A BINDING SCHEME TO MINIMIZE THINNING OF FORMED TAILOR WELDED BLANKS

Abstract

The present work suggests a new binding scheme to reduce the thinning and weld line movement of TWBs. This scheme combines weld line constraining via counter pins while applying a lower BHF on the weaker side as compared to the stronger side via segmented binders to achieve minimum thinning in the final product. Adopting this scheme, an analytical model was developed for the plane strain 2D draw bending and the 3D box deep drawing processes to determine the required BHF and counter pin force values. Laboratory and numerical experiments were conducted to examine the developed analytical model and compare the proposed controlling scheme with other schemes. The experimental results showed that the new scheme is physically applicable and capable of providing reasonably accurate force values that sufficiently eliminate the weld line movement and enhance formability (substantial reduction in thinning).