a roster consisting of more than 100 stamping presses, more than 25 five-axis laser systems and in excess of 75 CNC machining centers, according to Chad Peterson, 3-Dimen- sional Services general manager.
“We can take on a lot of work and push it through the floor pretty effec- tively, which is one of our biggest com- petitive advantages,” Peterson says. “And, we handle all aspects of large programs instead of customers having to source two, three or four suppliers.”
Focusing on hot stamping opera- tions in Lapeer, Peterson stresses the demand for forming increasingly strong materials.
“When getting into UHSS, some geometries can't be cold stamped due to work hardening of the material, strain limitations and increased springback,” he explains. “Trying to achieve the geometries would require three to four forming operations, and material would work harden to the point that it’s not practical or possible. But hot stamping, with material in a red-hot state, enables drawing of those geometries, with the material’s end strength far superior to what cold stamping can provide.”
Hence the attraction of hot stamp- ing—a process to form challenging AHSS and UHSS due to lightweighting and vehicle-safety demands.
A major challenge: developing and refining an efficient and productive hot stamping process.
“Hot stamping involves so many technical challenges, such as proper
MetalForming magazine’s one-of-a-kind event is designed dive deeply into the ever expanding world of hot stamping. The Hot Stamping Experience and Tech Tour features presentations from industry experts as well as a tour of host company Urgent Design & Manufacturing, Lapeer, MI. For details and to register, visit www.metalformingmagazine.com, where you’ll also read more from event presenters.
Hot Stamping Experience and Tech Tour presentations include the following:
Novel, Cost-Efficient 3D Printed Hot and Cold Forming Tools for High Volume Part Production
Harald Lemke, Chief Commercial Officer, Formetrix
Learn about the benefits of 3D printing for the manufacture of tooling and dies, and for hot and cold forming, with novel designs and conformal cooling that extend tooling and die lifetime, and accelerate production.
Fundamentals and Applications of Hot Stamping Technology for Producing Automotive Parts
Eren Billur, Technical Manager, Billur Metal Form Ltd.
An introduction to hot stamping of UHSS technique and its evolution will be provided.
Welding Fasteners to Hot Stamped Coated Steels
Bob Kollins, Senior Application Engineer, Technical Sales & Solutions
Allen M. Agin, Midwest Regional Sales Manager, Weld Systems Integrators, Inc.
Kollins and Agin will review the manufacturing issues encountered when projection welding fasteners onto hot stamped/press hardened, AlSi-coated components.
Laser Cutting Press Hardened Steel: Software and Hardware Advancements Combine to Reduce Cycle Time and Consumable Use
Nathan Harris, Industry Management: Automotive, Trumpf Inc.
Learn how new laser cutting technology is helping shops working with press hardened steels meet the challenges presented by ever-increasing part sizes and pressure to maxi- mize throughput.
18 MetalForming/August 2019
www.metalformingmagazine.com
timing of heating and cooling; design- ing, building and operating complex dies; and so many other variables,” Peterson explains. “So much goes into it...you don’t just buy the equipment and go on your way.”
Hence, also, the need for knowl- edgeable and skilled personnel to develop and operate such processes. At Urgent Design & Manufacturing, that need is met by associates such as Jeff Bischoff, director of engineering and resident hot stamping expert.
“We're very good at cold stamping parts, especially from AHSS,” Peterson says. “That experience and expertise led us into hot stamping. We saw the trend toward these stronger steels and the hot stamping process, so we used our com- petency along with Jeff’s help in devel- oping a fully automated hot stamping cell that replicates the mass-production process. Today, we employ the most technically advanced hot stamping process available at a prototype level.”
Parts needing significant draw depths and high strengths are optimal hot
stamping applications, offers Bischoff. “Hot stamping can draw and hold very tight geometric tolerances, and attain unmatched mechanical proper- ties,” he says. “We see more applications coming as companies become more sophisticated and confident in the abil- ities of the hot stamping process. Tailor welded blanks, varying material thick- nesses, adding hard and soft zones— these are complex considerations and
will become more complicated.”
This challenges the industry to stay on top of the technology to gain the
most benefits.
The automated prototype cell at
Urgent Design & Manufacturing enables 3-Dimensional Services to address such challenges and still deliver in a timely manner.
“We won’t compete on volume with a production house,” offers Bischoff, “but we have a significant advantage in timing. From a CAD file we quickly can create tooling and perform simu- lations, to create a blank profile. From there, we machine-tooling cut a few