Lubricity of volatile lubricants in sheet metal rolling

A series of experiments is carried out by using a rolling type tribometer to investigate the lubricity of the volatile lubricants at high speed forming. The roll material is the die steel alloy SKD11, and the workpiece material is the mild steel SPCE with a rough surface and the aluminum alloy A3004 with a smooth surface. Experimental results show that the friction coefficient decreases with increasing working velocity for both SPCE and A3004, in any lubricant. With an increase of reduction in thickness, the friction coefficient decreases for SPCE, but increases for A3004. Some volatile lubricants have the same lubricity as the generally used mineral oil with low-viscosity by judging from the value of friction coefficient, the surface appearance of rolled workpiece and the roll surface damage.