MATEC Web of Conferences 190, 14011 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201819014011 ICNFT 2018 Reducing Abrasive Particle Generation in Dry Rotary Swaging by Utilizing DLC Hard Coated Dies Florian Böhmermann1,*, Marius Herrmann2, Oltmann Riemer1, and Bernd Kuhfuss2,3 1IWT Leibniz Institute for Materials Engineering, Laboratory for Precision Machining, Badgasteiner Straße 3, 28359 Bremen, Germany 2bime Bremen Institute for Mechanical Engineering, University of Bremen, Badgasteiner Straße 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany 3MAPEX Center for Materials and Processing, University of Bremen, Am Fallturm 1, 28359, Bremen, Germany Abstract. The emphasis of this paper is the investigation of the impact of the diamond like carbon (DLC) hard coating system on the amount of abrasive particles being generated during dry rotary swaging. Rotary swaging experiments applying coated and uncoated macro structured forming dies were carried out against aluminum and steel work pieces varying the process parameter feed velocity. It was found that DLC coatings effectively reduce the generation of abrasive particles from the work piece. For dry machining of aluminum the amount was reduced to a tenth of the original quantity achieved with uncoated dies. The results are discussed with regard to the mechanics of interfacing surfaces. Additionally, forming dies exhibiting macro structures surfaces of improved design were introduced and applied in dry rotary swaging experiments, which allowed minimizing the abrasive particle generation. Keyword: Sustainable machining, Cold forming, Die 1 Introduction Furthermore, macro structured reduction zones of forming dies were used to control the axial reaction force Rotary swaging is an incremental bulk metal forming that counteracts the feed force. The features, here, were process for the manufacture of rotational symmetric sine wave structures with propagation parallel to the feed lightweight components, e.g. axles and steering spindles. direction, amplitudes of several tenths of micrometers, Compared to those machined by cutting, work pieces and wave lengths of about one millimeter [5, 2]. It machined by rotary swaging exhibit advantageous should be noticed, that structured reduction zones are material properties. These properties are a result of strain necessary, as obligatory friction increasing rough layers hardening and an undisturbed material fiber flow. from tungsten carbide as applied to conventional rotary Besides, rotary swaging allows for an optimal use of swaging dies, cannot be used in dry rotary swaging due material resources through the flexible adaption of wall to immediate clogging. The principles of this new thicknesses of work pieces. Common for bulk metal approach are sketched in Figure 1. forming processes, rotary swaging is associated with high pressures per unit area and high process forces. A robust process layout mandatorily requires for the adequate lubrication of forming dies and work pieces [1]. Functions of the lubricant are mainly the avoidance of abrasive die wear when machining steel, the avoidance of adhesive die wear when machining aluminum, the provision of work piece’s surface finish and dimensional accuracy, and at last the purging of particles abraded from the work pieces out of the swaging unit. Recent scientific research dealt with the development of a dry rotary swaging process layout. Functionalized rotary swaging dies were introduced, exhibiting both hard coated and structured surfaces to encounter complex and opposing tribological Fig. 1. Principles of infeed rotary swaging displayed in cross- requirements [2]. Tungsten doped amorphous diamond sectional view and approaches for a dry process layout (in accordance with [6]). like carbon coatings (a-C:H:W) with additional a-C:H top layer characterized by excellent hardness and The conduction of first dry rotary swaging fracture toughness were applied to forming dies for experiments was shown in multiple studies. Solely DLC friction reduction and wear protection [3, 4]. coated rotary swaging dies allowed for the successful * Corresponding author: [email protected] © The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). MATEC Web of Conferences 190, 14011 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201819014011 ICNFT 2018 machining of aluminum 3.3206 tubes. The coating reduction zone of the dies exhibited a sine wave suppressed adhesion of aluminum on the dies’ surfaces structure with an amplitude of A = 0.05 mm and a while providing good surface finish of the work pieces, wavelength of λ = 1.3 mm for the control of the axial similar to conventional, lubricated rotary swaging [7]. reaction force FA. The uncoated set of forming dies Forming dies exhibiting sine wave structures (amplitude hereafter is notated “S” for structured. Physical vapor A = 0.05 mm, wavelength λ = 1.3 mm) were applied to deposition (PVD) was used for coating the second set of the machining of tubes from 1.0038 construction steel. In dies (hereafter notated: “SC” for structured and coated). comparison to unstructured rotary swaging dies, the dies’ The hard coating system was a Cr/CrN/Cr+WC/a-C:H:W design reduced the tracking error of the feed system multilayer system with additional a-C:H top layer. associated with the axial reaction force FA by 50 % for Two different types of work pieces were applied to dry machining and up to 400 % when machining under the machining experiments: Aluminum 3.3206 lubricated conditions [8]. Furthermore, such structured (AlMgSi0.5) tubes and 1.0038 construction steel tubes. forming dies with additional tungsten doped amorphous All work pieces were of the same geometry: initial diamond like carbon coating (a-C:H:W) plus a-C:H top length l0 = 300 mm, initial diameter d0 = 20 mm, and layer were tested against steel tubes. Successful dry initial wall thickness s0 = 2 mm. rotary swaging was achieved with maintainable defects The general experimental procedure comprising of of the hard coating under given harsh conditions [7]. the actual dry rotary swaging as well as the methodology However, dry rotary swaging with functionalized of abrasive particle collection and analysis was forming dies is subject to an increased abrasive particle introduced before in [8]. This procedure is adopted for generation from the work piece material and the presented work, but for the sake of completeness will accumulation of such particles in the forming zone, hereinafter again be explained in detail. The associated with a loss in work piece quality and a experimental procedure comprises of the dry rotary clogging of the swaging unit. The generation of abrasive swaging of two work pieces in a row and subsequently particles was explained with the particular contact the disassembly of the four rotary swaging dies from the conditions of sine wave structured dies and the work swaging unit, investigation of the dies, and collection of piece. Induced local strain in the work pieces lead to a abrasive particles. For each set of dies and work piece local embrittlement of the surface near material and material experiments were conducted at two feed ultimately to the detachment of tinsels from the work velocities: vf = 500 mm/min and vf = 2000 mm/min; the pieces’ surfaces [6]. first is considered a moderate feed velocity for infeed The emphasis of this work is the investigation of the rotary swaging, while the latter is considered an impact of the diamond like carbon (DLC) hard coating advanced feed velocity. This summed up to an overall system on the amount of abrasive particles generated in number of experiments of eight and the machining of 16 dry rotary swaging with forming dies. Dry rotary work pieces. In preparation for every new experiment swaging experiments are conducted with uncoated and the forming dies were thoroughly cleaned by rinsing and coated surfaces varying the material machined and the wiping using ethanol. After the experiments the dies feed velocity. Abrasive particles are collected and were visually inspected. Particles were first collected investigated by means of optical microscopy. from the reduction zone and the calibration zone from Furthermore, functionalized forming dies of improved each of the four forming dies. Here, actual contact of macros structure design are presented and applied to dry dies’ and work piece’s surfaces occur when rotary rotary swaging experiments. Results of the presented swaging. The particles were rinsed into Petri dishes for work are of major concern for the development of robust later investigation using acetone. Particles adhering to rotary swaging processes under dry conditions. the tapered rotary swaging dies’ flanks were collected by carefully removing those using a brush, compare Figure 2. 2 Experiments All dry rotary swaging experiments were carried out on a Felss HE-32 machine tool with a four die swaging unit setup. The swaging frequency is depending on the rotational speed of the swaging unit and was set to 37.5 Hz. The stroke height ht of the dies was 1 mm. The machine tool is equipped with a linear direct driven feed unit for axial work piece feed, able to generate a maximum feed force Ff of 20 kN. Two sets of functionalized rotary swaging dies were applied in the experiments. These die sets were both of the same geometry, but one set additionally exhibited hard coated surfaces. The bulk material of the dies was 1.2379 hardened tool steel with a hardness of 62 ± 0.6 HRC. The dies exhibited a die angle of α = 10 ° and allow for the diameter reduction of rods and hollow Fig. 2. Functionalized rotary swaging die exhibiting a sine shafts from d0 = 20 mm down to d1 = 15 mm. The wave structured reduction zone and indication of abrasive particle collection procedure. 2 MATEC Web of Conferences 190, 14011 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201819014011 ICNFT 2018 The particle analysis was carried out using a Sensofar Plu 2300 optical profilometer in microscope operation mode.