die clearance control for thin sheet stainless steel bpp forming

• Main Authors: SIGUANG XU, ELIZABETH DICOCCO, JOSEPH N. LOVRIA
• Format: Patent
• Language: Chinese; English
• Published: 09.03.2016
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION ORPROCESSING OF GOODS; CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TOTRANSPORTATION; ELECTRICITY; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSIONOF CHEMICAL INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE

Disclosed are die clearance control for thin sheet stainless steel bpp forming. A bipolar plate used in a fuel cell and a method of making a bipolar plate are disclosed. The sheet is made generally from a stainless steel, and in a more preferable form from a ferritic stainless steel. In one configuration, a stamping or related metal forming tool operation will introduce a negative clearance as a way to move or otherwise reallocate a portion of the material making up the sheet into other portions as a way to reduce stretching, necking, thinning and related thickness deviations associated with the bends formed in the bipolar plate.