New Tribo-systems for Cold Forming of Steel, Stainless Steel and Aluminium Alloys

Globalisation of industrial production and increasing demands for environmentally benign solutions has forced cold forging industry to search for new, economically optimized tribo-systems, which are less harmful to the working as well as the global environment. The present paper describes efforts to find new alternatives, which fulfill these demands including new lubrication systems, new tool coatings and introduction of tailored tool and workpiece surfaces. The large costs involved in testing of new tribo-systems in production have emphasized the necessity of developing appropriate off-line testing methods to evaluate these new alternatives. Examples of such tests are presented.