Lubricant test methods for sheet metal forming

Sheet metal forming of tribologically difficult materials such as stainless steel, Al-alloys and Ti-alloys or forming in tribologically difficult operations like ironing, punching or deep drawing of thick plate requires often use of environmentally hazardous lubricants such as chlorinated paraffin oils in order to avoid galling. The present paper describes a systematic research in the development of new, environmentally harmless lubricants focusing on the lubricant testing aspects. A system of laboratory tests has been developed to study the lubricant performance under the very varied conditions appearing in different sheet forming operations such as stretch forming, deep drawing, ironing and punching. The laboratory tests have been especially designed to model the conditions in industrial production. Application of the tests for evaluating new lubricants before introducing them in production has proven successful and has in a number of examples assisted the substitution of environmentally hazardous lubricants by more friendly ones in industrial production.