Design And Development Of Miniaturized Test Production Line Of Hot Forming

In recent years, the rapid development of automobile industry in China had brought great convenience to people in the mode of production and lives. But the attendant problems of energy consumption and environmental pollution were becoming increasingly severe, which seriously restricted the development of society and economy. It is one of the important means to alleviate the energy and environmental issues to achieve lightweight of vehicle, which can reduce fuel consumption and emissions, as well as our inevitable choice to confront energy security and realize sustainable development. As effective methods for lightweight, hot forming technology of high- strength steel and warm forming of aluminum technology had been increasingly applied in the design and manufacture of bodywork. As the key link to ensure the smooth development of hot forming technology, the development and research of forming equipment, together with the control and optimization of production process, had become the research emphasis and hotspot of major automobile manufacturers, automobile research institutes and universities.Subsidized by Hot Stamping Equipment of Automobile Structural High- Strength Steel Sub – Topic of Advanced Numerically Controlled Machine Tool and Basic Manufacturing Equipment Project of Industry and Information Department,this paper carried out the design and development of hot forming production line and harvested important achievements finally. Some specific tasks are:(1) As key equipments of hot forming production line, furnace, water-cooled mold and plate conveyors were researched. A new sliding chain – movable furnace was developed with advanced oxidation resistance. A new type of high thermal conductivity mold material was developed and a B-pillar water-cooled mold was manufactured by 3D printing technology and cast whose cooling pipelines were optimized. A linear transport and its pickup robot with high temperature resistance were designed and developed.(2) The work principle and some major aspects of production were analyzed and researched detailedly. As a result, a rational and efficient production process was designed.(3) Automatic control system were developed based on programmable logic controller(PLC) to realize the automatic operation of logical flow. And man-machine interface and function of touch panel were designed, by which the parameters of control system could be set.This line provides important support for the research of optimum parameters of hot forming technology and the application of PLC programme technology. So the miniaturized test production line has both high academic value and engineering significance.