News

Cooling Channels in Hot Forming

Hot forming has become increasingly important for the automotive industry in meeting specific requirements for lower overall weight and higher crash safety. The benefits that come with hot stamped parts, such as high strength, lower weight, complex shapes and reduced springback effects, have led to a significant increase in their production around the world. It is expected that the market volume of hot stamped parts in body in white (BIW) will rise significantly from 8% in 2015 to 17% in 2025. In light of this trend, AutoForm's state-of-the-art technology continues to bring enhancements in hot forming simulation.

AutoForm’s latest software release AutoFormplus R7 allows users to take cooling channels into account, enabling them to make a more accurate prediction of the position and dimensions of hot spots on the tool surface. The design and positioning of cooling channels is a challenging task. With AutoFormplus R7, cooling channels can be easily modeled with 3D curves and their corresponding diameters. Different cooling channel layouts lead to different temperature distribution on the tool surface. Hot spots on the tool surface can be easily detected and controlled depending on the selected layout of the cooling channels.

AutoFormplus R7 allows for multicycle simulations and offers users the choice between real cycling and quick numerical cycling. Real cycling starts with the actual initial tool temperature and realistically simulates the entire ramp-up process. This option takes a few cycles until the tools reach a steady state tool temperature level, i.e. the temperature at the start of a cycle equals the temperature at the end of a cycle. Quick numerical cycling starts with an approximated tool temperature and requires a lower number of cycles to reach the steady state tool temperature level.

With AutoFormplus R7, car manufacturers and suppliers can reliably design and engineer hot-stamped parts for their new vehicles, such as A- and B-pillars, tunnels, front and rear bumper beams, side rail members, door beams or roof rails.