AutoForm-PhaseChange Plug-In

AutoForm-PhaseChange Plug-In in combination with AutoForm-Thermo Plug-In enables you to realistically simulate the hot forming processes of ultra-high strength steels. These processes have become very important for the automotive industry in order to meet specific requirements regarding a higher level of crash safety and a reduction of overall weight. With this plug-in, you can engineer components with high strength, challenging geometrical complexity and minimized springback effects in much shorter time and at lower cost.

AutoForm-PhaseChange Plug‑In supports direct and indirect hot forming, which are both followed by the quenching and cooling processes. This innovative software takes into account phase transformation during quenching and thermal distortion after cooling. In addition, AutoForm-PhaseChange Plug‑In allows you to calculate the final part properties, such as the thickness distribution, strain-stress distributions as well as the distribution and local percentages of different material phases, such as austenite, ferrite, pearlite, bainite and martensite, including the resulting hardness distribution.

AutoForm-PhaseChange Plug‑In allows you to gain better insight into the effects of phase transformation as well as have better control over the resulting mechanical properties of the hot-formed part. With this plug-in, you can also simulate the tailored tempering process, thus enabling the engineering of stamped parts with targeted local strength properties. Based on the results of AutoForm-PhaseChange Plug‑In, you can improve crash simulation accuracy by taking the real strength distribution of the hot-formed component into account.

Benefits

Realistic simulation of hot forming and quenching processes
Stamped parts with challenging geometrical complexity and minimized springback effects
Stamped parts engineered with targeted local strength properties
Improved crash simulation accuracy

Key Features

Rapid simulation of direct and indirect hot forming processes
Fully coupled thermo-mechanical simulations with consideration of phase dependent material properties
Phase transformation during quenching and thermal distortion after cooling
Support of innovative tailored tempering process
Graphic display of final part properties, such as thickness distribution, strain-stress distribution as well as distribution and percentage of different material phases and the resulting hardness