Friction and lubrication modelling in sheet metal forming: Influence of lubrication amount, tool roughness and sheet coating on product quality

Abstract

In the stamping of automotive parts, friction and lubrication play a key role in achieving high quality products. In the development process of new automotive parts, it is therefore crucial to accurately account for these effects in sheet metal forming simulations. This paper presents a selection of results considering friction and lubrication modelling in sheet metal forming simulations of a front fender product. For varying lubrication conditions, the front fender can either show wrinkling or fractures. The front fender is modelled using different lubrication amounts, tool roughness's and sheet coatings to show the strong influence of friction on both part quality and the overall production stability. For this purpose, the TriboForm software is used in combination with the AutoForm software. The results demonstrate that the TriboForm software enables the simulation of friction behaviour for varying lubrication conditions, i.e. resulting in a generally applicable approach for friction characterization under industrial sheet metal forming process conditions.