FORGING LUBRICANTS FOR THE HOT FORGING OF STEEL

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FORGING LUBRICANTSFOR THE HOT FORGING OF STEEL

• Their impact in the forging quality, the life of
  the dies and the manufacturing of forged parts

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IMPORTANCE OF LUBRICATION

• In a Hot Forging process, DIE LUBRICATION is the
  KEY for QUALITY and PRODUCTIVITY.
• Lubrication, however, is not an easy job and is
  very dependant on the right selection of
  parameters such as
• Lubricant and application types.
• Team supervision and operator experience, even
  when fully automated systems are employed.

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BENEFITS WHEN FORGING LUBRICANTS ARE USED

• LUBRICATE (reduce the friction metal to metal
  thus allowing metal flow to occur in a smooth and
  controlled way)
• RELEASE (make possible the removal of the forged
  part from the die)
• COOLING (remove undesirable heat from dies)
• PROTECT (protect and as a consequence extend the
  die life)

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WHAT IS A FORGING LUBRICANT?

• A lubricant for forging dies is a chemical
  compound that has a formulation that makes
  possible the forging process to be carried out
  within the limits and parameters considered
  paramount by the forging industry.

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Usual types of Forging Lubricants

• Graphite in water dispersions.
• Graphite in oil dispersions.
• Synthetic compounds based on organic salts.
• Solid lubricants dispersions based on MoS2, Boron
  Nitride, Glass.

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What is Graphite?

• Graphite is one of the forms of the mineral
  Carbon. Its origin might be natural or artificial.

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Important properties of Graphite

• Geometry of the particles.
• Particle size.
• Degree of purity.

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Structure of Graphite
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Differences between the natural graphite and the
synthetic or artificial graphite

• Differences are more in the productive process
  rather than in the structure. Properties are
  almost identical.
• Natural Graphite mineral extraction.
• Artificial Graphite Produced from petroleum coke.

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Myths and Trues about Graphite I

• True
• Only natural or artificial graphites of hexagonal
  and crhystalline structure properties
• are appropriate. Amorphous graphites do not
  possess adequate lubricating

• Myth
• All graphites are equal?

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Myths and Trues about Graphite II

• Is the particle size the differential among the
  different graphites used by the Forging Lubricant
  manufacturers?

• True and false at the same time. Very small
  particles are not always necessary in a given
  formulation. The combination of particle size and
  contained carbon contain is what really makes the
  difference.

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FORGING DIE
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Inter relation of variables in the forging
process. Their impact in the adherence.

• Degree of dilution of the concentrate.
• Density of the lubricant mist.
• Temperature of the die.
• Pressure of the application of the lubricant over
  the die.

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TRENDS IN DIE LUBRICATION I.

• Applicational aspects
• Process automation to make possible the
  manufacturing of an increasing number of parts
  per hour.
• Application of the lubricant in the way of a
  spray atomization to make possible to penetrate
  the thermal barrier surrounding the dies and
  simultaneously lubricate and cool the dies.

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TRENDS IN DIE LUBRICATION II

• Applicational aspects
• Use of robotics as main applicational equipment.
• Functional lubricating systems-Automatic
  refilling of reservoirs.
• Dosing systems.

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FACTORS THAT HAVE INFLUENCE IN THE DIE LIFE

• Pressure forces applied to the process
• Speed of the metal flow.
• Type and composition of metals forged.
• Type of metals and treatments employed in the
  dies.
• Friction coefficient imparted by the lubricant.

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How must the forging lubricant perform to promote
an extended die life

• In first place forming a bonded film over the
  working die surface.
• Secondly imparting to the die surface a reduced
  friction coefficient able to promote a smooth
  metal flow.
• In third place imparting cooling properties.
• In fourth place not generating build ups on the
  die surface.

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Working temperature of the Forging Lubricant

• To perform within accepted parameters the forging
  lubricant has to function at temperatures between
  200 and 300 grades centigrades..

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WHAT INFLUENCE THE HEAT REMOVAL OF THE DIES

• Density of the lubricant.
• Pressure of the lubricant deposition over the
  dies.

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WHAT INFLUENCE THE FRICTION COEFFICIENT?

• Adherence of the lubricant film to the dies.
• Type and characteristic of the lubricant used.

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What influences the die temperature?

• Mass and contact time of the billet over the dies.

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FACTOR NOT ALWAYS OBSERVED IN THE LUBRICATION

• Quality of the water used in the dilution.
• Homogeneity of the diluted lubricant.
• Variation control of the solid content prior to
• the application of the lubricant.

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Main ingredients of a Forging Lubricant

• Demineralized water.
• Crystalline graphite (natural or sinthetic)
• Binding agents.
• Stabilizers.
• Thickeners.
• Bacteriological inhibitors.

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Die Termography - I
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Die Termography-II
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DIE LIFE

• Important target to achieve
• Keep the total cost of the toolings below the
  10 of the total manufacturing cost.

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Lubrcation -Controls to make-I-

• In the concentrate product
• Control of the manufacturess specification
• Type of graphite.
• Particle size.
• Ash content.
• Total solid content and graphite content.
• Viscosity and Ph of the concentrate.

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Lubrication -Controls to make-II

• In the diluted product
• Chek that the solid content chosen is correct and
  keep it constant during the product usage.
• Check that the diluted product be under
  continuous agitation in the reservoir tank.

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Lubrication -Controls to make-III

• In and during its application
• Time,angle,size of the lubricating drop,output
  and distance from the lubricating point to the
  areas to lubricate.

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Lubricants -Controls to make -IV-

• In the lubricating unit (Robot)
• Time of positioning
• Time of blow.
• Time of retract.
• Time of water cooling.
• Output of water.
• Time of lubrication.
• Output of lubricant.

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LUBRICATING SPRAY ATOMIZATION DROP TYPES
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Interaction between the die and the billet

• Extreme complexity because of
• Temperature and their control (variation in
  both).
• Transference of heat and its removal(billet
  cooling and heating and cooling cycles of the
  die)
• Time of contact billet/die.
• Lubrication .
• Die composition and treatments.

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Technological barriers to overcome

• Discovery of new ingredients/formulations that
  improve lubrication and reduce its incidence in
  the factors affecting die life.
• Better understanding between the relationship of
  the lubricanting film and the die surface during
  the forging process.

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The forging techniques-To think

• Despite forging is a technology with high
  experimental content, scientific reaserch is
  gaining terrain in modern processes.
• As per the above concept, the continuous
  observation of the process by the operational
  base (machine operators, maintennance teams,etc)
  the accurate register of the process variables
  becomes IMPORTANT.

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Forged automotive parts
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Hot upsetted pipes
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