SERBIATRIB ‘17

15th International Conference on

Serbian Tribology Tribology Faculty of Engineering
Society University of Kragujevac

Kragujevac, Serbia, 17 – 19 May 2015

WEAR OF THE TOOLS FOR THE IRONING PROCESS AND METHODS FOR
INCREASING THEIR LIFETIME
Dragan ADAMOVIC1*, Miroslav ŽIVKOVIĆ1, Tomislav VUJINOVIĆ2, Fatima ŽIVIĆ1,
Marko TOPALOVIĆ1, Marko PANTIĆ1
1
Faculty of Engineering, University of Kragujevac,Kragujevac, Serbia, adam@kg.ac.rs,
zile@kg.ac.rs, zivic@kg.ac.rs, topalovic@kg.ac.rs, pantic@kg.ac.rs
2
University APEIRON, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina; tomo.vujinovic@yahoo.com
*Corresponding author: adam@kg.ac.rs

Abstract: The influence of the tribological conditions in ironing has a significant influence, on the
geometrical, kinematic and dynamic conditions which define conduction of the ironing process, as well as on
the lifetime of used tools. In recent years a number of researchers studied this influence in both real
processes and the tribo models. The process of tool wear, which is mainly reflected (in the case of abrasive
wear) on the change in dimensions and shape, results in deterioration of the quality of the product. This
deterioration leads to final products with greater dimensional deviation and a degraded quality of the
surface.
Experimental research in the original tribo-model, implemented in this study was aimed to point out the
changes occurring on the test samples of steel and aluminum alloys during the extraction, with a variety of
materials of tools (tool steel, tungsten carbide) and a variety of surface states tool (Cr coating, TiN coating).

Keywords: ironing, galling, friction, wear, tool steel, hard metals, aluminum,

1. INTRODUCTION visible defects. These defects mostly occur in

Great intensity of wear in metal forming
(MF) tools causes increased attention to be
payed to the problem of determining tool
lifetime. Previous studies have shown that
friction has a significant impact on the
geometric, kinematic and dynamic conditions
of metal forming, and the tool lifetime, and
thus affects the continuity of production. Wear
progress (in the case of abrasive wear) is
mainly reflected on the changes in tool size
and shape, resulting in a gradual deterioration
of the product quality. Tool wear causes
greater dimensional tolerance of MF products,
poor surface quality and even products with
408
the form of notches and thickenings caused
primarily by the formation of bulges on the
tool. Tool lifetime also affects the reliable
performance of the machine or machining
systems. Frequent tool replacements lead to
inevitable delays in machine operations, which
affects efficiency, and therefore the cost of the
production. The tool wear process is very
complex, and the destruction of the tools can
be caused by a number of related causes that
act together. The process of tool wear is
affected not only by the occurrence of the
friction and respected abrasive wear, but also
by other processes such as: fatigue (thermal
and mechanical), corrosion and oxidation.
15th International Conference on Tribology – Serbiatrib ‘17
Therefore, the tool wear for MF is the result of
the superposition of all the physical processes
acting on the tool, and it will be more intense
than wear caused by friction alone.
2. WEAR AND TEAR OF MF TOOLS
In order to effectively counter the
destructive processes that limit the lifetime of
MF tools it is necessary to know the
mechanism and specificity of the basic
processes of wear and tear. These processes
vary for different tools.
Tools for cold MF are mainly subjected to
mechanical loads and loads due to friction and
wear. Characteristics of mechanical loads
(static, dynamic) depends primarily on used
machines. An important characteristic of
mechanical loads is that they are mainly
cyclical; so in the case of this group of tools we
can speak of mechanical fatigue. However, as
an essential process that determines the
lifetime of MF tools, abrasive wear is taken.
The increase in temperature of the outer layer
of the tool is essentially insignificant and has
no major impact on the change in mechanical
properties of materials. Therefore, thermal
fatigue processes can be ignored.
The most common cases of tool wear can
be divided into the following groups:
 destruction of the die and punch
 abrasive wear and
 plastic deformation of certain zones in tool.
The destruction of the die and the punch is
generally carried out by the entire cross-
section, and the causes can be:
 incorrect heat treatment (too high residual
thermal stresses)
 inadequate production of tools (stress
concentrators)
 inappropriate use of tools, a particularly
bad placing of tools on the body of
machines, tools, etc. overload.
Tools designed for the cold MF are mostly
demaged by the following types of wear:
 adhesive wear
 abrasive and
 fatique (fragmentation).
15th International Conference on Tribology – Serbiatrib ‘17
Adhesive wear occurs mainly as a result of
contact surfaces getting significantly closer, a
considerable increase in surface area of real
contact (final contact surface may be from 2 to
5 times larger than the initial surface) [1], as
well as the introduction of new, not yet
oxidized layers of material into contact with
MF tools.
This causes a "cold welding" which leads to
the appearance of deformed metal stickers on
the tool. The number of these stickers keeps
growing and their occurrances keep getting
more frequent as the number of the process
repetitions increases. Great adhesion strength
of resulting connections, possibly diffuse in
nature, affect the mechanism of their
destruction. Traces of deep pulling, observed
on the surface of the tool, testify that the
destruction of the connection takes place in
the upper tool, not on the original contact
surface [1].
Destruction of contact connections results
in a significant increase in roughness of the
tool, which is transmitted in a negative way to
the quality of the product surface, because the
"bumps" which were created on the tool give
rise to notching on the product.
Alongside adhesive wear, abrasive wear can
also occur on the MF tools. It is caused by the
effect of impurities on metal and partial
fragmentation of "bumps". The intensity of
abrasive wear in this case is not significant,
and this process occurs only on certain part of
the tools.
Interaction of micro fragmented parts with
a working surface of tool leads to fatigue wear.
Impulse characteristic of loads in micro
contact zones, which is transferred to the
outer layers of the tool, and the extrusion of
the lubricant layer, leads to the occurrence of
fatigue wear, which is characterized by
fragmentation during the sliding friction.
Intense wear of the tool in the ironing
process results from the fact that the entire
working surface of the tool is in continuous
contact with the work piece material. For this
reason, the intensity of wear is greater in
comparison with the other tools. Types of
409
wear that damage ironing tools can be divided
into the following categories:
 adhesive wear that manifested by the
appearance of the stickers ("bumps"),
 micro and macro cracks
 fragmentation and,
 the occurrence of loss of material in the
shape of a ring which is the effect of
abrasive wear.
The most influential types of wear for this
type of tool is the appearance of so-called ring
damage on work (conical) surface for
compaction. This demage eliminates the
necessary conditions for normal deformation
of work piece and causes an additional friction
with a significant increase punching force. The
resulting damage can have a symmetrical or
un unsymmetrical shape in nonaxial guidance
of the workpiece or in case of excessively worn
tool.
This mechanism of tool wear resulting from
the kinetics of the material flow and pressure
distribution in the cone of the punch. In the
entrance area of the cone material which is
being compressed suffers the largest
deformations, therefore this is the area with
the highest pressure per surface unit. Beside
this, impurities, oxides, etc.. are retained on
the working edges of the entrance to the
conical part of the tool, so these impurities can
act as abrasives which cause high intensity
abrasive wear. Hence, in the central part of
the cone a contact is formed between partially
deformed workpiece material, released oxide
and tool material. In regards to this,
dominating process is adhesive wear.
In addition to adhesive wear, there is a
frequent occurrence of damage in the form of
cracks and fragmentation. This particularly
applies to tools made of sintered carbides. This
type of wear occurs mainly in the lower part of
the tool, ie. outside of the calibration opening,
especially if the tool has an inappropriate
profile.
The technical condition of the tool, and
especially the quality of its work surface have
crucial impact on:
 surface quality and mechanical properties
of the final product,
410
 productivity of processes and
 cost effectiveness of the production
3. METHODS FOR INCREASE OF THE LIFETIME
AND RELIABILITY OF MF TOOLS
Durability MF tools depends on many
factors that can generally be divided into three
main groups:
 structural,
 production and
 exploitation.
Excluding structural and manufacturing
defects, which are typically can be eliminated,
increasing the lifetime of MF tools can be
achieved:
 by replacing the currently used tool steel
with materials with better resistance
properties but also significantly more
expensive,
 using the correct method for surface
treatments which allow the achievement
of the required properties of the surface
layers, especially higher resistance to
abrasion,
 using proper technological lubricant.
Deficiency of alloying elements, and their
high price, make the high-alloyed steel tool
used only in exceptional cases and for high
stressed elements of the tool. Therefore, an
effective and efficien increase of tool lifetime
can be achieved by surface treatment. This
solution for problem of low durability of
productive tools makes processes of friction
and wear, as well as fatigue, oxidation and
corrosion mainly localized in the surface layers.
Therefore, only surface layers are required to
have greater resistance to wear, thermal
fatigue, oxidation, corrosion, etc., without
having to make the whole tool with these
properties.
It should nevertheless take into
consideration the fact that the surface layers
of the tool, (created during the manufacturing
process) are subjected to continuous changes
during operation. These changes, may result
from the cumulative wear process or originate
from sudden individual changes (e.g.,
temperature changes, tool overload, etc.).
15th International Conference on Tribology – Serbiatrib ‘17
 Therefore, when considering the role of
surface layers and their impact on tool lifetime,
one should bear in mind two aspects:
1. the initial state of the surface layers,
obtained by the preferably selected
processing method.
2. secondary changes that occur in the
surface layers as a result of exploitation,
causing a drop useful characteristics tools.
The final state of the tool, and in particular
its features that are of interest to the user, as
well as its durability and reliability, will be the
result of a specific superposition of the original
properties of the surface layers and the effects
of wear (fatigue, corrosion, oxidation, etc.)
which are inevitable during exploatation.
Therefore, in order to achieve the required
tool lifetime, depending on the type of
external loading that’s being transferred
(mechanical, thermal), as well as the operation
environment influence (corrosion and
oxidation processes), it is necessary to choose
the optimum surface treatment.
MF tools are very often subjected to several
types of loads together, which to a great
extent limits choice of surface treatment. The
processes of surface treatment which increase
the wear resistance (e.g., hard coating
obtained as a result of nitriding, plasma
coating, etc.) have not proven effective in
variable cyclical load cases. For this reason, the
goal should be, in any case, to identify the
main processes that determine the durability
of the group of tools, and based on that
knowledge, to select the appropriate surface
treatment. In order to ease this selection, it is
necessary to have knowledge of the outer
layers after the surface treatment, and in
particular: wear resistance (in a wide range of
friction parameters), resistance to mechanical
and thermal fatigue, tendency toward
oxidation, corrosion and so on.
In search for the optimal properties of the
surface layers, several treatment methods that
enable achievement of the useful properties of
the contact pairs are available. In addition to
mechanical treatment, for which the correction
of the tribological properties is achieved mainly
as a result of an increase in the hardness of the
15th International Conference on Tribology – Serbiatrib ‘17
outer layers (e.g., strengthening), in other cases,
one of the essential objectives of surface
treatment is to change the chemical
composition (eg. by means of enrichment with
compositions such as carbides of Cr , B carbides,
nitrides of Al, Cr, Mo, V and so on.) which
results in significantly increased resistance to
abrasive wear. As a result of many studies, it
has been found that the most resistant to
abrasive wear are fine-dispersed hard phases
(e.g., carbides, nitrides, etc.) [1].
Alloying elements in steel: V, W, Mo, Cr
significantly increase resistance to abrasive
wear of steel because they form stable
carbides, if the steel has a sufficiently large C
content, and if the parameters of heat
treatment are properly selected. However, the
main requirement to achieve good abrasive
wear resistance is that the carbides are
properly deployed in sufficiently resistant, and
at the same time plastic basis.
One of the more preferred methods of
surface treatments, which significantly
increases the abrasion resistance, is a method
of sulfatization (sulfo-nitriding, cyano-
sulfation). In this case, good sliding properties
can be achieved by enrichment of the outer
layers with ingredients with the hexagonal
lattice, which provide easy sliding over the
baseline plains.
A specific group of modifications of the
surface layer is a galvanic treatment, for
example: hard chroming, phosphating etc.
The coating obtained by hard chroming is
characterized by a relatively high hardness
(1000-1200HV), as well as the typical network
that represents the natural lubrication canals.
As the result of this treatment of the surface
layers, a significant increase of the abrasion
resistance is achieved [2].
Phosphate coatings are crystalline coatings
consisting of the phosphates of Zn, Mn or Fe,
and they have somewhat different properties.
The basic characteristics of phosphate coatings
is their high porosity and good absorption of
lubricants. Due to its porous structure,
phosphate coatings have a very good ability to
absorb grease, oil, soap, etc. which provides a
good sliding properties [3].
411
 In view of these properties, this method is
used as a special lubricating coating of the MF
process, whereby the phosphate layers are
applied to a material that is plastically deformed.
With the aim of achieving good tribological
properties, both at ambient and at elevated
temperatures, plasma-coating technology has
been developed. This technology utilizes the
hardly soluble metals such as Cr, W, Co, Ti, or
their compounds TiN, TiC and so on [4].
Also, in the group of surface treatment
methods, which deserve attention, we must
mention electro and chemical polishing.
Defective layers which must be addressed
originate from the pre-treatment (eg. cutting).
As a result of the polishing defective layers are
removed from the surface, and a new surface
layer has significantly less surface roughness
and lower, or very low levels of stresses. The
surface layers obtained as a result of these
processes are characterized by a significantly
lower friction coefficient, higher resistance to
abrasive wear as well as corrosion resistance.
4. EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
Experimental studies presented in this
paper were performed on the original tribo-
model of ironing process, which bilaterally
symmetrically imitates the contact zone of die
and punch. This model enables the realization
of high contact pressures and respects the
physical and geometrical conditions of the real
process (material of die and punch,
topography of contact surfaces, angle of die
cone - , etc.) [5].
The bent sheet metal band, U-shaped test
piece, is assembled on the ’’punch’’. Holding
force FD acts on test piece by dies. Dies are
assembled in supports, where the left support is
motionless and the right support is movable
together with the die. The test piece slides
between the dies under the force that is applied
at the punch head, whereby the thinning of the
test piece wall thickness occurs. During ironing
process, the outer surface of the test piece slides
against die surface inclined by an angle , and
the inner surface of the test piece slides against
plates attached to the punch body.
412
The device was realized with the compact
construction of high rigidity, with the
possibility of easy changes of contact-pressing
elements (die and plate), with simple cleaning
of contact zones and suitable assembling of
test pieces.
Plates and die can be made of various
materials and with various roughnesses, and
dies can also have a various inclination angle .
In this study, two materials were selected
for experimental testing: steel, in the form of
plate, designated as Č0148P3 (according to EN:
DC04) and the aluminium alloy, also in the
form of plate, designated as AlMg3(.43)1 (old
designation: AlMg3-24; designation according
to DIN: AlMg3 F24, designation according to
the EN AW-5754: AlMg3). Both materials are
very common materials in modern industry.
Mechanical characteristics of steel material
determined for samples cut in the rolling
direction of sheet are as follows: Rp = 186.2
MPa, Rm = 283.4 MPa, A = 37.3%, n = 0.2186, r
= 1.31915, E = 1.957 x 105 Mpa. Mechanical
characteristics of aluminium alloy, determined
for samples cut in the rolling direction of sheet
are as follows: Rp = 201.1 Mpa, Rm = 251 MPa,
A = 12%, n = 0.13545, r = 0.40510, E = 0.701 x
105 MPa.
Contact pairs ("die" and "punch") are made
of alloy tool steel (TS) with high toughness and
hardness, with mark Č4750 (DIN17006:
X165CrMoV12). This steel is resistant to wear
and is intended for operation in the cold
conditions. Oil quenching and tempering is
carried out before the mechanical treatment
by grinding.
In one set of tools, steel alloy Č4750 is heat
treated, and on its surface, TiN hard coatings
are deposited.
One set of tools is hard chrome plated (Cr)
for the purpose of comparative testing. It
should be noted that the tool base was made
of heat-treated alloy tool steel Č4750.
One set of dies is made of hard metal (HM)
marked with WG30 (DIN 4990: G30). Hard
material (-phase) is Tungsten carbide (WC),
and bounding material is Cobalt (-phase).
1
- Here in after the acronym AlMg3 is used
15th International Conference on Tribology – Serbiatrib ‘17
 The shape of "punch" and "die" is shown in
TS + TiN TS
Figures 1 and 2 respectively.

Adhesive
TS + TiN Scratch

TS + Cr HM

TS TS + Cr
Scratch

Figure 3. Surface of the die with stickers (TS + TiN),

abrasions (TS and TS + Cr) and without damage (HM)
During ironing of Aluminium alloy sheets
lubricant has a very important role; to
separate surfaces of the test piece, and the
Figure 1. Images of the plates that simulate the surface of the tools. Lubricant also needs to
surface of the „punch”
prevent the creation of stickers on the tool
TS + TiN TS surface, due to the great affinity of aluminum
to sticking. If the proper lubricant is not used
intensive aluminum sticking to the tool will
occur. Stickers created on the die lead to
rough damage on the sheet surface (galling).
EDS analysis of aluminium stickers formed
on the die made of the tool steel coated with
TiN is given in Figure 4.

HM TS + Cr
Figure 2. Images of „die“

5. RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCHES

Spectrum 1
Under the influence of large normal pressures,
surfaces are getting closer and adhesion
compounds are formed, coupled with a
substantial increase in the real contact area. The
result of such interaction is the significant
sticking of one metal, on the other, wherein as a
Spectrum 1
rule, low-soluble metal is bonded to the surface
of the metal with higher melting point.
As a rule, significant sticking results in the
fact that the hardness of adhesion compounds,
is higher than the hardness of at least one
metal of the contact pair. Destruction of the
compound occurs mainly in the outer layers of
metal with low strength, and not on the Figure 4. EDS analysis of aluminium stickers formed
on the die made of the tool steel coated with TiN
original contact surface.
The surface of the die with stickers (TS + While using punch with greater roughness
TiN), abrasions (TS TS + and Cr) and without and when the ironing is performed without
damage (HM) is given in Figure 3. lubrication of the punch, extensively sticking
15th International Conference on Tribology – Serbiatrib ‘17 413
aluminum on the surface of the punch was
observed. When lubricants were used, stickers
were significantly smaller, or not present.
Formation of aluminum stickers on the punch
(dark field) is shown in Figure 5. It should be
noted that the resulting stickers formed on the
punch are much easier to remove in comparison
to those that have been created in the die.
Due to the high contact pressures and
continuous formation and separation of
stickers, damaging (scaling) of a TiN coating
occurs. EDS analysis of the TiN coating damage
on the die surface is given in Figure 7.

Spectrum 1
TS

Spectrum 2

Spectrum 1
TS + TiN

TS + Cr

Spectrum 2
Figure 5. Punch with stickers

Spectrum 1

Figure 7. EDS analysis of the TiN coating damage

on the die surface

Spectrum 1

Figure 6. EDS analysis of aluminium stickers

formed on the punch made of the tool steel
EDS analysis of aluminium stickers formed
on the punch made of the tool steel is given in
Figure 6.
414 15th International Conference on Tribology – Serbiatrib ‘17

Figure 8. Topography and 3D rutted steel surface
Figure 9. Topography and 3D rutted aluminium
alloy surface
Analysis of the surface topography change
due to the effects of friction was obtained at
high magnification. This analysis can provide a
very accurate detection of phenomenon that
occur in the area of contact as well as
evaluation of the friction mechanism.
The aim of this analysis to shed a light on
the mechanism of deformation of the micro-
zones of contact and transfer of materials.
Method for removal of transferred material
from the contact surfaces is also analyzed, so
were specific mechanisms of friction for higher
values of pressure.
15th International Conference on Tribology – Serbiatrib ‘17
Stickers on the tool surface deteriorate
quality and are one of the main problems with
the ironing technology, both with regards to
product quality as well as with respect to tool
wear. In literature, this phenomenon is known
as "galling".
Grooved surface topography of the sheet,
resulted from the stickers on the tool, is
shown in Figures 8 and 9.
14
12
DC04 AlMg3
Mean ironing force, kN
10
0
TS T S+Cr HM T S+T iN TS T S+Cr HM T S+T iN
M aterial tools
Figure 10. Mean value of the punch force for tools
made of different materials
Changes in mean values of punching force
for different tool materials are given in Figure
10, both for DC04 samples and for AlMg3
samples. It should be noted that the maximum
value of mean punching force is obtained
using the tool with the TiN coating. The reason
for this is the most intense formation stickers
on this kind of tools, as well as damages on
coating that originated from the formation and
fragmentation of stickers. Differences in the
results obtained by testing steel and aluminum
samples are a consequence of the nature of
their interaction, and contact with the high
contact pressures.
6. CONCLUSION
In order to achieve the goal of good
tribological properties of tools for ironing
process, treatment of contact surfaces is
required. Contact surfaces of the tools (punch
and die) can be treated with different
methods:
 Applying a coating of hardly soluble metals
such as Cr, W, Co, Ti, or their compounds
TiN, TiC and so on.
 Mechanical hardening of the surface layers
(for example flattening),
415
 Changing the chemical composition of the
surface layers (eg. by means of enrichment
with carbides of Cr and B, nitrides of Al, Cr,
Mo, V, etc.).
 Making tools from high-alloy steel (V, W,
Mo, Cr) which significantly increase the
resistance of steel to wear,
 Methods of chemical-thermal treatment of
surfaces (sulfo-nitriding, cyano sulfation);
 Modification of the surface layers using
galvanic treatment (hard chromium plating
of the tool surface, phosphating the
surface of the workpiece, etc.),
 Surface treatment using polishing (electro
and chemical polishing).
Which of the above mentioned methods or
combination of methods will be used depends
on the material to be treated. Also, it should
be taken into account the stability of the
surface layer and the possible process of
sticking of the workpiece material to the
surface of the tool (contact of dissimilar
metals).
Stickers on the tool surface deteriorate
quality and are one of the main problems with
the ironing technology, both regarding product
quality as well as in respect to tool wear.
During ironing process lubricant has a very
important role. It is used to separate the metal
416
surfaces of the tools and to prevent the
creation of stickers on the tool surfaces.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The part of this research is supported by
Ministry of Education and Science, Republic of
Serbia, Grant TR32036, TR33015 and TR35021.
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[2] METALS HANDBOOK – Heat Treating, Cleaning
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1964.
[3] Bay N.: The State of the Art in Cold Forging
Lubrication, Journal of Materials Processing
Technology, 46, 1994., 19-40.
[4] Dohda K.: Tribological properties of thin hard
coatings used in metal forming, Proceedings
of the Japan International Tribology
Conference, Nagoya, 1990., 1973-1980.
[5] Adamović D.: The behavior of materials in
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15th International Conference on Tribology – Serbiatrib ‘17