Development of an innovative monitoring system for spray fields in hot forging processes

In the field of forging the production processes are subject to extreme influences. This leads to failures in process steps or part qualities. To guarantee a high product quality and process stability it is necessary to measure and evaluate the process parameters during the manufacturing process. Online monitoring systems are especially required to avoid high scrap costs. In this paper an innovative concept for monitoring the spray field of massive forming processes is presented. So far a practical method to monitor the lubrication process for purpose of quality assurance and process fault diagnosis in forging processes does not exist. With the sensor system developed at the Institute of Forming Technology and Machines a qualitative and quantitative assessment of spray fields used for cooling and lubrication of forging die processes is possible. The sensor system operates on the basis of current flow measurements and is able to realize a local determination of the spray field. Furthermore an artificial neuronal network (ANN) was programmed to collect, evaluate and analyze the signal of the sensors automatically. Such networks have already been proven to detect and analyze process failures. Especially in the analyses of systems depending on many parameters and their interactions with each other ANN offer the advantage to deliver the desired statements on the basis of suitable test series.