Ford Motor Company
Method for monitoring quality of hot stamped components

Abstract:

A hot stamping system includes a controller programmed to alter a coolant flow rate, without altering cycle time, in an active cooling system of a die arrangement, configured to hot stamp metal into components, based on an amount of heat transferred from the components to the active cooling system such that a grain structure of the components transitions from an austenitic state to a martensitic state while the die arrangement is closed.