The Influence of the Zinc Phosphate Coating on

the Coefficient of Friction when Cold Heading

AISI 1018 Steel Wire
J. L. Tevaarwerk'l A. Plumtreea and R. Sowerby3'

A Waterbury-Farrel cold heading machine was instrumented so that the
total force and frictional force could be recorded during the first blow
operation of AISI 1018 steel wire and the efficiency of various lubri-
cants, including zinc phosphate, was evaluated.
Zinc phosphate and other bonded lubricants did not offer any distinct
advantage in reducing the coefficient of friction between the wire and
the central bore of the first blow punch whereas a low cost liquid lubri-
cant, SAE 30 oil, used either alone on bare wire or with bonded lubri-
cants proved to be the most effective. It is suggested that a low cost
liquid lubricant, such a s SAE 30 oil, used on bare wire bas both econ-
omic and operational advantages under conditions where n o extrusion
is carried out during the first blow.

1. Introduction
The presence of friction in metal working operations influ-
ences die and tool wear, the loads to plastically deform the
material and the degree of redundant work. I n most forming
operations it is extremely difficult to maintain effective lubri-
cation between the workpiece and forming tools; for this
reason lubricants like zinc-phosphate which are bonded ei-
ther physically or chemically, to the surface of the workpiece
are often employed. However, subsequent processes may be
performed on the deformed workpiece which may necessi-
tate the removal of any bonded lubricant, thus raising the
overall costs.
The object of this present work is to attempt to assess the
effectiveness of zinc-phosphate as a lubricant in tke cold
heading process in comparison with other commonly avail-
able lubricants.
2. Experimental
The heading tests were performed on a Waterbury-Farrel
double blow heading machine set up to produce the equiva-
lent of 100 components per minute. In a previous article [l]
the authors have described the machine and the heading op-
eration in greater detail.
Fig. 1 shows the experimental arrangement for this present
series of tests for the first blow operation only. It will be
clear from this diagram that the wire was pushed from the
bore (this was a carbide insert) of the first blow punch by
the central pin. Since no die cavity was employed in the
The load cell (I), in Fig. 1, made contact with the central pin
and recorded the total upsetting force, F,; comprised of
the frictional force, FF, and the force to upset the wire. Load
cell (11), located in the fixed die, recorded the frictional force
together with the spring force. Since the spring constant and
displacement were known the spring force could be separat-
ed from the reading of load cell (11) to yield the frictional
force FF.
The load response from each load cell was displayed on an
oscilloscope screen. An example of the total force, frictional
force and spring force traces, as the wire was displaced, is
shown in Fig. 2.
The material used throughout all of these tests was
3.33 x m diameter, AISI 1018steel wire which had been
spheroidized at 3.45 x m diameter, cleaned and drawn
to size without any lubrication. Thus initially the wire pos-
sessed a relatively clean surface (bare wire). The mechanical
properties of the wire are given in Table 1.
A number of lubricants were employed both alone and in
combination with others. However, for conciseness only the
results of two groups of lubricants will be given, since these
reveal the main features of the experimental findings. Group
force balance on
element dx
1 px lPPx

first blow punch, the wire was free to form its own head
shape. The head shape of the finished component, which is
controlled by the second blow punch in the heading opera-
tion, will dictate whether a free forming operation is accept-
able during the first blow. Wherever possible the free
forming operation is to be recommended since it reduces
the initial cost of the first blow punch and also results in
longer punch life.

1 Research Assistant, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Uni-

versity of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
2 Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Uni- IT1D(1I Lspacer pin
versity of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
3 Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Fig. 1. Schematic diagram showing arrangement of load cells in the
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. punch and die. Inset shows force balance on the wire in the punch.

Z . f. W e r k s t o f f t e c h n i k 1 7 . of Materials Technology 5 . Jahrg. 1974 I Nr.8 41 3

1 covers lubricants which were either physically or chemi- Table 2. List of Lubricants Used
cally bonded to the surface of the wire; Group 2 consisted of Tabelle 2. Verwendete Schmierstoffe
the Group 1 lubricants used in conjunction with SAE 30 oil. Test Bonded Solid Liquid Group
The oil was applied to the wire by feed rolls. Table 2 sum- No. Lubricant Lubricant Lubricant No.
marizes the lubricants employed.
~

1 none none none 1

2 Zinc phosphate none none 1
It is important to note that for each lubricant over 100 up-
3 50% PTFE in resin none none 1
setting operations were performed and once steady state 4 45% graphite in resin none none 1
conditions had been established a photographic record of 5 45% MoS, in resin none none 1
the force traces on the oscilloscope was taken. On each ex- G Zinc phosphate none SAE-30 2
posure about 30 blows were recorded; in general the scatter 7 45% MoS, in resin none SAE-30 2
8 50% PTFE in resin none SAE-30 2
was minimal indicating the repeatability of the operation. 9 45'34 graphite in resin none SAE-30 2
10 none none SAE-30 2
Table 1. Mechanical Properties of AISI 1018 Steel Wire
Tabelle 1. Mechanische Eigenschaften des Drahtwerkstoffes
~~ ~
6 im --z
Yield Stress Yield Stress Tensile Strength Natural 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 1 5 6
Compression Tension Strain
0.2% Offset 0.2% Offset to Insta- 015
bility

kp/mm2 MN/m2 kp/mm2 MN/m2 kp/mmZ MN/mZ lnl& !

2 009
OI2
40 392 38.5 377 49.2 483 0.161 -
'
3

Dispiacernent I m 10-3i
2 G
- 6
3.
DO6

003
1 j
' J total fbrce trace
from load c e l l I11
4 b 1 II 2
Length of w i r e remaining in the bore, 6 lrnrnl -
loo(
lo2
Fig. 3. Frictional coefficient values plotted against displacement for:
a) bonded lubricants, including zinc phosphate and bare wire
b) bonded lubricants, including zinc phosphate and bare wire used with

.T 75c
75
-
t SAE 30 oil.

- 0
c
w
c range between 0.015 to 0.040; note that these results include
n C
-
_z
-* 3
a,
the bare wire used with SAE 30 oil (test number 10).
a, 500 150 2
L
2
0
I ,frictional force trace
ifrom load cell (Ill i
a,
Y
0
4. Discussion
I t is clear that any form of lubrication reduces the coefficient
250 25 of friction from that observed with the bare wire. The re-
,spring force trace sults of Fig. 3(a) indicate that the zinc-phosphate coating is
in no way superior to the other bonded lubricants em-
ployed. Fig. 3(b) illustrates the advantage of a liquid lubri-
2 L 6 cant in reducing the magnitude of the coefficient of friction.
jiLolzl Displacement of punch, 61mrnl-
Significant in this respect is the result for bare wire with
Fig. 2. Typical load cell responses for a single blow showing the total SAE 30 oil, where the maximum calculated p value was in
force, frictional force and spring force vs. diplacement.
the order of 0.03.
3. Results It is proposed that the lower p values obtained with the li-
quid lubricant can be attributed to the occurrence of hydros-
The method used for calculating the coefficient of friction,
tatic lubrication. At the start of the operation the wire is
p, is described in the Appendix. The variation of p with 6,
caused to yield locally as it comes in contact with the central
the length of wire remaining the bore, is shown in Figs. 3(a)
pin. The bulk of the wire in the bore also yields and there-
and 3(b) for all the lubricants employed.
fore expands laterally until it is restrained by the surround-
The influence of the bonded lubricants (Group 1) is shown ing oil film. The formation of the head shape at the exit
in Fig. 3(a); also plotted in this diagram is the result for bare point of the bore and the local deformation of the wire in
wire without any lubrication (test number 1). The calculated contact with the pin provide a partial seal on the oil flow.
p value for the bare wire was in the range 0.12-0.15 and Thus the oil pressure can build up around the wire remain-
since sliding friction would be anticipated at the wire-bore ing in the bore resulting in hydrostatic lubrication.
interface the computed p value appears reasonable. The ad-
The results given here are comparative, based on the calcu-
&tion of bonded lubricants reduced p to within the range
lated coefficient of friction for each lubricant. Although a
0.03 to 0.065.
rather idealized theoretical technique has been employed to
Fig. 3(b) shows the results of the Group 2 lubricants, i. e., evaluate p, the absolute values appear to be of the correct
Group 1 used in conjunction with SAE 30 oil having a vis- order of magnitude for each of the different lubrication mo-
cosity of 0.240Nsm-2 at 28 "C. In this case the p values dels. It must also be pointed out that it has not been esta-

414 Z. f . Werkstofftechnik I ] .of Materials TeAnology 5 . Jahrg. 1974 I Nr. 8

blished how each lubricant affects die life in the long term. FORCE OVER SECTION A‘ - FORCE OVER SEC-
However it seems reasonable to assume that die life bears TION A = THE FRICTIONAL FORCE OVER dx, dFF.
some inverse relationship to the calculated p values and
From assumption (ii) the normal pressure over dx is taken
therefore this quantity may be used to rank the effectiveness
equal to the pressure over A. Hence
of each lubricant.
dFF = z D p P, dx
Consequently the results of this investigation imply that
from economical and operational considerations, SAE 30 oil Thus
applied to the bare wire would he the most effective form of
n D2
lubrication when cold heading steel wire under conditions
where no extrusion takes place during the first blow.
(Px + dPx) --Px
4
76 D2
- 4
= j
z Dp P, dx,

I t is recognized that other considerations may dictate the or

surface conditions of the wire prior to the cold heading oper-
ation. For example, a bonded lubricant, like zinc-phosphate, -=-. 4 p d x
dP,
may have been used as a lubricant in a prior wire drawing
Px D
operation and consequently there would be no reason to re- Integrating (1) results in
move this coating before heading the wire. However since a
zinc-phosphate coating is not a prerequisite to a wire draw-
ing operation then it would be cheaper not to employ a
P, = c exp r~) ,
bonded coating if this has to be ultimately removed. where C is a constant of integration and p remains constant
It is also worthwhile noting that if a liquid lubricant is em- from assumption (i).
ployed in the cold heading process then this may necessitate When x = 6, the length of wire in the bore,
vents or relief holes in some of the dies in order to relieve
the pressure of the entrapped lubricants. However even ‘so-
P s = 4FT
- (3)
lid’ lubricants can lead to operational difficulties if care is zD2 ’
not taken to avoid accumulation of the lubricant deposited
in the dies. where FT is read from the total force trace for a given 6.
Hence from (2) and (3),
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to express their thanks to the National Research
Cot/ncil of Canada for the support of this work throt/gh Grants ZDZ
A-2770 and A-8120. Whenx = 0,

Literature p0 -- c = -4 Fo (5)
[l] J. L. Tevaarwerk, R. Sowerby and A. Phmtrce. Z. Metallkunde 63, nD2 ’
(1972) 367. where F0 is taken to be the force acting over the exit point of
the bore. Hence from (4) and (5)
Appendix
A Theoretical Model for Evaluating the Coefficient
of Friction, p
FT = Fo exp
(“g
-.
From a force balance analysis
A section of the punch boreis considered the first blow op-
eration, see Fig. 1,and a force balance is performed on a small FT- Fo = TOTAL FRICTIONAL FORCE, FF, (7)
segment, dx, of the wire in the central bore. Note that the
clearance between the wire and the bore is very much less where FF is determined from the frictional force trace for a
than the bore diameter, D. given 6.

The two following assumptions were made: Substituting (7) into (6) and rewriting in terms of p, gives,
i) The coefficient of friction is constant over the length of
wire in the bore, 6. Thus only an average value of p is eval-
uated.
ii) Once the central pin makes contact with the wire the ma-
Equation (8) was used to evaluate p for the different lubri-
terial begins to yield locally. The remainder of the wire in
cants. Note that p was calculated over the range BC as
the bore also undergoes yielding and the lateral expansion is
shown in Fig. 2; in other words after the steep rise in the to-
restrained by the bore (or any surrounding lubrication). At
tal and frictional force traces. Over the initial portion of
this stage the wire in the bore is under a stress system very
the curves, AB, the wire was being expanded to fill the bore
nearly equal to balanced triaxial compression.
and the proposed theoretical model is less suited to this part
Performing a force balance on the segment, dx, results in, of the operation.

Z. f. Werkstofftechnik 17. of Muterials Technology 5.7ahrg. 1974 I Nr. 8 415