APPLICATION AND FORMING OF HIGHER STRENGTH STEEL

New applications of higher strength steels in automotive and other sheet metal forming industries have placed increased demands on the forming capability of these steels. The old paradigm exists that formability of sheet steel decreases as the strength increases. Yet for decades millions of drawn and ironed beverage cans have been formed daily starting with double-reduced, full-hard, high-strength, thin sheet steel. The key to successful application and forming of higher strength steels is recognition of the different forming modes within the forming system. Formability limitations are a function of those forming modes. Each forming mode, in turn, is limited by a different combination of forming parameters of the sheet steel. The specific forming modes within any part, however, are driven by both product design and process design. Understanding these different forming modes and their respective limitations allows for innovative design options to successfully produce previously ''impossible'' parts from higher strength steels. Identifying these innovative design options is more effective when mathematical modeling/simulation or computerized die tryout is utilized.