Method for producing hardened steel components with a conditioned zinc anti-corrosive layer

A method of using a galvanized steel strip formed from a hardenable steel alloy, comprising the steps of:

• cutting the galvanized steel strip to form a steel sheet bar;
• cold-forming the steel sheet bar into a component blank;
• coating at least one of the galvanized steel strip, the sheet bar, and the component blank with tin in an amount of 30 to 90 mg tin per square meter, resulting in a tin-coated component blank;
• heating the tin-coated component blank to a temperature that produces austenitization of the steel alloy, yielding an austenitized tin-coated component blank, wherein the heating causes formation of a modified oxide layer that includes both tin and zinc;
• conveying the austenitized component blank to a form hardening tool including an upper tool and a lower tool;
• and
• holding the austenitized component blank in a form-fitting manner contacting the upper tool and the lower tool, thereby removing heat from the steel alloy quickly enough to cause martensitic hardening of the steel alloy;
• wherein the method is performed without cleaning the galvanized steel strip and the tin is applied in at least one of a) an ionic form from a salt solution, b) a stannate solution, and c) a solution of the tin complexed with citric acid.

A method for producing hardened steel components, comprising the steps of:

• cutting a steel sheet bar from a galvanized steel strip formed from a hardenable steel alloy;
• cold-forming the steel sheet bar into a component blank;
• heating the component blank to a temperature that produces a structural change in the steel alloy to austenite, yielding an austenitized component blank;
• conveying the austenitized component blank to a form hardening tool including an upper tool and a lower tool that define a shape substantially corresponding to a shape of the austenitized component blank;
• holding the austenitized component blank in a form-fitting manner contacting the upper tool and the lower tool, wherein due to the contact of the austenitized component blank with the upper tool and the lower tool, heat is removed from the steel alloy quickly enough to cause martensitic hardening of the steel alloy;
• and
• before heating the component blank to the temperature that produces the structural change, applying tin in an amount of 30 to 90 mg tin per square meter to a surface of at least one of the galvanized steel strip, the steel sheet bar, and the component blank;
• wherein the heating causes formation of a modified oxide layer that includes both tin and zinc;
• and the tin is applied from a solution in a layer having a wet thickness of 1 to 5 microns and a dry thickness of 50 to 150 nanometers.