Tool surfaces analysis for temperature-supported forming of AZ31 Mg alloy sheets

Magnesium alloys emerge as a potential solution to attend weight reduction requirements, due to its high specific strength. Nevertheless, the forming of this material faces problems regarding the use of lubricants. In such a way, aiming to evaluate the friction Ievels in the forming process, tribological investigations for different tool surfaces in contact with magnesium AZ31 sheets were performed using a strip drawing machine. The experiments have shown that the geometry and parameters of the tool surface structure affect the friction coefficient. In general, the results indicated that by using special tool surfaces it is possible to obtain lower friction coefficient values. However, special points such as material adhesion in the tools must be carefully analyzed.