Project Status: finished
The process reliability in cold forging is mainly effected by the quality of the applied tool system. The quality and reliability can be defined by the achievable lifetime and the lifetime scatter, respectively. One primary aim of the research activities was given by the increase of the service life of dies and cemented carbide inserts for the manufacturing of bearing balls. In this context, the use of the numerical process simulation enabled the judgement of design modifications and ensured a shorter development time. The research activities also concentrated on the minimization of the lifetime scatter, which can be traced back to scatter in the level and distribution of the prestressing, caused by the shrink ring system. Therefore, an ultrasonic measurement system has been developed, which enables an assessment of the prestressing conditions of the assembled tool system.