Integrating Stamping Tool Temperature Effects into Early-Stage Process Design: Insights from an Industrial Benchmark

¹ Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona, Sweden
² AutoForm Engineering Sweden AB, Olofström, Sweden
³ Volvo Cars Dept. 81153 Concept Engineering, Olofström, Sweden
⁴ Mondragon Unibertsitatea, Faculty of Engineering, Mechanics and Industrial Production, Loramendi 4, Mondragon, 20500 Gipuzkoa, Spain

^* Corresponding author: jmendiguren@mondragon.edu

Abstract

Reducing the CO2 footprint has become a key objective in the manufacturing sector, with the automotive industry being no exception. A significant portion of a car body consists of stamped components, making the reduction of CO2 emissions in stamping lines a critical focus. One major contributor to emissions is the high material usage, partially derived from the scrap generation. Additionally, production ramp-ups in critical components, such as side door-inners and wheel housings, often lead to increased defect rates, further exacerbating waste. This work investigates the influence of stamping tool temperature increases during production and its consideration in the early stages of process design. Using a Volvo side door inner as an industrial benchmark, various numerical solutions were explored using AutoForm software. The technical note presents the advantages, limitations, and challenges of these approaches, while highlighting the potential of numerical tools to drive CO2 footprint reduction in stamping processes from an early design stage.