Deutsche Edelstahlwerke Specialty Steel GmbH & Co. KG (Witten, Germany):

M. Schwarz, Technical consulting, high quality structural steels, e-mail: matthias.schwarz@dew-stahl.com
D. Kipp, Technical marketing

Volumetric cold forming is a known method for manufacture of axisymmetric parts such as bodies of revolution for the automotive industry. In order to ensure good deformability, cemented steels are annealed with forming a ferrite-pearlite structure or spherical cementite. However, this kind of heat treatment requires a lot of energy and time. In addition, subsequent processing to achieve the required geometry and surface quality is also distinguished by high costs. In this regard, Deutsche Edelstahlwerke, together with cold stamping workshops, has developed a new method, alternative to classical heat treatment. The result is significantly more flexible process chains and improved material quality.