Product Code: ICA11_903

Feedback Control of Processing Temperature in Laser Beam Hardening of Production Dies
Authors:
Hongping Gu, Stronach Centre for Innovation (SCFI), Magna International; Aurora ON
Boris Shulkin, Stronach Cenre for Innovation (SCFI), Magna International; Aurora ON Canada
Presented at ICALEO 2011

Automotive draw and line dies are often subject to high wear and tear in the areas with convex radii during volume production and require heat treatment to improve the mechanical properties in these areas in order to increase the operating life of the die. Laser beam transformation hardening has been proven to be a viable technology for such type of heat treatment. It has been demonstrated that laser hardening process provides better overall hardness and more consistent levels of quality compared to conventional heat treatment processes. Experimental results show that the processing temperature during laser beam hardening is one of main key factors in achieving the highest hardness on the die surface. At Magna, a laser processing system has been integrated for implementation of laser beam hardening of dies, which includes expanded beam spot, precise processing temperature control, as well as off-line programming and automatic tool path generation. This paper describes the practice of laser hardening dies, including influence on the process of different types of material, analysis of laser hardened materials, the effect of the geometry of processing area on the processing temperature and the requirement for temperature control in process.