Method for moulding a sheet into a component of complex shape having areas with different mechanical properties, particularly a motor-vehicle component

A method for moulding a sheet into a component of complex shape having areas with different mechanical properties,

• the method comprising:
• arranging at least one mold for forming the sheet configured to produce said component;
• arranging at least one kiln to carry out a heating step of the sheet, prior to forming said sheet, said kiln comprising:
• a casing of refractory material having at least one inlet port and one outlet port arranged for inserting and extracting a sheet from said kiln, respectively,
• a main body with a roller shape arranged inside said casing and having a plurality of sectors extending along a radial direction with respect to a longitudinal axis of the roller body, said sectors being configured to each receive a sheet, in such a way that said roller-shaped main body is designed to simultaneously carry a plurality of sheets,
• a plurality of heating elements incorporated in said roller-shaped main body and configured to heat a first portion of the roller body, in such a way that the roller-shaped main body is arranged to heat said plurality of sheets in a differentiated form, at areas of said plurality of sheets in contact with said first portion of the roller body,
• at least one electronically-controlled drive motor, arranged to rotate said roller-shaped main body around said longitudinal axis, so as to vary the position of the sectors with respect to the inlet and outlet ports;
• inserting a plurality of sheets within said sectors and locally heating the sheets to a predetermined temperature by means of said kiln in such a way as to obtain sheets with areas at different temperatures,
• removing the locally-heated sheets from the kiln,
• subjecting the sheets to a forming step within said mold and uniformly cooling the locally-heated sheets, so as to obtain a component of complex shape having areas with different mechanical properties.