International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 66 (2013) 44–53

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijmactool

The effect of the die radius profile accuracy on wear in sheet metal stamping
Michael P. Pereira a,n, Matthias Weiss a, Bernard F. Rolfe b, Tim B. Hilditch b
a
Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Locked Bag 20000, Geelong VIC 3220, Australia
b
School of Engineering, Deakin University, Locked Bag 20000, Geelong VIC 3220, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper investigates the influence of the die corner radius shape on wear behavior during sheet
Received 10 February 2012 metal stamping. In particular, small and localized changes from an ideal circular die profile shape were
Received in revised form examined and the effect on tool life determined. A novel technique to test and characterize the die
1 November 2012
profile shape and wear behavior, based on a semi-industrial channel forming process, is presented. It
Accepted 2 November 2012
will be shown experimentally that small changes in die radius profile shape (of less than 15 mm) can
Available online 21 November 2012
result in significantly reduced tool life. In all cases examined, the small variations in shape were the
Keywords: result of inherent variations associated with the machining, grinding and polishing processes typically
Contact pressure used to manufacture stamping dies and die corner inserts. Numerical simulation shows that these small
Die profile shape
shape ‘defects’ at the die corner radius can result in a significant increase in local contact pressures,
Failure
explaining the large adverse changes in tool life. These results are of direct importance to stamping
Galling
Sheet metal stamping engineers and tool designers and indicate that careful control over die manufacture and maintenance
Tool wear procedures may result in significant improvements in tool life.
& 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The wear of sheet metal stamping dies has become an
important issue in the automotive industry in recent years, due
to the use of higher strength sheet steels for vehicle structural
components and the reduced use of lubricants in the press shop.
Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS), such as dual phase and
TRIP steels, allow component weight reduction via down-gauging
of the sheet thickness. However, the higher loads required to form
these components result in increased contact pressure between
the sheet metal and die surfaces. It is known that there is a close
correlation between contact pressure and wear [1]. In typical
stamping processes (deep-drawing, plane strain stamping, cup
forming, etc.), wear occurs at the die corner radius, which usually
has a cross-sectional profile that is a 901 circular arc (fillet)
between the perpendicular surfaces at the die corner. Numerous
studies have shown that the contact pressure and wear are
localized at two distinct areas over the die radius profile [2–11].
Several investigations in the literature have used finite element
analysis (FEA) to examine the influence of the die corner profile
shape on the wear distribution, severity, and resulting tool life.
It has been shown that large changes in the die profile shape – i.e.,
increasing the magnitude of the die corner radius [3,8,12], or
n
Corresponding author. Tel.: þ613 5227 3353; fax: þ613 5227 1103.
E-mail addresses: michael.pereira@deakin.edu.au (M.P. Pereira),
matthias.weiss@deakin.edu.au (M. Weiss),
bernard.rolfe@deakin.edu.au (B.F. Rolfe),
tim.hilditch@deakin.edu.au (T.B. Hilditch).
changing the die corner profile from circular to elliptical [3,12,13]
– can significantly reduce the calculated wear severity. FEA has also
shown that the circular die radius shape can be optimized via small
geometric changes, such that the typically localized wear could be
more evenly distributed over the die corner profile [3,11]. Eriksen
[3] numerically predicted that changes to a R5 mm profile shape of
less than 0.14 mm could result in a reduction in the peak wear
severity by approximately 50%, for a two-dimensional axisymmetric
deep drawing simulation [3]. Similarly, FEA has shown that the die
profile shape of extrusion and forging dies can be optimized to
reduce localized peak contact pressures and severe wear locations
[14,15]. Furthermore, Lin et al. [15] experimentally demonstrated
that tool life can be doubled through the implementation of a
numerically optimized die profile shape in a hot extrusion process.
Despite the likely influence of the die profile shape on the life of
sheet metal stamping dies, to the authors’ knowledge, there is no
work in the literature that experimentally examines the effect of the
die profile shape on the wear behavior and tool life in sheet metal
stamping. Additionally, previous numerical studies on the effect of
die profile shape [3,12,13] have assumed that the die corner is an
ideal surface – either circular or elliptical in cross-section– free from
any imperfections. However, it is known that real stamping dies
have deviations in shape from these ideal profiles, due to the
inherent tolerances/variations associated with the manufacture of
the tooling surfaces. For example, our previous die profile measure-
ments highlighted that minor shape imperfections exist on even the
most carefully manufactured dies [9,16].
For these reasons, this paper will experimentally examine the
influence of the die corner profile shape on the wear behavior and

0890-6955/$ - see front matter & 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2012.11.001
 M.P. Pereira et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 66 (2013) 44–53 45

tool life of a semi-industrial sheet metal stamping process. This Table 1

study will focus on examining small deviations in profile shape Summary of the geometric and process parameters for the channel forming
operation.
from a nominally circular die corner profile, using both experi-
mental and numerical methods. Punch width a 30 mm
Draw depth d 40 mm
Average holder force fh 28 kN
Die-to-punch gap g 2.2 mm
2. Experimental setup Blank length l 150 mm
Die corner radius rd 5 mm
2.1. Test method and configuration Punch corner radius rp 5 mm
Blank thickness t 2 mm
Blank width w 26 mm
This study used a channel forming process, shown in Fig. 1, Press stroke length 203 mm
based on semi-industrial wear tests previously reported in the Press rate 32 min  1
literature [16,17] and numerical studies conducted by Pereira
et al. [8,18]. The geometric, process and material parameters used
(see Table 1) resemble a typical wear-prone automotive sheet
metal stamping operation. corner radii permitted easy inspection and interchange of the
The semi-industrial stamping wear test represents near- wearing surfaces. The dies (i.e., the die insert holders), blank
production process conditions. The blank material was lightly holder and punch were made from hardened AISI D2 tool steel
lubricated with mill oil via a lint-free cloth and automatically fed that was plasma nitrided and PVD coated with TiCN to ensure no
from the sheet metal coil, via an uncoiler and straightener. A high wear. The channel-shaped components were stamped using a
pressure air jet positioned prior to the forming dies ensured an single-action mechanical press, running at 32 strokes per minute.
evenly distributed oil layer on the sheet metal and cleared the The magnitude of the blank holder force, which was regulated
sheet of possible foreign debris. Removable tool inserts at the die using gas springs, was chosen to be sufficient to maintain closure
of the blank holder during the forming stroke, as determined from
FEA calculations.
The stamping wear tests were used to determine the number of
parts to failure for each die corner insert and the critical wear
die locations once failure had occurred. For automotive sheet metal
stampings, failure is typically judged by the existence of visible
die corner
scratches on the sidewalls of the formed parts [17,19]. Therefore,
insert
approximately every 10th stamped part was inspected. The tests
rd were stopped once severe scratches (visually judged by the opera-
l tor) were evident over the center region of the sidewall of the
blank
formed parts. While a combination of visual inspection and surface
profilometry (i.e., the measurement of scratch depths) on the
rp g t stamped part sidewalls can be used to provide an indication of the
wear state of the process [19], in this investigation the authors
holder
found that visual inspection alone provided an efficient and reliable
method of identifying when tool failure had occurred. Once the test
was stopped, the die corner inserts were cleaned with acetone and
punch examined with optical microscopy (see Section 2.3).

2.2. Materials
gas spring
The blank material used was an uncoated dual phase (DP780)
sheet steel. The DP780 material key properties were: 590 MPa
yield strength, 880 MPa tensile strength, strain hardening index of
a 0.13 and total uniform elongation of 9%, as determined from
tensile tests conducted in the direction of forming (transverse to
the rolling direction). The tensile tests were conducted in accor-
v v dance with Australian Standard AS 1391–1991 , using a hydraulic
formed
test frame and tensile specimens with nominal gauge width and
channel
length of 6 and 25 mm, respectively. A constant crosshead speed
d of 0.083 mm/s was used with the strains measured using a non-
contact extensometer.
Six AISI D2 tool steel die corner inserts were used in this study.
The die inserts were rough milled to obtain the approximate
shape; then through hardened to 60 HRC, and then precision
ground. To achieve an accurate surface profile and the desired
surface finish, the die radius region was finished via manual
polishing. This process of rough machining, hardening, precision
grinding (or high speed machining), and then hand polishing is
0.5 fh conventional practice in industry for the manufacture of stamping
0.5 fh
dies [20,21]. Subsequently, the working surfaces of the die corner
Fig. 1. Schematic of the channel forming wear test: (a) prior to and (b) at the end inserts were plasma nitrided, and utilized in the as-received
of the stamping process. condition after nitriding. Hardness tests were conducted on each
46 M.P. Pereira et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 66 (2013) 44–53
die corner insert using a HWDV-7S macro-hardness tester, with a
49 N indentation load and a Vickers square pyramid-shaped
indenter. The average hardness of the plasma nitrided surfaces
of the die inserts was found to be 67.9 73.3 HRC.
A small profile tolerance of 70.02 mm was specified on the
active surfaces of the die corner insert (i.e., the surfaces in contact
with the blank material), while the tolerance on the size of the die
radius was set to70.2 mm. Each of the six die inserts were
manufactured to the same specification and tolerances, meaning
the differences in profile shape observed on each of the die corner
inserts (as will be shown in Section 2.3.2), was the result of the
inherent variation in the manufacturing process.
2.3. Surface characterization
Using two-dimensional contact profilometry prior to wear
testing, the form (shape) at the radius region of each die corner
insert was characterized along the blank sliding direction, while
the roughness was measured in the sliding direction and trans-
verse to the sliding direction. The surface profilometry was
conducted using a Taylor Hobson Form Talysurf Intra (112/
3477–01) instrument with a custom, 120 mm long, 601 conical,
2 mm radius, diamond-tipped stylus. The stylus sliding speed and
sampling rate were 1 mm/s and 2000 Hz, respectively. To conduct
repeatable profilometry measurements, a device was designed
and manufactured to accurately position the die corner inserts at
specific angles with respect to the horizontal and at repeatable
locations with respect to the profilometer stylus.
angle on
die radius,
θ [°]
0º
blank contact region
(shaded)
26
distance from
reference edge of
die insert [mm]
die corner
insert
measurement
direction
4
26
distance from
reference edge of
die insert [mm]
Fig. 2. Surface profile measurements of the die corner inserts: (a) along the blank sliding direction and (b) transverse to the blank sliding direction. Note that the left hand
side die insert is shown in each case (the right hand side die insert has the wear region and reference edge on the opposite side).
2.3.1. Surface roughness
For the profilometry measurements in the sliding direction,
each die corner insert was positioned at an angle of 401 to the
horizontal, as shown in Fig. 2a. The region of approximately  5 to
751 on the die radius was measured using a 7 mm measurement
length. This measurement was repeated at three locations across
the die radius—i .e., at distances of 10, 15 and 20 mm, measured
from the reference edge shown in Fig. 2a. During the wear tests,
the blank material contacted the die corner insert surface at the
region of approximately 2 to 28 mm from the reference edge (see
the shaded region on the die corner insert in Fig. 2). Hence, the
measurements were conducted at the center of the die-to-blank
contact region, which was the area of primary interest when
examining the wear behavior.
For the transverse direction, the die insert was positioned at an
angle y from the horizontal, such that the stylus was positioned at
the same angle y on the die radius surface (see Fig. 2b). As shown,
the transverse direction roughness measurements were taken
from 4 to 26 mm from the die insert edge. The measurement was
repeated at 101 increments from y ¼0 to 801.
For each profile measurement, Taylor Hobson Ultra software
(version 5.5.4.20) was used to calculate the mean arithmetic rough-
ness, Ra. A Gaussian filter was used for the roughness calculation,
with an upper cut-off lc of 0.8 mm, short wavelength cut-off ls of
0.0025 mm and bandwidth of 300:1. For each die corner insert, the
calculated Ra values were averaged to obtain a single Ra value for
the sliding and transverse directions (see Fig. 3).
Fig. 3 shows that the average Ra values for all the die inserts along
and transverse to the blank sliding direction were less than 0.2 mm.
stylus
(attached to profilometer)
90º
measurement
direction
blank sliding
direction
(with respect
40º to horizontal)
measurement
length
θº
 M.P. Pereira et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 66 (2013) 44–53 47

The only exception to this was Die B, which had a slightly higher Ra in Fig. 4b can be considered as the ideal profile, while the curve
value in the transverse direction. The measured roughness values for shows the deviation of the measured profile from this ideal.
each of the die corner inserts are consistent with the surface finish The profile comparison shown in Fig. 4 was achieved using a
employed for typical automotive stamping dies [17,19]. mathematical solver routine developed in Microsoft Excel. The
objective of the solver routine was to minimize the error between
the measured and ideal profiles, through translation and rotation of
2.3.2. Surface profile/shape
the measured profile in two-dimensional space. Limits were placed
The surface profilometry measurements along the sliding
on the amount of rotation of the measured profile to ensure that
direction were also used to characterize the profile shape of the
the initial section of the profile remained horizontal, as this portion
die corner inserts by calculating the deviation of the measured
represents the upper flat surface of the die corner insert. Addition-
profiles with respect to an ideal profile shape. The ideal profile
ally, as part of the error minimization routine, the radius of the
consisted of a perfectly round radius that was exactly tangent to a
ideal profile, ri, was permitted to vary within 70.2 mm (but was
horizontal line (see Fig. 4a). The error, versus angle on the die
specified to be of constant radius for the entire region 01r y r901),
radius y, between one of the measured profiles and an ideal
in accordance with the manufacturing tolerance specified. For the
profile is shown in Fig. 4b. The horizontal line of the x-axis shown
measured die radius profile examined in Fig. 4, the best fit to the
measured profile was achieved with ri ¼4.907 mm.
0.35
Fig. 5 shows the profile deviation measured prior to the
Sliding direction stamping wear tests for the three measurements taken across
0.3
Transverse direction the six die corner insert surfaces used in this study. The average
Roughness, Ra [µm]

0.25 value of ri calculated for each die insert is shown. It is evident that
the die radius profiles shown in Fig. 5 are very accurate, with the
0.2 maximum profile deviation, dmax, calculated to be less than
70.012 mm for the region  51r y r751. Note that this measure-
0.15 ment region was chosen because it encompasses the entire region
of the die corner radius that contacts the blank during the
0.1 stamping process (as will be shown in Fig. 8). The dimensional
accuracy of the profile shapes is well within the automotive tool-
0.05
making industry ‘standard’ of 70.05 mm or more [22].
(Die corner inserts with profile defects of differing size and
0
shape were used for this study (see Fig. 5). These were the result
A B C D E F
of inherent variations associated with the machining, grinding
Die insert label
and polishing processes used to manufacture the die corner
Fig. 3. Average values surface roughness for each die corner insert used in this inserts. The profile defect near the beginning of the die radius
study. Error bars show 7 1 standard deviation. (i.e., in the region of y ¼0 to 201) is common due to the difficulty

5.1
Ideal, R4.907mm
5
Measured
4.9
z [mm]

0°

4.8 angle on die

radius, θ [°]
4.7

4.6
-0.5 -0.4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
x [mm]

0.015
Profile deviation from ideal [mm]

Ideal, R4.907mm
0.01
Measured
0.005

-0.005

-0.01

-0.015
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75
Angle on die radius, θ [°]

Fig. 4. (a) Measured die radius profile compared to an ideal circular radius profile shape, at the region near y ¼ 01 on the die radius. (b) Deviation of the measured profile
from the ideal profile shape. The case shown is the profile measurement for Die F (prior to testing at 10 mm from the die reference edge), with the ideal radius ri calculated
to be 4.907 mm.
48 M.P. Pereira et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 66 (2013) 44–53

Profile deviation from ideal [mm]

Profile deviation from ideal [mm]
0.015 0.015
Die A Die B
0.01 0.01

0.005 0.005

0 0

-0.005 -0.005

-0.01 -0.01

-0.015 -0.015
-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Angle on die radius, θ [°] Angle on die radius, θ [°]
Measurement location (distance from die edge) Calculated radius Measurement location (distance from die edge) Calculated radius
10 mm 15 mm 20 mm R4.965 mm 10 mm 15 mm 20 mm R4.933 mm

Profile deviation from ideal [mm]

Profile deviation from ideal [mm]

0.015 0.015
Die C Die D
0.01 0.01

0.005 0.005

0 0

-0.005 -0.005

-0.01 -0.01

-0.015 -0.015
-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Angle on die radius, θ [°] Angle on die radius, θ [°]
Measurement location (distance from die edge) Calculated radius Measurement location (distance from die edge) Calculated radius
10 mm 15 mm 20 mm R4.935 mm 10 mm 15 mm 20 mm R4.930 mm
Profile deviation from ideal [mm]
Profile deviation from ideal [mm]

0.015 0.015
Die E Die F
0.01 0.01

0.005 0.005

0 0

-0.005 -0.005

-0.01 -0.01

-0.015 -0.015
-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Angle on die radius, θ [°] Angle on die radius, θ [°]
Measurement location (distance from die edge) Calculated radius Measurement location (distance from die edge) Calculated radius
10 mm 15 mm 20 mm R4.813 mm 10 mm 15 mm 20 mm R4.906 mm

Fig. 5. Deviation of measured die corner profiles with respect to an ideal circular profile shape, for each of the die radius inserts used in this study. The profile
measurement location (distance from edge) is shown schematically in Fig. 2a.

of accurately manufacturing the transition from the flat to shown in Fig. 8, where the six images of the die radius surfaces
cylindrical surfaces at the die corner. The maximum profile are each comprised of 36 individual optical micrographs stitched
deviation for Dies A and B (see Fig. 5a and b) were less than together.
4 mm for the entire measurement region, indicating that these are
very close to an ideal radius profile. Additionally, the surface 2.5. Numerical model
profile shape was very consistent across the individual die corner
insert surfaces, as evidenced by the close similarity between the The numerical analysis techniques used in this study were
three profile deviation measurements for each die corner insert based on the Abaqus finite element model and Python post-
(Fig. 5). processing scripts developed by Pereira et al. [8,18]. Further
description of the numerical setup, modeling procedure, analysis
2.4. Optical microscopy of results, etc., can be found in the stated references.
The channel forming process was simulated using a non-linear
After the stamping wear tests, a series of digital micrographs implicit FEA code (ABAQUS/Standard Version 6.9–1 [23]), with
were captured, using a 10  optical lens on an Olympus BX51M the analysis simplified to a one-half symmetric, two-dimensional,
microscope, to visually characterize the worn die radii surfaces. A plane strain problem. The finite element mesh primarily consisted
set of holders were designed and manufactured to accurately of four-node, bilinear, plane strain, reduced integration point,
position the die corner inserts on the optical microscope stage at quadrilateral elements (CPE4R) with enhanced hourglass control.
angles of 0 to 801 from the horizontal, in 101 increments. The The mesh was significantly refined in the region of the die and
digital micrographs were taken at 1 mm increments, from 5 to blank interface to permit a converged contact pressure solution at
25 mm from the die insert edge, along the transverse direction at the die radius. An elastic–plastic material definition was used for
each angle. At key regions of interest, the individual micrographs the blank, with the hardening curve based on tabulated tensile
were manually ‘stitched’ together, to obtain a complete view of test data for the DP780 sheet steel. An elastic material definition
the cylindrical die radii surfaces. The results of this process will be was used for the tools (die, punch and holder), with the elastic
 M.P. Pereira et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 66 (2013) 44–53
modulus set to 205 GPa for all components. The interactions
between the blank and tool surfaces were defined using a ‘hard
contact’ relationship for the behavior in the normal direction, and
an isotropic penalty friction formulation for the tangential direc-
tion, with a friction coefficient of 0.15.
Two finite element models were constructed to simulate an
idealized R5.0 mm die radius profile and a R5.0 mm die radius
profile with a minor shape defect. As shown in Fig. 6, the profile
defect was located between y ¼01 and y ¼201 on the die radius,
and protruded up to 15 mm over the ideal R5.0 mm radius. The
error minimization routine, described in Section 2.3.2, was
applied to the numerical profile (see dashed curve in Fig. 6).
For the finite element model with shape defect, the maximum
profile deviation after error minimization, dmax, was 11.7 mm and
located at y ¼ 101. The shape, location and size of the finite
element model die corner profile defect is representative of the
profile shapes of the dies corner inserts examined experimentally,
with particular similarities to Die F (see Fig. 5f).
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Experimental tool life and wear distribution
The number of parts to failure and the wear distribution over
the die radius was examined for each die corner profile shape.
Failure was determined by visual inspection of the center region
of the sidewalls of the formed parts, as described in Section 2.1.
An example of the sidewalls of the stamped parts, at the begin-
ning and end of the wear tests, is shown in Fig. 7a. Fig. 7b shows a
0.02
Profile deviation from ideal [mm]
0.015
0.01
0.005
0
-0.005
-0.01
-10 0 10 20 30 40
Angle on die radius, θ[°]
FEA die profile with defect
FEA die profile with defect (after error minimisation)
Fig. 6. Shape of die corner profile ‘defect’ simulated in the finite element model of
the stamping process.
Die E
1st part formed
Fig. 7. Sidewalls of stamped parts for each of the wear tests (careful lighting and flash photography was used to accentuate the scratches). (a) Sidewall of stamped parts at the
beginning and end of the wear tests using Die E. (b) Magnified view of sidewalls of stamped parts at the end of the wear tests for all dies, showing the existence of severe scratches.
49
magnified view of a small region of the sidewalls to illustrate the
severe scratches evident at the end of the wear tests for each of
the six die corner inserts tested.
Fig. 7 shows that there are large differences in the number of
parts to failure for each of the die corner inserts examined—
ranging from 365 parts for Die F, to 5200 parts for Die B. Note that
each of the tests were conducted using the same materials and
operating conditions; with the only difference between each of
the tests being the minor differences in die corner profile shapes
(shown in Fig. 5) resulting from the inherent manufacturing
variation.
Fig. 8 provides a concise visual summary of the wear behavior
(i.e., location, severity and mechanisms) over the die corner
radius surfaces at the end of the tests. It is first worth highlighting
a few general features of the die surfaces and stitched micro-
graphs. Firstly, any non-horizontal markings on the die radii are
likely to be manufacturing grinding marks or defects, which were
present on the surfaces prior to the beginning of the tests. These
mainly vertical machining grinding marks are particularly evident
in Fig. 8b, which compares well with the increased roughness
measured along the sliding direction for Die B (see Fig. 3).
Additionally, Fig. 8 shows a pattern of lighter and darker
regions on the die radius surface, at approximately 101 incre-
ments. This phenomenon is not a feature of the surface, but
occurs because each image is composed of a series of individual
micrographs of the cylindrically-shaped die surface, captured at
101 increments. The surface in the middle of each micrograph is
approximately normal to the line-of-sight of the microscope lens
and, therefore, appears brighter. The normals of the surface to the
left and right of the center of the image are at increasing angles
from the lens’ line-of-sight and, therefore, the image appears
darker.
Finally, the area on the die shown in Fig. 8 corresponds to the
region of the part shown in Fig. 7. Hence, the wear on the die
surfaces (Fig. 8) can be visually correlated to the scratches
observed on the part sidewalls (Fig. 7). The most severe wear
mechanism at these locations is galling, which is responsible for
failure of the stamping process.
3.2. Effect of die profile shape on contact pressure
Using the method described by Pereira et al. [8], the contact
50 60 70
pressure distribution over the die radius and its evolution
throughout the stamping process is shown in Fig. 9 for the two
stamping simulations examined in this current study.
The contact pressure behavior over the die corner with the
shape defect (Fig. 9b) shows qualitative similarities to that over
the ideal die radius (Fig. 9a). In particular, the distinct transient
and steady contact zones defined by Pereira et al. [8] are evident.
5mm
Die A Die B Die C Die D Die E Die F
th th th
2700th part 5200 part 3550 part 430 part 1970th part 365th part
Die E
1970th part formed
50 M.P. Pereira et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 66 (2013) 44–53

19 17

20 18

21 19

22 20
-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Distance from edge of die radius insert [mm]

8 13

7 12

6 11

5 10
-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

13 13

12 12

11 11

10 10
-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Angle on die radius, θ [°] Angle on die radius, θ [°]
Fig. 8. Surfaces of die corner inserts at the end of the wear tests. The blank sliding direction is from left to right. Fig. 2 contains an explanation of the ordinate and abscissa.
Vertical arrows indicate the approximate ‘critical wear location’ (refer to Section 4.4). (a) Die A–2700 parts formed. (b) Die B–5200 parts formed. (c) Die C–3550 parts
formed. (d) Die D–430 parts formed. (e) Die E–1970 parts formed. (f) Die F–365 parts formed.

Furthermore, the contact pressure magnitude and distribution
was similar during the transient stage for both finite element
models. This indicates that the simulated change to the die profile
shape has little effect on the transient contact pressure behavior.
The steady stage was characterized by an approximately
constant contact pressure distribution over the die radius. For
both die corner profiles simulated, this stage corresponds to
approximately the last two thirds of the stamping process (i.e.,
from 15 to 40 mm of punch travel). However, as highlighted by
Fig. 9c, the shape defect on the die profile produced a large change
in the steady contact pressure distribution, resulting in a more
than doubling of the peak contact pressure during this stage. For
the ideal die radius simulation, the predicted peak contact
pressure during the steady stage was 675 MPa. However, for the
simulation with the die profile shape defect, the predicted peak
contact pressure during the steady stage was 1505 MPa, which
was similar in magnitude to the peak contact pressure during the
transient stage ( 1500 MPa). Additionally, the location of peak
contact pressure during the steady stage (at y E101) corresponded
to the location of the maximum profile shape deviation (see Fig. 6).
This represents a slight shift in the steady stage peak contact
pressure location, which occurs at y E31 for the ideal profile shape.
These results show that the minor change in simulated die
profile shape had a significant influence on the magnitude of the
contact pressure experienced at the die radius. Considering the
power law relationship between wear and contact pressure [1], it
is highly plausible that this type of profile shape change will have
a significant influence on the wear rate and behavior experienced
at the die radius.
3.3. Effect of die profile shape on wear distribution and behavior
The die corner profile of Die A had the smallest deviation in
shape from an ideal circular die radius (dmax is 2.4 mm for Die A,
refer to Fig. 5a). Therefore, this die corner profile can be con-
sidered as an approximately ideal circular die radius shape.
Careful examination of the wear distribution over the die corner
for Die A (Fig. 8a) shows that galling originates near the beginning
of the die radius, at approximately y ¼31. The most severe
ploughing/abrasion mechanisms are also evident at this region.
Therefore, this can be considered to be the ‘critical wear location’,
as it is the region at which the most severe wear mechanisms –
and hence failure of the process – originates. For Die A, this
critical wear location (at y E31) correlates with the location of
peak contact pressure observed during the steady stage of the
ideal radius FEA simulation (see Fig. 9a).
On Die A, subsequent galling is evident at y ¼201 to y ¼501. As
described by Pereira et al. [9] for a similar wear process, the large
 M.P. Pereira et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 66 (2013) 44–53 51

40 40

35 35

30 30

Punch travel [mm]

25 25

20 20

15 15

10 10

5 5

0 0
-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Angle on die radius, θ [°] Angle on die radius, θ [°]

1600
FEA Ideal R5mm profile
Contact pressure [MPa]

1400
FEA R5mm profile with ‘defect’ 0 250 500 750 1000 1250 1500
1200
Contact pressure [MPa]
1000
800
600
90°
400
200
0° Angle on die
0
-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 radius,θ [°]
Angle on die radius, θ [°]

Fig. 9. Contact pressure distribution over the die corner for the two die profile shapes examined using FEA. (a and b) Evolution of contact pressure throughout the duration
of the stamping process, (c) contact pressure at the end of the stamping process. (a) FEA Ideal R5mm profile. (b) FEA R5mm profile with ‘defect‘. (c) Both FEA dies @40 mm
punch travel.

amount of transferred material at this location can be attributed 6000

to the two-stage nature of the galling process.
Careful examination of the surfaces of Dies B to F reveals that B
5000
Number of parts formed [-]

the critical wear location (detailed by the vertical arrows in Fig. 8)

approximately correlates to the location of the maximum profile 4000
shape deviation on each die (see Fig. 5b to f). For example, the C
critical wear locations for Dies E and F are at approximately y ¼8 3000
to 91, which compares well to the locations of maximum profile A
deviation shown in Fig. 5e and f. This shift in critical wear location E
2000
from the ideal die radius also correlates with the shift in the
location of the steady stage maximum contact pressure predicted
1000
in the finite element model with the shape defect.
D F
3.4. Effect of die profile shape on tool life 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Maximum profile deviation from ideal, δmax[µm]
To quantify the effect of the change in die corner profile shape
on the wear behavior, the tool life for each die corner insert was Fig. 10. Effect of die radius profile shape on number of parts to failure for the six
plotted against the measured value of dmax (Fig. 10). It is evident die corner inserts examined in the experimental sheet metal stamping wear tests.
that there is a trend between the maximum height of the profile The solid line is the calculated linear line of best fit for the six data points.
defect and the number of parts to failure. In particular, the results
show that very small profile shape defects (of approximately
10 mm in height) have a significant influence on the life of the be attributed to other factors: such as the higher values of
stamping dies examined. For example, the worst performing die roughness along the blank sliding direction, caused by machine
(which had the largest profile shape defect), showed a 93% grinding marks transverse to the sliding direction, which may
reduction in tool life compared to the best performing die (which serve to trap lubricant and improve the wear performance.
had the second smallest profile shape deviation from ideal). The linear experimental trend between tool life and dmax is not
The tool life for the die corner inserts with the smallest profile an exact fit (see Fig. 10). This can be attributed to the inherent
deviations (Dies A, B, C) compare well with tool life reported for a experimental scatter associated with wear testing. It is also likely
similar set of die and blank materials, tool geometry and process that the shape and location of the profile defect will influence tool
conditions [19]. Die B (dmax ¼3.6 mm) experienced the largest life. Although the die corner inserts used in this study displayed a
number of parts prior to failure. It is likely that this long tool life is qualitatively similar location and shape of profile defect, there
primarily due to the accuracy of the profile shape. However, the were some notable differences. For example, Die D shows a more
increased tool life of Die B compared to Die A (dmax ¼2.4 mm) may localized (sharper) profile defect compared to Die E (i.e., compare
52 M.P. Pereira et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 66 (2013) 44–53
Fig. 5d to e). This shape effect may be the cause of the reduced
tool life for Die D compared to Die E.
3.5. Discussion
This study has identified that small die corner profile defects
(circa 10 mm in height), can result in large decreases in tool life. It
was shown that this type of die profile shape defect causes a large
increase in the contact pressure at the die radius, which is known
to increase the wear rate and the likelihood of galling. The overall
effect appears to be similar to that identified by Schedin [24] for
asperity-scale defects (e.g., less than 1 mm in height) on the tool
surface, which act as initiation sites for the sheet material transfer
that leads to galling. However, it should be emphasized that this
current study focuses on larger ‘defects’ relating to changes in the
overall shape (form) of the die profile, and not asperity-scale
modifications. In all cases examined in this study, the surface
roughness (and, hence, asperity-scale defects) was approximately
similar.
With regard to the current study, there was a shift in galling
location to the beginning of the die radius; compared to previous
work [9] using a similar process (which used slower and unlu-
bricated operating conditions). It is possible that this change in
the primary galling location is due in part to the friction and
deformation heating resulting from the higher forming speeds
used. It has been predicted that large increases in temperature
occur at the region of y ¼01 to y ¼ 101 for similar stamping
conditions [25].
The results of this analysis have direct relevance to stamping
engineers, tool designers and die maintenance technicians. It has
been stated that the industry standard for dimensional accuracy
of tool surfaces is 750 mm, but the true dimensional accuracy
may be in the range of 50 to 100 mm for stamping dies with
complex surfaces [22]. The die corner inserts used this investiga-
tion conformed to much smaller geometric tolerances – i.e., a
720 mm profile tolerance was used in this study – using similar
manufacturing techniques that are employed in industry. How-
ever, it was shown that minute deviations from an ideal die radius
profile of approximately 10 to 15 mm can result in more than a
90% reduction in tool life. Therefore, it is evident that the die
surface geometry specification and manufacture should be tightly
controlled, particularly at the die corner radius region.
Additionally, the results indicate that existing die maintenance
procedures may need to be reexamined. It is often common
practice in the press shop to hand grind and hand polish dies
that have experienced wear issues, in order to remove galling or
scoring that has occurred on the die surface. The experience of the
authors during this investigation has revealed that the die profile
shape can be rapidly modified through hand polishing, even with
the very careful use of fine 1200 grit sand paper. Hence, it is easily
conceivable that hand polishing and grinding during tool main-
tenance in the press shop can inadvertently produce shape
defects of the type and size examined in this study (or larger),
thus adversely affecting tool performance and further exacerbat-
ing wear and galling issues.
4. Conclusions
This paper examined the influence of small changes to the die
corner radius shape on the wear behavior and tool life of sheet
metal stamping dies. A novel technique was used to test and
characterize the die profile shape and wear behavior, based on a
semi-industrial channel forming process. It was found experi-
mentally that small and localized profile shape changes of less
than 15 mm from an ideal die corner radius profile can result in an
approximately 90% reduction in tool life. Numerical simulation
showed that this type of shape ‘defect’ can increase the local
contact pressures experienced by more than 100%, hence explain-
ing the large adverse changes in tool life observed. The experi-
mentally determined tool life results showed an approximately
linear relationship between the maximum height of the profile
defect and the number of parts to failure for the die profile shapes
examined. In addition, it was shown that the location on the die
radius surface that was critical to the wear response was closely
related to the location of maximum profile deviation from the
ideal circular radius.
This is the first time that a strong relationship between the life
of sheet metal stamping dies and small die profile shape changes
(in the order of approximately 10 mm) has been identified. In all
cases, the differences in profile shape were the result of the
natural variation associated with the manufacturing processes
employed in the tool-making industry, and were well within the
maximum error permitted via the ‘industry standard’. The results
and conclusions presented in this paper indicate that careful
control over die manufacture and maintenance procedures can
result in significant improvements in tool life via the reduction of
localized shape defects and the resulting increased contact pressures
between the blank and die. Therefore, these findings are of direct
importance to stamping engineers and tooling designers.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the Cooperative Research
Centre for Advanced Automotive Technology (AutoCRC). The
authors extend their gratitude to Professor Peter Hodgson from
Deakin University for his support.
References
[1] R.G. Bayer, Engineering Design for Wear, second ed., Marcel Dekker, New
York, 2004.
[2] S. Christiansen, L. De Chiffre, Topographic characterization of progressive
wear on deep drawing dies, Tribology Transactions 40 (1997) 346–352.
[3] M. Eriksen, The influence of die geometry on tool wear in deep drawing, Wear
207 (1997) 10–15.
[4] K. Ersoy-Nürnberg, G. Nürnberg, M. Golle, H. Hoffmann, Simulation of wear
on sheet metal forming tools—An energy approach, Wear 265 (2008)
1801–1807.
[5] D. Hortig, D. Schmoeckel, Analysis of local loads on the draw die profile with
regard to wear using the FEM and experimental investigations, Journal of
Materials Processing Technology 115 (2001) 153–158.
[6] M.R. Jensen, F.F. Damborg, K.B. Nielsen, J. Danckert, Applying the finite-
element method for determination of tool wear in conventional deep-
drawing, Journal of Materials Processing Technology 83 (1998) 98–105.
[7] J. Mortensen, J. Dirks, P. Christensen, A combined physical and numerical
simulation of tool performance in conventional deep-drawing operations, in:
Proceedings of the 18th Biennial Congress of the International Deep Drawing
Research Group (IDDRG), Lisbon, Portugal, 1994, pp. 233–240 .
[8] M.P. Pereira, W. Yan, B.F. Rolfe, Contact pressure evolution and its relation to
wear in sheet metal forming, Wear 265 (2008) 1687–1699.
[9] M.P. Pereira, W. Yan, B.F. Rolfe, Wear at the die radius in sheet metal
stamping, Wear 274–275 (2012) 355–367.
[10] A.R. Shahani, I. Salehinia, Analysis of wear in deep-drawing process of a
cylindrical cup, Journal of Materials Processing Technology 200 (2008)
451–459.
[11] X.Z. Wang, S.H. Masood, Optimisation of die radius geometry in sheet metal
stamping, Advanced Materials Research 337 (2011) 350–353.
[12] X.Z. Wang, S.H. Masood, Investigation of die radius arc profile on wear
behaviour in sheet metal processing of advanced high strength steels,
Materials & Design 32 (2011) 1118–1128.
[13] M.R. Jensen, F.F. Damborg, K.B. Nielsen, J. Danckert, Optimization of the
draw-die design in conventional deep-drawing in order to minimise tool
wear, Journal of Materials Processing Technology 83 (1998) 106–114.
[14] M.S. Joun, S.M. Hwang, Optimal process design in steady-state metal forming
by finite element method-II . Application to die profile design in extrusion,
International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 33 (1993) 63–70.
[15] Z. Lin, X. Juchen, W. Xinyun, H. Guoan, Optimization of die profile for
improving die life in the hot extrusion process, Journal of Materials Proces-
sing Technology 142 (2003) 659–664.
 M.P. Pereira et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 66 (2013) 44–53
[16] M. Weiss, M.P. Pereira, B.F. Rolfe, T.B. Hilditch, Wear mechanisms in forming
of HSS and AHSS, in: Proceedings of the International Deep Drawing Research
Group (IDDRG) 2009 International Conference, Golden, CO, 2009, pp. 693–
702 .
[17] M. Liljengren, K. Kjellsson, D. Wiklund, Guidelines for die materials, hard-
ening methods and surface coatings for forming of high, extra high and ultra
high strength steel sheets (HSS/EHSS/UHSS), in: Proceedings of the Interna-
tional Deep Drawing Research Group (IDDRG) 2008 International Conference,
Olofström, Sweden, 2008, pp. 603–614 .
[18] M.P. Pereira, W. Yan, B.F. Rolfe, Sliding distance, contact pressure and wear in
sheet metal stamping, Wear 268 (2010) 1275–1284.
[19] O. Sandberg, P.-Å. Bustad, B. Carlsson, M. Fällström, T. Johansson, Character-
isation of tool wear in stamping of EHS and UHS steel sheets, in: Proceedings
of the International Conference on Recent Advances in Manufacture and Use
of Tools and Dies and Stamping of Steel Sheets, Olofström, Sweden, 2004,
pp. 151–170 .
[20] L.N. López de Lacalle, A. Lamikiz, J.A. Sánchez, J.L. Arana, Improving the
surface finish in high speed milling of stamping dies, Journal of Materials
Processing Technology 123 (2002) 292–302.
53
[21] C.K. Toh, Design, evaluation and optimisation of cutter path strategies when
high speed machining hardened mould and die materials, Materials & Design
26 (2005) 517–533.
[22] L.N. López de Lacalle, A. Lamikiz, J. Muñoa, M.A. Salgado, J.A. Sánchez,
Improving the high-speed finishing of forming tools for advanced high-
strength steels (AHSS), The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing
Technology 29 (2006) 49–63.
[23] Dassault Syste mes Simulia Corp., Abaqus Version 6.9 Documentation, Das-
sault Syste mes, Providence, RI, 2009.
[24] E. Schedin, Galling mechanisms in sheet forming operations, Wear 179
(1994) 123–128.
[25] M.P. Pereira, P.C. Okonkwo, W. Yan, B.F. Rolfe, Deformation and frictional
heating in relation to wear in sheet metal stamping, Steel Research
International—Special Issue: Proceedings of the 13th International Confer-
ence on Metal Forming 81 (2010) 713–716 .