MICROWAVE HEATING OF BORON STEEL BLANKS PRIOR TO THE HOT-STAMPING PROCESS

摘要

A method of heating a steel blank using a microwave heating furnace system for the hot stamping process includes providing a steel blank having a thickness ranging from 1 mm to 1.8 mm, pre-heating the streel blank to an initial temperature in a pre-heat chamber of the microwave heating furnace system, and directly heating the steel blank using microwave energy in a main heating zone of the microwave heating furnace system from the initial temperature to a temperature greater than 850° C. in less than 240 seconds.