Improving the Galling resistance of automotive stamping tools

Galling is a commonly encountered problem in the stamping of sheet metal. A form of adhesive wear, galling involves sheet material transfer to the forming tool, typically occurring in the drawing operation where sliding speeds and pressures are high. A production part from the Stamping Plant, Ford Motor Company, Australia, was chosen as a case study to determine the influence of die surface preparation and die surface modification on galling behaviour and part formability. Results indicated that production run length can be increased and part formability improved significantly by decreasing the roughness of the die and through surface modification.