Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
  • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
  • B29C45/00—Injection moulding, i.e. forcing the required volume of moulding material through a nozzle into a closed mould; Apparatus therefor
  • B29C45/17—Component parts, details or accessories; Auxiliary operations
  • B29C45/72—Heating or cooling
  • B29C45/73—Heating or cooling of the mould
  • B29C45/7312—Construction of heating or cooling fluid flow channels
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B21—MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D—WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D22/00—Shaping without cutting, by stamping, spinning, or deep-drawing
  • B21D22/20—Deep-drawing
  • B21D22/201—Work-pieces; preparation of the work-pieces, e.g. lubricating, coating
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B21—MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D—WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D22/00—Shaping without cutting, by stamping, spinning, or deep-drawing
  • B21D22/20—Deep-drawing
  • B21D22/208—Deep-drawing by heating the blank or deep-drawing associated with heat treatment
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B21—MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D—WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D37/00—Tools as parts of machines covered by this subclass
  • B21D37/16—Heating or cooling
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B23P—METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; COMBINED OPERATIONS; UNIVERSAL MACHINE TOOLS
  • B23P15/00—Making specific metal objects by operations not covered by a single other subclass or a group in this subclass
  • B23P15/007—Making specific metal objects by operations not covered by a single other subclass or a group in this subclass injection moulding tools
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B23P—METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; COMBINED OPERATIONS; UNIVERSAL MACHINE TOOLS
  • B23P15/00—Making specific metal objects by operations not covered by a single other subclass or a group in this subclass
  • B23P15/24—Making specific metal objects by operations not covered by a single other subclass or a group in this subclass dies
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
  • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
  • B29C33/00—Moulds or cores; Details thereof or accessories therefor
  • B29C33/38—Moulds or cores; Details thereof or accessories therefor characterised by the material or the manufacturing process
  • B29C33/3842—Manufacturing moulds, e.g. shaping the mould surface by machining

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method for producing a tool intended for forming a material, in particular by hot stamping or injection-molding, for the purpose of making it an object of determined shape, said tool having to present for this purpose a forming face of complementary shape of at least part of said determined shape, said method comprising an initial step a consisting in projecting an outline of the tool to be produced, comprising a projected forming face having said complementary shape, and in design inside said projected contour, as a function of said complementary shape, a projected circuit for circulation of a heat transfer fluid inside the tool to be produced, said projected circuit comprising a plurality of projected conduits, at least one of which '' constitutes a projected collector and of which at least another constitutes a projected derivation of the projected collector and runs along the project forming face e.
• thermoplastic material By way of nonlimiting examples of tool likely to be concerned by this process, mention may be made of the punches and dies used for the stamping of hot sheets and the parts which, in an injection-molding mold d '' a thermoplastic material, define a molding imprint.
• the heat transfer fluid which is circulated inside the tool is intended to cool the latter and, by thermal conduction through the latter, the object being produced, in order to cause it to soak in the case of hot stamping and to accelerate its solidification in the case of injection-molding.
• thermoforming of thermoplastic materials it is also possible to give the heat-transfer fluid a function of heating the object in progress by thermal conduction through the tool, or even to alternate circulation of heating fluid. and coolant.
• the tool is produced by traditional foundry techniques, which have certain drawbacks.
• One of these drawbacks lies in the high overall cost of producing a forming tool using these foundry techniques. Admittedly, these techniques are generally inexpensive in themselves, but their application to the production of a forming tool requires reworking of precision machining as for them delicate and expensive.
• the tool is generally produced in this case in the form of two mutually interlocking foundry pieces, on the basis of a comparatively fine piece, defining the forming face in its entirety and having, on the opposite side, a network of open channels.
• the object of the present invention is to remedy these drawbacks, that is to say to allow the production of tools which, at the same time, have optimized mechanical characteristics depending on the process for forming a material to which they are intended, that is to say in particular in terms of resistance to abrasion by the material being formed, comprise a circuit for circulation of heat-transfer fluid which best respects an optimal configuration in terms of circulation needs of the heat-transfer fluid in particular according to the areas of the forming face, and have thermal conductivity characteristics as good as possible, in particular between this heat transfer fluid circuit and the forming face.
• the present invention provides a method of the type indicated in the preamble, characterized: - in that the initial step a is implemented by placing at least one first conduit projected along an average surface as simple as possible, the mean surface of the or each first projected conduit being secant from the projected forming surface, by defining sections of the projected forming face therein, and of at least one second projected duct, by defining therein sections of the or each second projected duct, and
• the method then comprises the succession of steps consisting in: "b: producing tool slices, each of which is delimited in particular by at least one junction face, at least some junction faces reproducing at least approximately a surface respective mean, namely commonly by two junction faces reproducing at least approximately respectively one and the other of two respective mean surfaces, and by at least the outline of a useful face reproducing a respective section of face of projected forming, adjacent to said respective average surface, namely commonly a section of projected forming face delimited by said two respective medium surfaces, and comprises on the one hand, in its mass, a passage reproducing the respective section of or each second conduit projected and opening into the or each junction face and on the other hand, in the or each junction face, a groove connected as a branch on said passage and reproducing at least approximately one half of the first respective projected conduit, "c: juxtapose the tool edges by their junction faces and secure them mutually in a position relative in which the useful faces or said blanks, passages and grooves complement each other from one edge to the other to respectively constitute the forming face or
• the present invention extends to a tool capable of '' be produced by the method according to the invention and intended for the forming of a material, in particular by hot stamping or injection-molding, in order to make it a object of determined shape, said tool having for this purpose a forming face of complementary shape of at least part of said determined shape and an internal circuit for circulation of a heat-transfer fluid, said circuit comprising a plurality of conduits of which at least one constitutes a collector and of which at least another constitutes a derivation of the collector and runs along the forming face, characterized in that it consists of an integral assembly of tool edges mutually juxtaposed by junction faces of which at least some coincide at least approximately with a medium surface, as simple as possible, of a first conduit and which intersect the forming face, by defining sections of the forming face therein, and of at least one second conduit, by defining therein sections of second conduit .
• the raw material of the tool can thus be chosen from a group comprising cupro- Al 2 0 3 , cupro-cadmium, cupro-beryllium and stainless steels, which, in the current state of the art , do not lend themselves or lend themselves poorly to the production of tools in foundry work and are of much greater interest than that of materials suitable for foundry work, both in terms of thermal conductivity and in terms of mechanical strength, in particular abrasion.
• the arrangement of a section of second pipe in each of the sections and of a first pipe at least approximately by half in each junction face between sections and the possibility of conforming at will each of the sections, in particular with regard to their junction faces, allow the positions of the average surfaces of the first conduits to be freely chosen one relative to the other as well as with respect to the forming face, and consequently to optimize the layout of the circulation circuit of the heat transfer fluid as a function of imperatives linked to the shape of the forming face, to the action which it exerts on the material of the object being produced and of the possibly different thickness that it has opposite different areas of the forming face.
• the implementation of the method according to the invention thus makes it possible to optimize the working conditions of the tool, and consequently the quality of the object obtained by means of this tool.
• machining operations can be carried out in a simpler and much less expensive than when it comes to performing machining on the parts of a tool made in a foundry in accordance with the prior art, since the implementation of the invention, in making it possible to machine slice by slice, generally makes it possible to limit machining to simple surfaces, in particular constituted by the junction faces, between which it is moreover easier to maintain a seal even during thermal expansion of the tool, and drilling and / or milling operations from these simple surfaces.
• assembly modes such as brazing, making it possible to choose freely the relative orientation of the average surfaces and of the junction faces, that is to say imposing no constraint in this respect, and providing without additional provision a seal between sections, that is to say a seal of the heat transfer fluid circuit, while it may be necessary to ensure this sealing by specific means such as seals reported when the mutual securing of the wafers is ensured by mutual tightening.
• the method according to the invention also makes it possible to conform in a particularly simple manner the or each second conduit as required while simplifying compliance with an optimal configuration, determined during the initial step a. Indeed, with a good approximation, we can allow each section of the second projected duct to be given, that is to say at each passage, a rectilinear or V shape, defined by two rectilinear branches offset angularly, particularly easy to perform as well by machining in the corresponding tool section as in foundry, it being understood that machining or production by coring in foundry makes it possible to comply with any changes in section and / or orientation of the or each second conduit, both between two sections only within a section, on the one hand, and that the mutual connection of sections or rectilinear passages slightly angularly offset or of rectilinear branches thus slightly angularly offset to respect a desired path of the or each second conduit does not have generally no disadvantage in terms of circulation of the heat transfer fluid.
• an additional subdivision of a tool projected in slices having junction faces without grooves that is to say not defining a first conduit when they are assembled by these junction faces.
• Such an additional subdivision can be chosen for example to facilitate the production of second projected conduits having changes in section and / or a non-rectilinear course, since it makes it possible to produce these second projected conduits by abutment of straight or V-shaped passages, possibly different section, arranged in respective tool sections, in a particularly simple manner both by machining and in foundry.
• the most appropriate choice between the or each collector and the or each derivation as a first conduit, arranged approximately half in the junction faces of two adjacent tool sections, or as a second conduit, produced in the form of passages arranged in the mass of the tool sections, is within the normal abilities of a person skilled in the art and may vary depending on the shape of the object to be produced, namely more precisely of the shape of the forming face projected as a function of this shape of the object.
• the initial step a when, in the case of an object having the shape of a beam or a similar shape elongated in a determined longitudinal direction, the initial step a is implemented by giving the projected forming face an elongated shape according to a determined longitudinal direction, the initial step a is also implemented by orienting at least approximately longitudinally the or each projected manifold and at least approximately transversely the or each projected branch and the or each average surface and by choosing as first projected conduit the or each projected branch and as a second projected duct the or each collector, and step b is implemented by orienting at least approximately transversely the or each junction face and the or each groove and at least approximately longitudinally the or each passage.
• the tool according to the invention is thus characterized in that the forming face has an elongated shape in a determined longitudinal direction, the or each junction face and the or each average surface are at least approximately transverse, the or each first conduit is at least approximately transverse and constitutes a bypass and the or each second conduit is at least approximately longitudinal and constitutes a manifold.
• the or each collector most often has a generally linear shape, more or less rectilinear, and there are generally provided two copies, one of which is used for the arrival of the heat transfer fluid and the other for its return. and between which the or each branch forms a loop locally skirting the forming face.
• the initial step a is carried out by giving the projected forming face a shape surrounding a determined longitudinal axis, the initial step a is also carried out by orienting at least approximately longitudinally the or each projected branch and at least approximately transversely the or each projected manifold and the or each average surface and by choosing as first projected conduit the or each manifold and as a second projected conduit the or each proposed diversion, and step b is implemented by orienting at least approximately transversely the or each junction face and the or each groove and at least approximately longitudinally the or each passage.
• the tool according to the invention is characterized in that the forming face has a shape surrounding a determined longitudinal axis, the or each junction face and the or each average surface are at least approximately transverse, the or each first conduit is at least approximately transverse and constitutes a manifold and the or each second conduit is at least approximately longitudinal and constitutes a derivation.
• the or each collector most often has a generally annular shape and there are generally provided two copies, one of which is used for the arrival of the heat transfer fluid and the other for its return and between which the or each derivation has a generally linear shape, more or less rectilinear.
• FIG. 1 shows a view of a punch intended for producing a part in the form of an axisymmetric pot by stamping a hot sheet, as well as a part view thus produced, during extraction of the punch, in section through a plane passing through a common axis of the punch and the part.
• Figure 2 shows, in a sectional view similar to that of Figure 1, the corresponding matrix.
• FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the contour of a matrix according to the invention, intended for producing an elongated hollow beam, such as a bumper cross member for motor vehicles, by stamping a sheet metal hot, with illustration of the outline of the different sections of this matrix and illustration of the heat transfer fluid circuit inside it.
• Figure 4 shows a perspective view, similar to that of Figure 3, of one of the slices of this matrix, identified in IV in Figure 3;
• FIG. 5 shows, in a view similar to that of FIG. 3, the corresponding punch and further illustrates the part produced by hot stamping by means of the matrix of FIG. 3 and the punch of FIG. 5, such as it occurs during extraction of the punch.
• the tools according to the invention which have been illustrated respectively in FIGS. 1 and 2 and in FIGS. 3 to 5 correspond to two cases of application of a tool according to the invention to the production of a part by stamping a hot sheet, a person skilled in the art will easily understand that one could produce in any similar way tools intended for the production of a part of the same respective shape by injection-molding of a thermoplastic material.
• FIGS. 1 and 2 where the part to be produced or produced has been designated by 1 and by 2 and 3 respectively the punch and the die used for this purpose.
• the object 1 has, in a single piece of sheet metal, a flat bottom 5, transverse and intersecting the axis 4, and an annular rim 6, longitudinal, surrounding the axis 4, bordering the bottom 5 and flaring from a curvilinear connection therewith.
• the rim 6 is delimited in this example, respectively towards the axis 4 and in the direction of a distance with respect thereto, by an inner peripheral face 7 and by a peripheral face outer 8 frustoconical of revolution around the axis 4, mutually parallel and flaring in a longitudinal direction 9 to a free edge 10 transverse, annular of revolution around the axis 4 and at least approximately planar and perpendicular to this axis 4.
• the faces 7 and 8 of the rim 6 are connected respectively to a flat inner face 11 of the bottom 5, by means of a concave curvature, and to a flat outer face 12 of this bottom 5, by means of a convex curvature, the two faces 11 and 12 being mutually parallel and perpendicular to the axis 4 which they intersect.
• the punch 2 is intended to shape the inner faces 7 and 11 while the die 3 is intended to shape the outer faces 8 and 12, from a flat side, not shown, cut from a sheet of steel and heated to a suitable temperature, as is generally known in the field of hot stamping.
• the punch 2 and the die 3 are moreover intended to ensure, as is also known in this field, a soaking of the object 1 produced, by accelerated cooling by means of a circulation of a cooling fluid at l 'interior of the punch 2 and of the die 3, each of which internally comprises for this purpose a circuit 13, 14 for circulation of this fluid.
• the punch 2 has in the illustrated example a generally frustoconical shape of revolution around the axis 4, this shape being defined by:
• the circuit 13 is designed, during the design of the punch 2, exclusively or practically exclusively as a function of a desired cooling effect of the object 1 in progress, by thermal conduction at through the material of the punch 2, from this circuit 13.
• the circuit 13 includes a heat transfer fluid inlet pipe or manifold 18, arranged longitudinally and more precisely axially, having the shape of a blind hole opening into the front face 17 and closed in the immediate vicinity of the front face 15 by a transverse flat bottom 19.
• This collector 18 is delimited in the direction of a distance from the axis 4 by a first section of inner peripheral face 20 cylindrical of revolution around the axis 4 with a diameter determined not referenced, in its zone closest to the front face 17, and by a section 21 of inner peripheral face also cylindrical of revolution around the axis 4 but with a diameter slightly less than that of the section 20 in its zone the closer to the bottom 19, the two sections 20 and 21 being connected to each other by a flat shoulder 22, annular of revolution around the axis 4 and turned in the direction 9, at a longitudinal distance from the face 15 which corresponds substantially to the longitudinal distance mutually separating the free edge 10 of the rim 6 and the inner face 11 of the bottom 5 of the object 1 to be produced.
• the longitudinal dimension of the section 21 is much greater than that of the section 20.
• the manifold 18 branches into eight bypass conduits 23 each of which is arranged in a respective mean half-plane defined by the axis 4 and which thus radiate radially with reference to this axis 4, with from a respective mouth in the inner peripheral face section 21 of the inlet manifold 18.
• each of the bypass conduits 23 successively has:
• a first rectilinear part 24 oriented radially with respect to the axis 4, that is to say in particular having a mean plane 29 perpendicular to this axis 4 and common to all the parts 24, and,
• Each of the parts 24 and 25 has a circular current section, of the same diameter.
• each part 25 is connected to an intermediate collector 27 also arranged inside the punch 2 and having, for its part, an annular shape of revolution around the axis 4, and more precisely toroidal in the example illustrated, with a circular section of diameter greater than that of the parts 24 and 25 and substantially identical to that of the section 20 of the inner peripheral face of the inlet manifold 18, that is to say slightly higher than that of the section 21 of the inner peripheral face thereof or even much higher than that of the parts 24 and 25.
• the intermediate manifold 27 is disposed along a transverse mean plane 28 in which the shoulder 22 is also located, ensuring the connection between the sections 20 and 21 of the inner peripheral face of the manifold 18.
• the intermediate collector 27 runs along the outer peripheral face 16 of the punch 2 in the same way as the part 25 of each bypass duct 23.
• This intermediate manifold 27 is itself connected, by eight longitudinal conduits 30 cylindrical of revolution about respective longitudinal axes 31, parallel to the axis 4 and arranged in half-planes defined by this axis 4 and regularly distributed angularly around this one, to a collector of outlet or return 32 which has substantially the same shape as this intermediate collector 27 but is offset in the direction 9 relative to the latter, that is to say is located between this intermediate collector 27 and the front face 17 of the punch 2.
• the conduits 30 alternate, in circumferential direction around the axis 4, with the parts 25 of the branched conduits 23 to ensure optimal distribution of the heat transfer fluid inside the intermediate manifold 27, followed by an optimal passage towards the output collector 32.
• the outlet manifold 32 is disposed in a transverse plane 33 thus offset towards the front face 17 of the punch 2 with respect to the transverse mean plane 28 of the manifold 27.
• a conduit 34 oriented radially with respect to the axis 4 and connecting the outlet manifold 32, in the direction of a distance with respect to the axis 4, to an outlet for the heat transfer fluid, located in the outer peripheral face 26 of the tool 2 but at the outside the area of this outer peripheral face 26 serving to form the inner peripheral face 7 of the rim 6 of the object 1.
• the circuit 13 is projected as a function of the thermal needs at the level of the external faces 15 and 16 of the punch 2, in particular as regards the bypass conduits 23, after the geometry of the faces has been projected 15 and 16 of the punch 2 as a function of the shape to be given to the inner faces 11 and 7 of the object 1, respectively, a subdivision of the punch 2 to be produced is projected.
• a plurality of sections which, in the example illustrated, are six in number respectively referenced 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, oriented transversely with respect to axis 4 and successively longitudinally, in this order, in meaning 9.
• the edge 35 is delimited on the one hand by the front face 15 and the rounded connection thereof with the external peripheral face 16 of the punch 2, and on the other hand by a flat face 41 perpendicular to the axis 4, offset in the direction 9 with respect to the front face 15 and more precisely arranged along the mean plane 29, this face 41 constituting a junction face of the wafer 35 with the wafer 36 next in direction 9.
• this junction face 41 rests flat on a junction face 42 also flat, perpendicular to the axis 4 and arranged along the plane 29, which junction face 42 delimits the edge 36 in the direction opposite to direction 9.
• the section 36 is delimited by a flat face 43, perpendicular to the axis 4 and constituting a junction face with the next section 37 in the direction 9.
• the section 37 is itself delimited in the opposite direction to direction 9 by a face 44 of junction with the edge 36, which face 44 is planar, perpendicular to the axis 4 and is applied flat on the face 43 when the tool 2 is realized.
• section 37 is delimited by a flat face 45 perpendicular to axis 4 and serving as a junction with the following section 38 in direction 9, which is delimited in the opposite direction to direction 9 by a face 46 also flat and perpendicular to the axis 4, s' applying flat against the face 45 and thus constituting a junction face the edge 38 with the edge 37.
• the section 38 is delimited by a planar face 47 perpendicular to the axis 4 and arranged along the mean plane 28 of the manifold 27.
• This face 47 serves as a junction face with the following section 39 in the direction 9, which is delimited in opposite direction to direction 9 by a flat face 48, perpendicular to the plane 4 and arranged along the plane 28, this junction face 48 with the edge 38 being applied flat against the face 47 when the punch 2 is produced .
• the section 39 is delimited by a flat face 49 perpendicular to the axis 4 and located along the plane 33, which face 49 constitutes a junction face with the next section 40 in direction 9, which is delimited in opposite direction to direction 9 by a face 50 of junction with the edge 39, which face 50 is also plane, perpendicular to the axis 4 and arranged along the mean plane 33 of the collector 32 to be applied flat against the face 49 when the punch 2 is made.
• section 40 which constitutes the downstream limit section in direction 9 is delimited by face 17.
• each of the sections 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 is delimited by a respective annular section of the external peripheral face 16 of the punch 2 to be produced or realized, these sections of the peripheral face 16 are connecting each other to define the latter when the punch 2 is produced.
• each of these parts 24 is produced in half in each of these faces of junction 41 and 42, by fitting a respective groove 51, 52, of semi-circular section.
• the grooves 51 and 52 complement each other to form the respective parts 24.
• section 36 are further arranged, along the axes 26, rectilinear passages 53 which thus cross the section 36 right through, longitudinally, that is to say from the junction face 42 to the junction face 43 , and constitute a respective section of a part 25 of each branch conduit 23.
• the wafer 37 is traversed longitudinally right through, along each of the axes 26, with a respective rectilinear passage 54 which opens into the junction faces 44 and 45 and corresponds to a section of part 25 of a conduit for lead 23 respective. It will be observed that no groove similar to the grooves 51 and 52 is arranged in the junction faces 43, 44, 45, and that it is the same in the junction face 46 of the wafer 38.
• a respective annular groove 55, 56 is provided, having a respective semicircular section and corresponding to a respective half of the manifold intermediate 27 as subdivided by its mean plane 28.
• a respective longitudinal passage 57 In addition is arranged in the section 38, along each axis 26, a respective longitudinal passage 57, rectilinear, opening on the one hand in the face 46 of junction with the section 37 and on the other hand in the groove 55 to form a part respective a section 25 of respective branch conduit 23.
• each of the junction faces 49 and 50 which coincide with the mean plane 33 of the outlet manifold 32, are arranged on the one hand a respective annular groove 58, 59 of semicircular section, corresponding to one half of this manifold outlet 32 as subdivided by its mean plane 33, and on the other hand a rectilinear groove 60, 61, radial with reference to axis 2 and corresponding to a respective half of the outlet 34 as subdivided by the mean plane 33 .
• the grooves 55 and 56 complement each other to form the intermediate collector 27, the grooves 58 and 59 complement each other to form the outlet collector 32 and the grooves 60 and 61 complement each other to form the outlet 34.
• section 39 are arranged, along the axis 31, two longitudinal passages each of which integrally constitutes a respective conduit 30 and connects mutually the grooves 56 and 58 arranged respectively in the junction faces 48 and 49 of this section 39.
• each of the sections 35 to 40 defines, by a respective longitudinal, axial passage 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, a respective section of the inlet manifold 18.
• the passage 62 is blind, arranged in a hollow in the connecting face 41 of the section 35 and it is delimited on the one hand in the direction opposite to the direction 9 by the bottom 19, set back with respect to the junction face 41 in the direction opposite to the direction 9, and on the other hand in the direction of a distance with respect to the axis 4 by a corresponding part of the inner peripheral face section 21 of the manifold 18.
• the sections 63, 64, 65 respectively cross the sections 36, 37, 38 right through and correspond to a respective part of the section 25 of the inner peripheral face of the inlet manifold 18.
• the passages 66 and 67 pass through right through respectively the section 39 and the section 40 and correspond to a respective part of section 20 of the peripheral face that inside the inlet manifold 18; in other words, they have with reference to the axis 4 a diameter greater than that of the passages 62, 63, 64, 65, the shoulder 22 being defined by a marginal zone of the junction face 47 of the wafer 38 , around the mouth of passage 65 in this face.
• these sections 35 to 40 are produced independently of each other, ie in foundry work with the corresponding grooves and / or passages, either by machining a respective preexisting block of a thermally conductive material, preferably chosen from the abovementioned materials when it comes to making a punch 2 for hot stamping ; in this regard, it is advantageous to use the cupro-Al 2 0 3 sold under the registered trademark GLIDCOP, under the references A115, A125 and Al60, by the company OMG AMERICA, which have high values in terms of elastic limit at 2% MPa and in terms of thermal conductivity, or cupro-cadmium, which also have good characteristics in this regard, these materials being however indicated only by way of nonlimiting example.
• each of sections 69, 70, 71, 72, 73 can be produced in such a way that it has its conformation final at a respective useful face intended to constitute the face 15 or a respective section of the face 16; then we obtain directly the faces 15 and 16 of the tool 1 by mutual assembly of the slices.
• the faces intended for forming have a more or less complex shape, it may be preferable to produce on each wafer only the blank of a useful face, in which case only a blank is obtained during assembly. of the forming face and the assembly of the wafers is followed by a machining of this blank, in order to produce the forming face.
• the matrix 3 is designed according to a similar intellectual approach, characteristic of the present invention, and is composed in the illustrated example of six sections 73 to 74 which follow one another longitudinally in the direction 9 of the axis 4 and are joined mutually to the mutually joined state by mutual junction faces 73 to 84 planes, perpendicular to the axis 4 and turned alternately in direction 9, as regards the faces 75, 77, 79, 81, 83, delimiting in this direction respectively the sections 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, and in the opposite direction to the direction 9 with regard to the faces 76, 78, 80, 82, 84, which respectively delimit the sections 70, 71, 72, 73, 74 in the opposite direction to the direction 9.
• the section 69, in the opposite direction 9, and the section 74, in the direction 9, are further defined respectively by a free face 85, 86 plane, perpendicular to the axis 4 and rotated respectively in opposite direction to direction 9 and in this direction 9, these faces 85 and 86 constituted nt of the external peripheral faces of the matrix 3.
• the matrix 3 is delimited by an external peripheral face 87 which is for example cylindrical of revolution around the axis 4 and whose each section 69 to 74 forms a part, by a respective external peripheral face not referenced.
• This shape of the face 87 is, however, indifferent with regard to the forming of the object 1.
• the matrix 3 defines a cavity 107 for hot stamping for the object 1 to be produced. , which cavity 107 is longitudinal and opens into the face 86 in the direction 9, while it is closed towards the face 85 in the opposite direction.
• the cavity 107 is delimited, in the direction of a distance with respect to the axis 4, by an inner peripheral face 88 frustoconical of revolution around the axis 4, flaring in the direction 9 with a taper identical to that of the outer peripheral face 8 of the rim 6 of the object 1 to be produced, between two geometric planes 89 and 90 perpendicular to the axis 4 and passing respectively inside the section 74, between the faces 84 and 86 thereof, and inside the section 71, between the faces 78 and 79 thereof and respectively closer to the face 84 than the face 86 and closer to the face 79 than the face 78.
• the inner peripheral face 88 of the cavity 107 widens even more, along a curvilinear profile, to facilitate the engagement of the sheet in the cavity 107 during stamping.
• the inner peripheral face is connected, at the plane 90, to a plane inner face 91, perpendicular to the axis 4 and complementary to the outer face 12 of bottom 5 of the object 1 to be produced, the connection being curvilinear in a complementary manner to the mutual connection of the external peripheral face 8 of the rim 6 of the object 1 to be produced and of the external face 12 of the bottom 5 thereof.
• the bottom face 91 of the cavity 107, its curvilinear connection with the face 88 and a section thereof are hollowed out in the face 79 of the section 71 and the rest of the face 91 is divided into sections between the sections 72, 73, 74 which, for this purpose, are drilled right through, axially, with a respective passage 92, 93, 94, while the wafer 71 is pierced with a blind axial hole 95 in its face 79 for constitute the bottom face 91, the corresponding part of the outer peripheral face 88 and their curvilinear mutual connection.
• the circuit 14 for circulation of heat transfer fluid namely a cooling fluid such as water in this example, is essentially arranged in sections 71, 72, 73, 74, around the cavity 107 and comprises two transverse collectors 96, 97, annular of revolution about the axis 4 and of the same circular section, arranged coaxially along the same transverse mean plane 98 along which the junction faces 77 and 78 are arranged between the sections 70 and 71.
• collectors 96 and 97 respectively of inlet and outlet of heat-transfer fluid, are disposed respectively in the immediate vicinity of the outer peripheral face 87 of the matrix 3 and in the immediate vicinity of a geometric extension of the inner peripheral face 88 of the cavity 107, and each of them is defined for half by a respective annular groove 98, 99 arranged in the junction face 77 of the wafer 70, and for half by a respective annular groove 100, 101 arranged in the junction face 78 of section 71, the two halves of each collector 96, 97 being defined by the mean plane 98.
• an intermediate manifold 102 transverse, annular of revolution around the axis 4 and of circular section here slightly greater than that of the collectors 96 and 97, is arranged along a mean plane 103 perpendicular to the axis 4 and along which the junction faces 83 to 84 of the sections 73 and 74 are arranged, between the inner peripheral face 88 of the cavity 107 and the outer peripheral face 87 of the matrix 3, near the mouth of the cavity 107 in the face 86 of the section 74.
• the collector 102 is also produced in half in the form of an annular groove 104 arranged in the junction face 83 of the section 73 and in the form of an annular groove 105 arranged in the junction face 84 of tranche 94.
• pairs of bypass conduits are arranged between the intermediate collector 2 and the inlet 96 and outlet collectors 97, each of these pairs comprising a rectilinear conduit 108, of axis 109 parallel to axis 4, mutually connecting the inlet manifold 96 and the intermediate manifold 102 along the inner peripheral face 87 of the matrix 3, and a rectilinear conduit 110, of longitudinal axis 111 but having an obliquity such that this conduit 110 runs along the outer peripheral face 88 of the cavity 107 by mutually connecting the intermediate manifold 102 and the outlet manifold 96.
• Each of the conduits 108 and 110, of the same circular section have a smaller diameter than that of the collectors 96, 97 and 102.
• each of the conduits 108 and 110 is formed from the alignment, along the respective axis 109, 110, of a passage 112, 113 arranged along the respective axis 109, 111 in the section 71 and opening on the one hand through the groove 100 or 101 and on the other hand in the junction face 79, of a respective passage 114, 115 arranged along the respective axis 109, 111 in the section 72 and crossing the latter of right through, that is to say from its face 80 to its face 81, and a respective passage 115, 116 arranged along the respective axis 109, 111 in the section 73 and opening on the one hand into the face 82 thereof and on the other hand in the groove 104 defining half of the intermediate manifold 102.
• the section 70 are arranged two rectilinear passages 117, 118 of respective axis 119, 120 parallel to the axis 4, the passage 117 opening on the one hand into the groove 98 defining half of the inlet manifold 96 and on the other hand in the junction face 76 while the passage 118 opens on the one hand into the groove 99 defining half of the outlet manifold 87 and on the other hand in this same face 76.
• the section 69 is pierced right through, that is to say between its faces 75 and 85, with a respective rectilinear passage 121, 122 which has the same circular section that the passage 117, 118 respectively corresponding, the diameters of the different passages 117, 118, 121, 122 being identical and intermediate between the respective diameters of the collectors 96, 97, 102, on the one hand, and the bypass conduits 108, 110 , on the other hand.
• the various sections 69 to 74 can be produced, like the sections 35 to 40 of the punch 2, in foundry or by machining a pre-existing block of a thermally conductive material, for example chosen from the range previously indicated, the mutual assembly of the wafers 69 to 74 can also be achieved by one or the other of the aforementioned means, namely preferably by brazing in order to directly provide a seal to the circuit 14 for circulation of heat transfer fluid.
• each of the sections 71 to 74 which together define the cavity 107 may present from its manufacture, respectively around the blind hole 95 or the corresponding passage 92, 93, 94, a useful face having the final geometry of a respectively corresponding part of the bottom 9 or of the inner peripheral face 88 of the cavity 107, but it can also be provided that each of the sections 71 to 74 has, during its manufacture, only a blank of such a useful face, and that the faces 91 and 88 are machined only after the slices have been assembled.
• the punch 2 and the die 3 for hot stamping which have just been described cooperate in the manner known in the prior art with a flat side cut from a suitable sheet metal then heated, to form the object. 1 then cool it for the purpose of soaking it, so that the mode of use of the punch 2 and of the die 3 will not be described.
• each of the circuits 13, 14 for circulation of a heat-transfer fluid respectively inside the punch 2 and of the matrix 3 will not be described further, for example in terms of section of these circuits 13 and 14 according to their areas, the most appropriate choices that can be made by those skilled in the art, and this independently of any limitation similar to that which was opposed in the prior art by the foundry methods used, and that each of the characteristic slices of the implementation of the present invention is carried out in a foundry or by machining a preexisting block of an appropriate material.
• the shape of the cooling circuits 13 and 14 best suited to each geometry of the object 1 to be produced and to the geometry presented by the faces of the punch and of the matrix useful for this purpose will, in each case, be subject to aptitudes. normal of a skilled person.
• FIGS. 3 to 5 illustrate a punch and a die which, while being suitable for producing, for example by hot stamping, an object having a conformation totally different from that of object 1 which has just been described, the punch, the matrix and the heat transfer fluid circuits which they contain themselves having for this purpose very different conformations, have the subdivision into mutually mutually assembled slices, characteristic of the present invention.
• Figures 3 to 5 thus illustrate a punch 124 and a die 125 intended to cooperate to form by hot stamping, from an initially flat side cut from a sheet, an object 126 in the form of an elongated beam in a longitudinal direction 127 , which will serve as a reference for the description of this object 126 as for the description of the punch 124 and of the matrix 125.
• the object 126 has a double curvature in this example, namely a curvature following a first plane of symmetry 128 which is longitudinal as well as, generally, a curvature along transverse planes and, in particular, along a transverse plane of symmetry 129.
• the object 126 is thus delimited by an external face 130 with double convex curvature, by a face interior 131 with double concave curvature, and by a peripheral edge 132 mutually connecting these two faces 130 and 131 which are approximately homothetic if we except certain localized thickness variations which may result from the application of the stamping to a flank of initially uniform thickness.
• the mean planes of symmetry 128 and 129 will serve as a reference to the description, which will follow, of the punch 124 and of the matrix 125, of which these planes also constitute respectively a mean longitudinal plane of symmetry and a mean transverse plane of symmetry.
• the punch 124 and the die 125 have an outer contour comprising in particular a respective face for forming the object 126, namely respectively a face 133 for forming the inner face 131 and a face 134 for forming the external face 130, which faces 133 and 134 respectively have a shape complementary to that of the face 131 and a shape complementary to the face 130.
• the punch 124 and the matrix 125 are delimited externally by a sidewalk 135, 136 bordering on all sides this forming face 133, 134 in the direction of a distance from the planes 128 and 129, each of these sidewalks 135, 136 being defined by generatrices perpendicular to the plane 128, from its connection to the respective forming face 133, 134.
• the sidewalks 135 and 136 are connected to a respective external peripheral face 137, 138 set back with respect to the respectively corresponding sidewalk and to the respectively corresponding forming face and defined by generatrices parallel to the two planes 128 and 129.
• the outer peripheral faces 137, 138 are connected to a flat back 139, 140, perpendicular to the two planes 128 and 129 and turned opposite to the forming face. respectively 133, 134 and respective sidewalk 135, 136.
• the connection of the external peripheral face 138 to the back 140 is direct in the case of the matrix 125, while the connection of the external peripheral face 137 to the back 139 is effected by means of a peripheral rim 141 in the case of the punch 124.
• the punch 124 and the die 125 internally comprise a respective circuit 142, 143 for the circulation of a heat transfer fluid, such as cooling water for the purposes of soaking the object 126 stamped at hot, and this respective circuit 142, 143 is projected as a function of the cooling requirements of the object 126, respectively at its faces 131 and 130, these requirements being able to vary according to the zones of the object 126.
• a heat transfer fluid such as cooling water for the purposes of soaking the object 126 stamped at hot
• each of the circuits 142, 143 thus comprises two collectors of respective general longitudinal orientation, arranged largely recessed in the mass of the punch 124 and of the matrix 125, respectively, relative to the respective sidewalk 135, 136.
• the circuit 142 of the punch 124 comprises two approximately longitudinal collectors 144, 145 parallel to the plane 128 and mutually symmetrical with respect to it, one of which serves as a collector inlet of the heat transfer fluid and the other of return manifold of this heat transfer fluid
• the circuit 143 comprises two approximately longitudinal manifolds 146, 147 also parallel to the plane 128 and mutually symmetrical with respect thereto, one of which serves as an inlet manifold and the other as a return manifold for the heat transfer fluid.
• each of the collectors 144 and 145 is subdivided longitudinally, in the example illustrated, into five elementary collectors, mutually insulated against a circulation of fluid from one to the other, at the rate of two collectors longitudinally extreme, respective elementaries which are furthest from plane 129, of a respective longitudinally central elementary collector, which straddles plane 129, and of two respective longitudinally intermediate elementary collectors each of which connects a longitudinally central elementary collector to a longitudinally collector respective respective.
• This subdivision takes account of specific cooling needs of the object 126 and may not exist, or exist in a different form, in the case of objects 126 shaped differently.
• the inlet manifold 144 For the arrival of heat transfer fluid in each of the elementary collectors which constitute it, the inlet manifold 144 has a bypass, at each of the elementary collectors which constitute it, a pipe 148 for the arrival of heat transfer fluid, which pipe 148 connects this elementary collector to the back 139 of the punch 124, parallel to the two planes 128 and 129.
• each collector elementary constituting the return collector 145 has a bypass 149 which connects it to the back 139 of the punch 124, parallel to the two planes 128 and 129.
• two elementary collectors which correspond by mutual symmetry with respect to the plane 128 are connected mutually by at least one, and preferably several bypass conduits 150 each of which has a transverse mean plane 154, that is to say perpendicular to the direction 127 and parallel to the plane 129, and symmetrically overlaps the plane 128 along the closer the sidewalk 135 and the forming face 133.
• conduits 150 have been illustrated connecting two longitudinally extreme elementary collectors, forming respectively part of the inlet manifold 144 and the return manifold 145 , four conduits 150 connecting the two longitudinally central elementary collectors and four conduits 150 rac mutually stringing two longitudinally intermediate elementary collectors, respectively forming part of the inlet manifold 144 and the return manifold 145, the conduits 150 being mutually symmetrical with respect to the plane 129 like the object 126.
• each of the collectors 146, or coolant inlet manifold, and 147, or coolant return manifold is subdivided longitudinally into three elementary collectors isolated from one another. with respect to a circulation of heat-transfer fluid, at a rate of two longitudinally extreme elementary collectors, mutually symmetrical with respect to the plane 129, and a longitudinally central or intermediate elementary manifold, symmetrically overlapping the plane 129.
• Each of these elementary collectors has a conduit which connects it to the back 140 of the matrix 125 parallel to the two planes 128 and 129, at the rate of a pipe 151 for the arrival of heat transfer fluid respectively for each elementary collector constituting the inlet manifold 146, and a pipe
• bypass conduits 153 which symmetrically overlaps the plane 128, as close as possible to the sidewalk 136 and the forming face 134; in the nonlimiting example illustrated, four of these bypass conduits 153 mutually connect the longitudinally extreme elementary collectors which correspond by mutual symmetry with respect to the plane 128, and seven of these bypass conduits 153 mutually connect the two longitudinally central elementary collectors or intermediates, each of these bypass conduits
• the circuits 142 and 143 being thus projected, the punch 124 projected and the die 125 are decomposed projected into a plurality of sections 156, 157 each of which is delimited in particular by at least one face, and in a current manner by two faces 160, 161 of junction with an immediately adjacent slice, which faces 160, 161 of junction coincide with the plane means 154, 155 of a respective branch conduit 150, 153.
• Each of the sections 156 of the punch 124 is moreover delimited by a corresponding section of the forming face 133, of the sidewalk 135, of the outer peripheral face 137 and of the back 139, just as each section 157 of the matrix 125 is moreover delimited by respective sections of the forming face 134, of the sidewalk 136, of the outer peripheral face 138 and of the back 140.
• these sections respective are delimited by their connection to two respective junction faces, delimiting the same section 156 or 157.
• each section 156, 157 is produced independently of the other sections, for example in foundry or by machining in a preexisting block of a thermally conductive material chosen for example from the aforementioned materials, in a manner which has been illustrated in FIG. 4 in connection with a longitudinally intermediate slice 138 of the matrix 125 and can be easily transposed to each of the longitudinally intermediate slices 156 of the punch 124, so as to present: - in each junction face 160, which coincides at least approximately with a mean plane 155, a throat respective 162 corresponding at least approximately to one half of a branch conduit 153 as subdivided by its mean plane 155, and
• each groove 162 that is to say to each bypass duct 153, for example by milling in the corresponding junction face 160, a section evolving in any desired manner, the groove 162 thus having a widening 163 located around the mean longitudinal plane of symmetry 128.
• each section 158 and 159 of manifold can not only be straight and produced for example by drilling from one or the other of the junction faces 160, but also have a V shape, defined by two rectilinear branches mutually angularly offset and produced for example by drilling from each of the junction faces 160.
• the conduits 151 for the arrival of heat transfer fluid and 152 for the return of fluid coolant can be arranged in the mass of a corresponding wafer 157, to lead into the section 158 or the section 159 of the collector, respectively; if they are arranged at least approximately along a mean plane 155 corresponding to a bypass duct 153, they can also be arranged like this bypass duct by half in two junction faces 160, belonging to mutually adjacent sections 157.
• the grooves 162 complement each other from one wafer 157 to the other to constitute the bypass conduits 153 as well as the sections 158 and 159 , respectively, complement each other from one section 157 to the other to constitute the elementary collectors of the inlet manifold 146 and the return manifold 147 and, where appropriate, the same is true of the constituent halves of each conduit 151 or 152, which constitutes the circuit 143.
• a seal around it can be obtained by any appropriate means, as can the integral assembly of the wafers 157, mutual brazing of the wafers 157 being preferred in this regard if their constituent material lends itself to it insofar as such brazing makes it possible to obtain both mutual joining and sealing of the circuit 143.
• the circuit 142 of the punch 124 is formed, during the mutual assembly of the wafers 156, on the one hand by grooves which, arranged in their junction faces 161 coinciding at least approximately with the mean planes 154, complement each other to constitute the bypass conduits 150 and, where appropriate, the conduits 148 and 149 which can also be arranged in the mass of the wafers 156, and on the other hand by passages constituting sections of the collectors 144, 145, which are arranged through the wafers 156, except as regards the longitudinally extreme wafers in which these sections are blind, and complement each other to constitute the elementary collectors constituting the collectors 144 and 145, respectively.
• each collectors 144, 145 which are arranged through the wafers 156, except as regards the longitudinally extreme wafers in which these sections are blind, and complement each other to constitute the elementary collectors constituting the collectors 144 and 145, respectively.
• 144, 145, 146, 147 is formed of several elementary collectors which are mutually independent as regards the circulation of the heat-transfer fluid, those of the sections 156 and 157 which correspond to the transition between two elementary collectors can be devoid of passage or through section such that 158 and 159, or provided with such sections in blind form in order to avoid any fluidic communication between the various elementary collectors constituting the same collector, as a person skilled in the art will readily understand.
• the forming faces 133 and 134 can be, also in the case of the punch 124 and of the die 125, machined after assembly of the different sections 156, 157, from a blank of forming face constituted by blanks of useful face of each wafer 156, 157; each wafer 156, 157 may also have, from its manufacture, a useful face having the final conformation of a section of forming face 133, 134, in which case the forming faces 133, 134 are formed by these useful faces, directly, during the assembly of the sections 156, 157.
• thermoforming tools A person skilled in the art will also easily transpose the provisions which have been described with reference to hot stamping tools to the production of thermoforming tools, with no fundamental difference as regards the design of these tools, the cooling fluid. being simply replaced by a heating fluid, or tools for injecting thermoplastic material into a molding cavity, the essential difference consisting in the fact that the mold parts corresponding respectively to the punch and to the die which have been described must , in a closed position of the mold, be mutually contiguous around an imprint which they delimit by their faces corresponding to the forming faces described, whereas this is not necessarily the case when it is a punch and a matrix at the end of the relative movement of hot stamping.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
• Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
• Thermal Sciences (AREA)
• Moulds For Moulding Plastics Or The Like (AREA)

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• 2002
  • 2002-07-26 FR FR0209523A patent/FR2842753B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 2003
  • 2003-07-25 EP EP03755631A patent/EP1525062A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2003-07-25 WO PCT/FR2003/002352 patent/WO2004011171A1/fr not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2003-07-25 US US10/522,332 patent/US20060138698A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-07-25 AU AU2003273471A patent/AU2003273471A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-07-25 CN CNB038206609A patent/CN1318158C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2003-07-25 CA CA002493801A patent/CA2493801A1/fr not_active Abandoned

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