Abstract:
In order to promote the utilization of thin high-strength steel plates in car parts to make cars more lightweight, the present invention improves the expandability of holes punched in the thin high-strength steel plates. Provided are a punching tool to be used in a punching step for forming a steel plate, which is the material to be worked, in a specified external form using a die and a punch with an attached protrusion, and a punching method and a molding method using same. The punching tool is characterized in that the radius of curvature (Rd) of the die cutting edge is 0.03 mm to 0.2 mm, and the angle (α) formed between a tangent line drawn from the punch cutting edge to the shoulder of the protrusion and the direction orthogonal to the direction of punch movement is 12° to 72°. Moreover, when the die cutting edge (rounded shoulder portion) is configured as a two-level rounded portion with radii of curvature (R1, R2) and the slope of a straight line passing through the centers of (R1) and (R2) is (β), expandability of the punched hole can be further improved by making 0.03 mm ≤ (R1) ≤ 0.2 mm, 1 ≤ (R2)/(R1) ≤ 5, 0 ≤ (R2(1-sin(β1)) ≤ 0.3t, and 30° ≤ (β) ≤ 90°.
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Notices, Deadlines & Correspondence
c/o NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION 6 1 Marunouchi 2 chome Chiyoda ku Tokyo
1008071
2. KAWANO Osamu
c/o NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION 6 1 Marunouchi 2 chome Chiyoda ku Tokyo
1008071
3. YOKOI Tatsuo
c/o NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION 6 1 Marunouchi 2 chome Chiyoda ku Tokyo
1008071
4. HAJI Junji
c/o NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION 6 1 Marunouchi 2 chome Chiyoda ku Tokyo
1008071
5. HORIOKA Satoshi
c/o NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION 6 1 Marunouchi 2 chome Chiyoda ku Tokyo
1008071
Specification
DESCRIPTION
Title of Invention: Tooling for Punching Steel Sheet and
Punching Method
5
Technical Field
COO011 The present invention relates to tooling for
punching thin-gauge steel sheet and a punching method
using that tooling.
10 Background Art
[00021 To deal with the need for lightening the weight
of automobiles, which began back with the old oil crises,
the steel sheet used for automobiles has been made higher
in strength. In recent years, a need has arisen for
15 improving the safety of automobiles in collisions. The
need is rising for further increasing the strength of
steel sheet for automobile use. As steel sheet rises in
strength, generally its shapeability is sacrificed and
cracks easily form at the time of press-forming. For this
20 reason, in application of high strength steel sheet, in
the press-forming step, it is necessary to work to
prevent cracking. In particular, in press-forming steel
sheet for automobile use, "punching hole expansion" for
stretching the punched end face in the circumferential
25 direction is often seen. It is important to prevent
cracking due to such shaping.
[00031 FIGS. 1A and 18 show the state of deformation
of a riorked material in a punching process using a
conventional flat-bottomed punch. In this punching
30 process, a large compressive or tensile stress is applied
to the hardened layer shown in FIG. 18, so that part is
remarkably hardened. Further, for this reason, the
ductility of the end face after punching deteriorated and
the punching hole expandability of the punched hole
35 remarkably deteriorated. The deterioration of the
ductility of the end face due to this hardened layer is
particularly remarkable in high strength steel
Improvement of the punching hole expandability of high
strength steel sheet now being made much use of to deal
with the recent needs for lightening the weight of
automobiles is being sought.
5 [00041 As an art for punching for improving this
punching hole expandability, the art of punching using a
punch with a projection attached to its tip has been
proposed (PLTs 1 and 2).
[00051 The principle of improvement of the punching
10 hole expandability by this art will be explained below.
The punching hole expandability deteriorates in the
punching process due to the formation of a work hardened
layer at which the plastic strain accumulates. In the
punching process, first, the punch and die shear the
15 worked material whereby a shear plane is formed. Next, a
crack occurs and advances in the worked material near the
cutting edges of the punch and die resulting in a
fracture surface. This crack grows and leads to fracture.
The plastic strain on the worked hardened layer of the
20 fracture surface mainly occurs at the stage of formation
of the shear plane, so the shorter the stage of formation
of the shear plane, the smaller the plastic strain on the
work hardened layer of the fracture surface. Due to the
effect of the projection attached to the punch, tensile
2 5 stress is given to the punched worked material in the
vicinity of the cutting edges of the punch and die, the
advance of a crack is promoted, and as a result it is
possible to shorten the stage of formation of the shear
plane. Due to this effect, the strain at the punched end
30 face is suppressed and the punching hole expandability is
improved.
[0006] In PLT 1, furthermore, to prevent shearing of
the material due to the projection, making the radius of
curvature Rp of the shoulder of the projection 0.2 mm or
3 5 more or making the projecting shoulder angle from 100' to
170' are made requirements. In PLT 2, to improve the
ductility of the end face of the worked material, making
the angle of the tangent drawn from the punch cutting
edge to the projection 3 O to 70° is made a requirement.
Citation List
Patent Literature
5 [0007] PLT 1. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-
95980A
PLT 2. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2007-307616A
Summary of Invention
Technical Problem
10 [0008] According to the prior art, it is possible to
obtain a high strength steel sheet of a tensile strength
of approximately 800 MPa where a 80% or more punching
hole expansion ratio is obtained. Due to this art, a
certain effect of lightening the weight of the automobile
15 is obtained. However, this cannot be said to be
necessarily sufficient for dealing with the further
rising needs for high strength steel sheet of recent
years. To sufficiently deal with such needs, realization
of a 90% or more punching hole expansion ratio is being
20 sought in high strength steel sheet with a tensile
strength of about 800 MPa. The present invention has as
its object realization of punching tooling and a working
method realizing a punching hole expansion ratio of 90%
or more in punching 800 MPa class high strength steel
25 sheet.
Solution to Problem
[0009] The inventors engaged in intensive studies to
solve ,,Sd-e~abovper oblems in punching by a projecting
punch and obtained the following findings.
3 0 [OOlO] (a) Optimization of Shape of Cutting Edge of
Die
At the time of punching, the way force acts differs at
the punch side and die side of the worked material of the
high strength steel sheet, so there inherently should be
3 5 optimal shapes of the cutting edge shape of the punch and
the cutting edge shape of the die. The prior art mainly
studies the cutting edge of the punch. The cutting edge
shape of the die is not the optimal one. Therefore, the
inventors engaged in detailed studies focusing on the
shape of the cutting edge of the die. First, if the
shoulder R of the die (corresponding to shape of cutting
5 edge at radius of curvature of die) is small, the die
side of the worked material of the steel sheet receives
extreme compressive stress. For this reason, the
compressive stress region in a cross-section of the steel
sheet becomes broader. The part which receives
10 compressive stress is inhibited in crack propagation, so
fractures by shear fracture. Due to this, the shear plane
increases and the work hardened layer becomes greater. On
the other hand, if the shoulder R of the die is too
large, the tensile stress acts at the die side of the
15 steel sheet as well, so crack propagation proceeds and
shear fracture becomes limited. For this reason, the work
hardened layer is also reduced, so ductility can be
secured. However, the shoulder R is large, so there is a
possibility of deformation of the steel sheet after
20 cutting (sagging in the downward direction of the punch).
Considering these facts, the inventors discovered that in
800 MPa or more high strength steel sheet, it is suitable
to make the shoulder R of the die from 0.03 mm to 0.2 mm.
[00111 (b) Two-Stage R Design of Die Shoulder
25 Furthermore, the inventors discovered that by making the
die shoulder (cutting edge part) a shape having two radii
of curvature (below, called "two-stage R"), it is
possibJe to suppress the compressive stress while
cutting. If the die shoulder is a shape having one radius
3 0 of curvature (below, sometimes called "one-stage R"), due
to bending of the steel sheet at the die shoulder, a
region where compressive stress acts is formed at the die
side of the steel sheet. Due to the compressive stress
due to this bending, the tensile stress which is created
3 5 at the steel sheet due to the projecting punch is eased.
The crack propagating ability becomes worse by that
amount. Therefore, by making the die shoulder R two
stages, the bending of the steel sheet at the die
shoulder can be partially eased, the region where the
compressive stress due to this bending acts can be
reduced, and crack propagating ability can be improved.
5 Further, in the case of punching tooling, the clearance
of the punch and die is also important. When making the
die shoulder a two-stage shoulder R, if making the radius
of curvature R1 of the arc part at the punch side larger,
as a result, the clearance becomes greater and the
10 sharpness becomes duller. For this reason, the inventors
discovered that when making the die shoulder a two-stage
shoulder R, it is sufficient to make the radius of
curvature R1 of the punch side smaller than the radius of
curvature R2 of the reverse side to the punch (sheet
15 holder side). Furthermore, when a steel sheet is cut, the
radius of curvature Rl of the punch side is effective, so
this radius of curvature R1 should be made the abovementioned
optimum range. Due to this, it is possible to
decrease the compressive stress acting on the steel
20 sheet. Crack propagation due to higher tensile stress can
be obtained. Further, it is possible to reduce the shear
plane due to shear fracture, possible to reduce the work
hardened layer, and possible to improve the hole
expandability. However, it is necessary to keep the
25 deformation in the elastic range of the steel sheet, so
it is necessary to restrict the amount of sink of the
steel sheet at the die shoulder.
[001a ,,(c] Optimization of Projecting Punch Shape
On the other hand, the shape of a projecting punch able
30 to efficiently cause tensile stress at a worked material
of steel sheet at the time of cutting has also been
studied in detail. As a result, the inventors discovered
that there is an optimal range to the angle (a) formed by
the tangent drawn from the shoulder forming the punch
3 5 cutting edge (punch cutting edge end) to the projection
shoulder and the line perpendicular to the direction of
movement of the punch. That is, it is learned that when a
is from 12' to 72', a large tensile stress is generated
and the crack propagating ability is increased.
[0013] The present invention was made based on these
discoveries and has as its gist the following:
5 (1) Tooling for punching a steel sheet comprised of at
least a die, a sheet holder, and a projecting punch, in
which tooling for punching a steel sheet, in a crosssection
parallel to a direction of movement of the punch
of the punching tool and vertical to a ridgeline formed
10 by a cutting edge of the punch or die, the radius of
curvature R of a shoulder forming the cutting edge of the
die is from 0.03 mm to 0.2 mm and an angle a formed by a
line drawn from the shoulder forming the cutting edge of
the punch to the shoulder of the projection and a
15 direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of
the punch is from 12' to 72'.
(2) The tooling for punching a steel sheet according to
(I), wherein the curvature of the shoulder forming the
cutting edge of the die is comprised of two radii of
2 0 curvature, the radius of curvature of the curve facing
the punch being R1, and the radius of curvature of the
other curve being R2, and when the angle formed by the
line passing through the intersection of the two curves
based on R1 and R2 and the center of curvature of R1 with
2 5 the direction perpendicular to the direction of movement
of the punch is P and the thickness of the steel sheet is
,rt"
0.03 mm