Mapping the hot stamping process through developing distinctive digital characteristics

Structural components produced through hot stamping of lightweight materials, such as aluminium alloys, play a pivotal role in mass reduction, leading to decreased CO₂ emissions and enhanced fuel efficiency, especially in applications such as electric vehicles, high-speed trains, and aircraft. Concurrently, the hot stamping process is experiencing an exponential increase in data generation, stemming from ongoing production, research, and development activities. Yet, translating the inherent values of these voluminous metadata into scientific innovations and industrial breakthroughs requires the emerging expertise by consolidating the knowledge of hot stamping and data science. Here, the authors have conceptualised and developed the digital characteristics (DC) for manufacturing processes. The DC serves as the ‘DNA’ of every manufacturing process by encompassing its inherent and distinctive natures spanning over the design, manufacturing and application phases of the manufactured products. Focusing on the hot stamping process, the authors have developed the unique DC from voluminous hot stamping data derived from experimentally validated simulations and sensing networks. Results demonstrate that the DC revealed the distinct evolutionary thermo-mechanical characteristics of the hot stamping process in terms of representative geometric features, which facilitates the fundamental scientific understanding and unlocks the potential on implementing data-centric scientific innovations in advanced manufacturing paradigms.