Experimental and numerical analysis of tribological effective surfaces for forming tools in Sheet-Bulk Metal Forming

Sheet-Bulk Metal Forming (SBMF) allows the manufacture of complex parts with integrated functional form elements, such as teeth and thickened areas. Therefore, bulk forming operations are applied to sheets with initial thicknesses of 2 or 3 mm. The design and functionality of the tools are as important as the process itself. Therefore, the working group “Tools” of the Transregional Collaborative Research Centre on Sheet-Bulk Metal Forming (CRC/TR73) focuses on the optimization of the technical tool design. By varying topographies or applying tailored coatings, the friction behavior is changed to achieve a better form filling and to reduce process forces during the forming operations. In this paper, the potential of different tailored surfaces is validated by simulations and experimental studies. The tribological behavior of 14 surface microstructures is evaluated using a half-space model in order to select structures suitable for application. Those were characterized experimentally by ring-compression and pin-extrusion tests. The determined friction factors were used in a forming simulation to predict the form filling of small cavities in a flow forming operation. Furthermore, special attention is paid to the utilization of the anisotropic behavior of specific structures. The results were validated by an incremental gear forming process.