Products Machine building, frameworks & safety Galvannealed PHS steel enables the development of strong, rigid, car safety cages
Finnish steel maker, Ruukki, produces hot-dip and galvanised Dual Phase (DP) and Complex Phase (CP) steels under the brand name LITEC. While the rise in popularity of alternative materials such as aluminium have helped reduce weight, their application in car parts that are crucial for safety come at economic costs, claims the company. The materials and the manufacturing processes require significant investments that are only feasible for executive and luxury cars. This means for subcompact, com- pact and mid-sized cars, the safety cage will remain steel territory. Ultra-high strength and rigidity are paramount for the steel cage that
protects drivers and passengers. DP steels, for example, exhibit superior energy absorption capacity and are thus the material of choice in front and rear impact areas, as well as in crash boxes. All multiphase steels have drawbacks in their comparatively high duc- tility with regard to safety cage parts. Developed since the late 1990s and implemented since early 2000, press-hardened Boron steels (PHS) have no springback effect after hardening, higher yield strengths of about 1100 MPa or more and ten- sile strengths of 1500 MPa. The industry is now, however, seeing an increasing shift towards the application of PHS steels over multiphase steels in the body in white. In order to achieve the desired
rigidity, the cold-rolled PHS steels face hot-stamping or press hardening. Two different methods of hot stamping are
commonly applied: direct and indirect quenching. Starting out with moderate strength and high ductility, the cold-rolled steel coils are blanked. With the indirect process the blank is pre-formed by cold press- ing before the shaped component is annealed in the furnace, whereas in direct press hardening this step is omitted and the blanked steel sheet is annealed directly. The steels are heated up to temperatures of around 900-950˚C. At these elevated temperatures, the strength of the Boron steel drops to around 200 MPa and it reaches excellent forma- bility. The blank and component are then transferred to a
Development interface updated
Trio Motion Technology has introduced version V3.1.1 of its Motion Perfect v3 (MPv3) appli- cation development, configura- tion and connectivity software for the MC4 Motion Coordinator range of multi-axis motion and machine controllers. With the new release, MPv3
extends its single development environment to include direct configuration and software programming of the company’s new UNIPLAY HMI range of graphical operator interfaces. Users can now realise single-point programming of all motion, machine interfacing and graphical HMI functions from within Motion Perfect v3 – with a common project file and program code storage resources taken care of on the MC4 controller. The new UNIPLAY 7in and 10in high contrast colour displays use the latest touch panel technology and Ethernet connection to the controller. MPv3 supports both TrioBASIC and IEC 61131-3 programming for motion control and
machine interfacing across the MC4 Motion Coordinator range. According to the company, its MC4 Motion Coordinators are advanced motion and
machine controllers with the latest technology I/O and fieldbus expansion modules, encoder feedback devices and HMIs that allow simple to highly advanced industrial machines to be built with the minimum of external components. A wide choice of drive interfaces, including EtherCAT, Sercos and many other manufacturers’ proprietary types give machine builders the freedom to choose their preferred drive and motor technology. At the lower end of the range, the MC403 and MC405 satisfy smaller automated
machine setups with 2-servo/3-stepper and 4-servo/5-stepper and machine I/O capability. For up to 64 axes of synchronised motion and servo cycle times, the mod- ular and expandable MC464 series provides highly precise 64Bit motion calculations from its 400MHz MIPS processor. Trio Motion Technology
www.triomotion.com
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press-forming system in which the steel is formed from the blank or, in case of the pre-formed shape in the indirect method, trimmed while being quenched in cooling dies to a temperature of about 200˚C. Under the combined hot stamping and rapid cooling method, the steel
reaches a tensile strength of 1500 MPa. In a final step the hardened sheets or components are cleaned and cut. A protective coating is needed for PHS steels in order to avoid
surface damage and corrosion during the quenching process. Ruukki has identified zinc-iron coated PHS steels, so-called galvannealed, to offer the best quality in this field. The most commonly used protective shield for PHS steels is an aluminum-silicon (AlSi) alloy, applied as a 10 - 20µm thin layer to protect the steel against heat and oxidation. A ZF coat protects the steel cathodi- cally, with a zinc-rich coat- ing, which serves as a sacrificial metal which attracts the oxygen and corrodes, saving the underlying steel. Ruukki applies a zinc-rich zinc-
Applications ot LITEC steels
iron alloy in roughly a 10µm thick layer that allows for a fine, even surface. The company has tested the corrosion
protection qualities of an unpainted AlSi coating compared to those of such (also unpainted) galvannealed steel in a neutral salt spray (NSS) test according to EN ISO 9227. The
ZF coating corroded but remained intact, effectively protecting the PHS steel sample, while the AlSi coating was breached and iron oxide formed on the steel. In addition, the share of iron in the galvannealed coating brings an array of additional benefits, including facilitating excellent spot-weldability. Due to the qualities of corrosion protection and weldability, Ruukki believes PHS steels provide an economic and safe solution for the parts that form car safety cages. Ruukki
www.ruukki.co.uk
Kabelschlepp Metool has intro- duced new accessories for its Robotrax cable carriers. Robotrax Protector protects the cable carrier against premature wear, and absorbs shocks and impacts. The combination of Protector and Pull-Back Unit are said to signifi- cantly increase the service life of its cable carriers. With fast motion sequences and
large work areas, cable carriers can touch the robot arm and there- fore wear out faster. The Protector is designed to prevent this. The impact protection is available for all Robotrax sizes and can easily
Accessories protect cable carriers
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be mounted on each required chain link. It protects cable carri- ers and cables while also limiting the smallest bend radius. When the Robotrax glides across the robot arm, the Protector protects the cable carrier against heavy abrasions and premature wear. Kabelschlepp Metool
www.kabelschlepp.co.uk Enter 207
Optimising the design of moulding machines
Using servo pump technology from B&R, Woojin has boosted the energy efficiency and lowered the noise from its hydraulic injection moulding machines. B&R servo pumps can also be found on its two-platen machine. The machines range from 450 to 3000 tons of clamping force, with a 3500 ton model available later. Woojin has upgraded its fully
electric TN250E machine with a new toggle mechanism to optimise pressure and three servo motors on the injection side to achieve injection speeds of 1000 mm/sec. The new solution also created 10% more space between the platen without increasing the machine’s dimensions. B&R
www.br-automation.com Enter 208
JUNE 2013 Design Solutions
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