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US 11,027,325 B2Granted
Hot-formed metal sheet and method of producing an opening in such a metal sheet
AssigneeBenteler Automobiltechnik GmbH
InventorsMarkus Kettler, Georg Frost, Frank Rabe, Karsten Bake
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hot-formed metal sheet has a tensile strength Rm>1300 megapascal (MPa) and includes an opening which is produced by high-speed punching at a speed of a punch of more than 6 m/s in the absence of a counter holder of a contour matching a contour of the punch, with a smooth cut proportion of the cutting surface of the opening amounting to more than 50%.
Claims5
A method, comprising:
- hot forming and press hardening a metal sheet in a press-hardening tool to a tensile strength of Rm >1300 megapascal (MPa);
- and
- producing an opening with closed cutting line in the hot formed and press hardened metal sheet at the tensile strength Rm solely by high-speed punching the metal sheet in a single-step process with a punch at a speed of the punch of more than 6 m/s, sufficient to cause a momentary temperature rise in immediate proximity of the opening to at least minimize strain hardening and wherein the producing step is performed without the use of a counter holder.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.