Lubricants suitable for hydroforming and other metal manipulating applications
OwnerFrank Botz, Paul Kutzkoinventors
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Abstract
The present invention discloses a hydroforming process for metal parts that uses liquid-film and solid-film lubricants. The lubricants used in the invention are particularly useful for die-side lubrication. The process includes a step in which a ductile metal part is over-coated with either the liquid-film or solid-film lubricant. The liquid lubricants preferably include an oil and a optionally a surfactant. The solid lubricants preferably include a hard wax and optionally a surfactant.
Claims47
A process for hydroforming a tube of ductile solid material, the process comprising:
- (I) providing a pressure-side fluid and an openable die having an interior surface of a shape to which it is desired to have the hydroformed part of the outer surface of the tube of ductile solid material conform after the tube has been hydroformed;
- (II) forming over the outer surface of the tube of ductile solid material a coating of a die-side lubricant selected from the group consisting of:
- 1. a liquid lubricant comprising an oil and a surfactant;
- 2. a solid lubricant comprising a wax wherein the stress value within the solid die-side lubricant 0.75 sec after the compressive stress began to be imposed is at least 500 kPa;
- the stress value within the solid die-side lubricant 100 sec. after the compressive stress began to be imposed is at least 300 kPa;
- and the residual stress within the solid die-side lubricant 100 sec after the compressive stress began to be imposed is at least 75 percent of the maximum stress induced within the solid lubricant at any time up to 100 sec after the stress began to be imposed;
- and
- 3. mixtures thereof.
- (III) emplacing the coated ductile tube within at least a part of said openable die and closing the die, so that a portion of the outer surface of the ductile tube that is desired to be hydroformed is within the closed openable die;
- (IV) filling the interior of the tube of ductile solid with a volume of said pressure-side fluid, so that said pressure-side fluid exerts essentially equal pressure on all parts of the internal surface of the tube of ductile solid with which the pressure-side fluid is in physical contact;
- and
- (V) applying to said volume of pressure-side fluid filling said interior of the ductile tube, while the ductile tube remains emplaced within the closed openable die as recited in operation (III) above, a sufficient pressure to cause at least a portion of the outer surface of the coated ductile tube to conform to the inner surface of the closed openable die.
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A liquid film lubricant comprising:
- an oil;
- and
- a surfactant,
- wherein the liquid film lubricant has the characteristic that the coefficient of friction is reduced when the liquid film lubricant is wetted as compared to the coefficient of friction of the liquid film lubricant is unwetted.
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A solid film lubricant comprising:
- a wax;
- and
- a surfactant,
- wherein the solid film lubricant has the characteristic that the coefficient of friction is reduced when the solid film lubricant is wetted as compared to the coefficient of friction of the solid film lubricant is unwetted.
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A solid film lubricant comprising:
- a wax;
- and
- a wetting agent,
- wherein the solid film lubricant has the characteristic that the coefficient of friction is reduced when the solid film lubricant is wetted as compared to the coefficient of friction of the solid film lubricant is unwetted.
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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.