TAILORED HARDENING OFCOLD PRESSED STEEL BLANK

摘要

Disclosed are methods, systems and apparatus for manufacturing complex three-dimensional open structures by cold forming a component from unhardened metal stock and then selectively heating, quenching and/or treating regions of the component to provide a predetermined strength profile and surface condition across the component. The component may be initially formed from unheated and unhardened metal through a combination of rolling, stamping and/or milling operations to produce a component having a complex structure that is then strategically hardened and/or treated in predetermined areas using heating, cooling and/or surface treatment elements. The elements can, in turn, be positioned adjacent the component using one or more robotic arms and/or fixtures that cooperate to position and move the elements across the component surface to achieve the desired pattern of hardened and unhardened regions across the component.