Review of Shearing Processes of High Strength Steel Sheets

Shearing processes of high strength steel sheets increasingly applied to lightweight automobile parts were reviewed. With the increase in strength of the high strength steel sheets, shearing operations become hard. First, the sheared edge quality in shearing of high strength steel sheets and the effects on the formability and fatigue strength were shown. Next, ironing processes with a taper punch and a punched slug, a slight clearance punching with a punch having a small round corner and a thickening process of the sheared edge were explained as processes for improving the sheared edge quality. Finally, hydrogen-induced delayed fractures of cold-sheared ultra-high strength steel sheets and of hot-trimmed parts were evaluated.