Abstract: A hot forming line for producing hot formed and press hardened sheet metal products made from metal plates includes a heating station and a forming station. The heating station has a bottom tool and an top tool between which a metal plate is received. The metal plate is heated in the heating station by indirect resistance heating. The heat is generated outside the metal plate and is transmitted by heat conduction into the metal plate itself. For this the bottom tool and/or the top tool has an electric resistance heating with at least one surface heating element. The surface heating element is a heating plate with a plate body made of an electrically conductive material, wherein the plate body is configured as heat conductor. For this the plate body is slotted and is for example provided with a slot, which extends over the thickness of the plate body.

Abstract: A two-blow heating and forming tool for the simultaneous production of two hot-formed and press-hardened motor vehicle components is provided. The tool includes a heating device and a forming device, with at least two contact heating tools and at least two hot-forming and press-hardening tools being arranged next to one another in parallel in a press such that, during a closing movement, two blanks are heated and two heated blanks are hot-formed and press-hardened to form two motor vehicle components. A method for producing hot-formed and press-hardened motor vehicle components using a two-blow heating and forming tool is also provided, the method including producing two mirror-inverted motor vehicle components simultaneously in one press cycle.

Abstract: In a heating device for conductive heating of a sheet metal blank with varying cross sectional surface, the sheet metal blank constitutes a direct component of an electric circuit, wherein an electrically conductive compensation element is provided which is placed onto a surface of the sheet metal blank, wherein a sum of the cross sectional surface of the sheet metal blank and the cross sectional surface of the compensation element results in a current conducting cross sectional surface.