Evaluation of new cold forging lubricants without zinc phosphate precoat

Zinc phosphate coatings plus metal soap lubrication system is required in nearly all steel cold forging operations. However, the chemical byproducts of this lubricant system are difficult to dispose of and have a negative environmental impact. In order to replace zinc phosphate based lubricants partially or completely, candidate lubricants were sought from lubricant manufacturers worldwide. The performance evaluation of these lubricants was conducted using the double cup backward extrusion test developed at the Engineering Research Center for Net Shape Manufacturing (ERC/NSM). With the use of the commercial FEM code DEFORM, friction factor calibration curves, i.e. cup height ratio vs. punch stroke, were established for different friction factor values. By matching the cup height ratio and the punch stroke from experiment to that obtained from FE simulations, the friction factor of the lubricants was determined. Three lubricants; namely, MEC Homat, Daido AquaLub, and MCI Z-Coat, were found to perform comparable to or better than zinc phosphate.