Technical Paper
Characterization of 22MnB5 steel metallic coated with either hot-dip AlSi or electroplated ZnNi before and after hot stamping
2018-09-03
2018-36-0074
The number of hot stamped components has been steadily increasing in the automotive industry. Press hardened steels (PHS) are generally used in hot stamping because, at the end of the process, the steel may achieve a tensile strength about 1,500 MPa. The hot stamping process consists of heating the steel blank at total austenitization temperatures and transferring it into the press tooling for forming and quenching simultaneously, and then to obtain a fully martensitic transformation. This transference step, from the furnace to the press, is a critical stage since it might promote steel oxidation. The application of metallic coatings avoids this event. The AlSi coating has been the most applied system on steel. However, alternative coatings, as ZnNi, are under development to keep up with the high demand.