Forming lubrication - General principles and selection

The aim of this dossier is to present the specific lubrication requirements for metal forming processes. In practice, these aspects are extremely important: indeed, the choice of lubricant and its application directly affect the success of the forming operation. Poor lubrication conditions can lead to :

• non-compliance with product dimensions (incorrect tool filling, inability of the forming machine to provide the energy or force required to fully form the product due to excessive friction, etc.);

• give the product a poor surface finish (excessive roughness, surface defects such as scratches, encrustations, etc.) or poor mechanical properties (internal or surface damage);

• cause rapid tool wear, taking the product out of its dimensional tolerances and forcing the tool to be repaired or scrapped;

• in extreme cases, lead to tool or part failure.

In this dossier, we present the general principles of lubrication, followed by the rules for choosing the right lubricant for the right process.

This presentation on lubrication during shaping is the subject of several files:

• "Lubrication in shaping. Friction and wear: characterization" [M 3 016] ;

• "Lubrication in shaping. Thick film lubrication regime" [M 3 017] ;

• "Shaping lubrication. Mixed lubrication regime" [M 3 018] .

The [Doc. M 3 015] fact sheet provides current lubrication procedures for the main metal alloy forming processes. Finally, the files on lubricants [BM 5 340]