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In lightweight construction, particularly in the automotive sector, load-adapted profiles are required to reduce weight whilst maintaining the necessary stiffness. Since chassis and body components account for approximately 41% of total vehicle weight, reducing their weight by optimising load-bearing capabilities is essential. This weight reduction can be achieved using thinner profiles made from high and ultra-high strength materials such as 1.5528 (22MnB5), which can achieve tensile strengths of 1,500 MPa via martensitic transformation. Additionally, the production of load optimised components creates the need for secondary form elements in sheet metal components, such as beads and variable cross sections for load-optimised components. Components with varying profile geometries and secondary form elements can be produced by roll forming or draw bending using flexible tools, but the flexibilization produces secondary effects during forming, which make the forming process challenging. This study focuses on flexible draw bending of 1.5528 sheet metal profiles with variable cross sections under continuous in-situ tempering. The variable cross sections allow for a load-optimised design, whilst a central bead is introduced as secondary form element to increase the overall stiffness of the component. Tool kinematics are analysed in order to identify geometric discrepancies and their causes using the finite element software Simufact.Forming.
Keywords: Sheet metal forming, draw bending, variable cross-sections, finite element method© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.