Optimal thermal process parameters of hot stamping AA 6061

Hot stamping is a new technology developed to address the formability challenge of aluminum alloy by applying plastic deformation to the heated blank at the solution heat treatment temperature. The stamped panels gain high strength via the subsequent ageing treatment. The present paper is focused on the effect of the thermal aspects of the hot stamping process on the mechanical properties of the final formed parts. It is concluded that for AA 6061 the optimal solution heat treatment parameters are a temperature of 560 °C and a soaking time of 40 minutes, and sequent ageing should be performed at 180 °C for 6 hours. The maximum transfer time of the heated blank into the press to ensure the strong age hardening is 10 s. The low temperature could suppress the natural ageing of alloy. (paper)