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2007
Conference Paper
Titel
Ceramic rolling tools and components for enhanced lifetime and product quality
Abstract
Thanks to their high wear resistance, ceramic materials are suitable for use as metal working tools for rolling processes. The materials that have been widely used for rolling tools are steel or tungsten carbide. In order to get higher wear resistances and therefore longer lifetimes of the rolling tools, ceramic materials may be used. Silicon nitride is a highly wear resistant ceramic material. Further advantages of this silicon nitride are its high temperature stability, its low adhesion to the metallic materials and its low specific weight. Silicon nitride is therefore ideally suited for rolling tools. The higher costs of the rolls have to be compensated by the longer lifetime at more stable production conditions. In addition, the consumption cooling lubricants can be reduced by using ceramic tools. The scope of the project is therefore the development and fabrication of ceramic rolls for different semi-manufactured products. It is found that the use of ceramic tools is possible and even has advantages regarding service lifetime and product quality. The present paper presents some case studies of ceramic rolling tools that were developed and tested in different manufacturing processes. The work conducted includes tool design, materials development, fabrication of the rolls, mechanical and tribological testing, and the testing of the rolls in several production processes. The focus of the presentation is put on the evaluation of ceramic tools and other components in rolling applications.
Language
English