ANALYSIS OF THE INFLUENCE OF LUBRICATION CONDITIONS ON TOOL WEAR USED IN HOT DIE FORGING PROCESSES

The study discusses the subject of lubrication in the processes of hot die forging with the consideration of the durability of forging tools and instrumentation. It presents a literature research as well as the authors' own investigations of the effect of the use of cooling and lubrication agents, the amount of the dosage as well as the direction of its application, and also the factors influencing the tribological conditions. The lubrication devices and systems currently applied in the industry have been analyzed as well. On this basis, making use of their knowledge and experience, the authors have developed and constructed a lubricating device. The elaborated system, implemented into the industrial process, makes it possible to select and ensure the optimal tribological conditions of the process by way of controlling the amount and frequency of the applied lubricant dosage. It can constitute an alternative for the manual method of lubricant application, which is dependent on the human factor, or the fully automated, yet expensive, lubrication systems. The obtained test results point to potential possibilities of a permanent introduction of the constructed device also into other forging processes, through its integration with a manipulator. The proposed solution ensures more stability and higher repeatability of the lubrication conditions as well as increases the efficiency of the production process, thus significantly reducing the unit costs of the production of forgings.