1. The Position Of Three-Dimensional Mold Design Is Consolidated.
The three-dimensional design of dies is an important component of digital die technology and is the foundation of the integration of die design, manufacture, and inspection. Toyota, GM, and other companies have realized the three-dimensional mold design and achieved good application results. Some methods adopted in three-dimensional mold design abroad are worthy of our reference. In addition to the fact that the three-dimensional design of the mold is conducive to the realization of integrated manufacturing, another advantage is that it is convenient for interference inspection and motion interference analysis to solve a problem in two-dimensional design.
2. The Simulation Of The Stamping Process (CAE) Is More Prominent.
In recent years, with the rapid development of computer software and hardware, the simulation technology of the stamping and forming process (CAE) has played an increasingly important role. In the United States, Japan, Germany, and other developed countries, CAE technology has become a necessary part of mold design and manufacturing processes and is widely used to predict forming defects, optimize the stamping process and mold structure, improve the reliability of mold design, and reduce the time of mold testing. Many domestic automobile mold enterprises have also made remarkable progress in the application of CAE and obtained good results. The application of CAE technology can greatly reduce the cost of die testing and shorten the development cycle of stamping dies, which has become an important means to ensure the quality of dies. CAE technology is gradually transforming mold design from experience design to scientific design.
3. Digital Mold Technology Has Become The Mainstream Direction.
The rapid development of digital die technology in recent years has been an effective way to solve many problems in the development of automobile dies. The so-called digital die technology is the application of computer technology or computer-aided technology (CAX) in die design and manufacturing processes. Summarizing the successful experience of the application of computer-aided technology in automobile mold enterprises at home and abroad, digital automobile mold technology mainly includes the following aspects: 1 Manufacturability design (DFM), that is, considering and analyzing the manufacturability in the design, to ensure the success of the process. The auxiliary technology of mold surface design is the development of intelligent surface design technology. (3) CAE-assisted analysis and simulation of the stamping process, prediction, and solution of possible defects and forming problems (4) Replace the traditional two-dimensional design with a three-dimensional mold structure design. The manufacturing process of the mold adopts CAPP, CAM, and CAT technology. ⑥ Under the guidance of digital technology to solve the problems in the process of mold trial and stamping production.
4, The Rapid Development Of Mold Processing Automation
Advanced processing technology and equipment are important for improving productivity and ensuring product quality. In advanced automobile mold enterprises equipped with double-table CNC machine tools, automatic tool change devices (ATC), automatic machining photoelectric control systems, and workpiece online measurement systems, it is not rare. Numerical control machining has been developed from simple surface machining to profile and structural surface comprehensive processing, from low speed machining to high speed processing. Processing automation technology development is very rapid.
5. High-Strength Steel Plate Stamping Technology Is The Future Development Direction.
High-strength steel has been used more and more in automobiles because of its excellent properties in flexural ratio, strain hardening characteristics, strain distribution capacity, and impact energy absorption. At present, the high-strength steels used in automobile stamping parts mainly include paint-hardened steel (BH steel), two-phase steel (DP steel), phase-change-induced plastic steel (TRIP steel), and so on. The International Ultra-Light Body Project (ULSAB) expects the Advanced Concept Vehicle (AVC) to be launched in 2010 to be 97% high-strength steel, with advanced high-strength steel making up more than 60% of the vehicle's total material and 74% of the vehicle's steel made up of dual-phase steel.
The mild steel series based on IF steel, which is widely used now, will be replaced by high-strength steel series, and high-strength low-alloy steel will be replaced by dual-phase steel and ultra-high-strength steel. At present, the application of high-strength steel plate in domestic automobile parts is mostly limited to structural parts and beam parts, and the tensile strength of the materials used is mostly below 500 MPa. Therefore, it is important to grasp the high-strength steel plate stamping technology quickly.
6. New Mold Products Are Launched At The Right Time.
With the development of high efficiency and automation in automobile stamping production, progressive dies will be more widely used in automobile stamping production. Progressive dies are a kind of high-tech die product with great technical difficulty, high manufacturing accuracy, and a long production cycle. The multi-station progressive die will be one of the key die products developed in our country. For stamping parts with complex shapes, especially some small and medium-sized complex stamping parts that need multiple stamping dies sorted for punching according to the traditional process, more and more progressive die forming is used.
7. Die Materials And Surface Treatment Technology Will Be Reused.
The quality and performance of die materials are important factors affecting die quality, life, and cost. In recent years, in addition to a variety of cold work die steels with high toughness and wear resistance, such as flame quenched cold work die steel and powder metallurgy cold work die steel, the selection of cast iron material in large and medium-sized stamping dies abroad has been a development trend worth paying attention to. Ductile iron has good strength, toughness, and wear resistance; its welding performance, machinability, and surface quenching performance are also better; and the cost is lower than alloy cast iron, so it is more commonly used in automobile stamping dies.
8. Scientific And Information Management Are The Development Directions Of Mold Enterprises.
Another important aspect of the development of automobile die technology is scientific and information management. Scientific management makes enterprises constantly develop in the direction of just-in-time manufacturing (just-in-time e-manufacturing) and lean production (lean production). The enterprise management is more accurate, the production efficiency is greatly improved, and the ineffective institutions, links, and personnel are constantly streamlined. With the progress of modern management technology, many advanced information management tools, including enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management (SCM), project management (PM), etc., have been widely used in mold enterprises.
9. The Fine Manufacturing Of Molds Is An Inevitable Trend.
The so-called mold fine manufacturing is for the mold development process and manufacturing results, specifically for the rationalization of the stamping process and mold structure design, mold processing of high precision, mold products of high reliability, and strict technical management. Mold fine manufacturing is not a single technology; the second is a comprehensive reflection of design, processing, and management technology. The realization of mold-fine manufacturing depends not only on technical excellence but also on strict management.
