Tribology Transactions

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On the Analysis of Die Wear in Wire-Drawing

Process

Abdelkader Haddi , Abdellatif Imad & Guillaume Vega

To cite this article: Abdelkader Haddi , Abdellatif Imad & Guillaume Vega (2012) On the
Analysis of Die Wear in Wire-Drawing Process, Tribology Transactions, 55:4, 466-472, DOI:
10.1080/10402004.2012.671451

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Tribology Transactions, 55: 466-472, 2012
Copyright
C Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers

ISSN: 1040-2004 print / 1547-397X online

DOI: 10.1080/10402004.2012.671451

On the Analysis of Die Wear in Wire-Drawing Process

ABDELKADER HADDI,1,2 ABDELLATIF IMAD,1,3 and GUILLAUME VEGA4
1
Universite Lille Nord de France
F-59000 Lille, France
2

Laboratoire Genie
Civil et geo-Environnement (LGCgE)
Universite dArtois
Faculte des Sciences Appliquees

F-62400 Bethune, France
3

Laboratoire de Mecanique de Lille
CNRS UMR 8107
Universite de Lille 1
Avenue Paul Langevin
F-59655 Villeneuve dAscq, France
4
Nexans Research Centre
Boulevard du Marais
BP39, F-62301 Lens France

In the present article, the wire-drawing process is investi- (Saanouni (3); Norasethasopon and Yoshida (4)). Dominant
gated in order to estimate die wear using an experimental ap- factors influencing die wear are the wear coefficients between the
proach. Experiments were carried out on a drawing machine die and the wire, the surface pressures of the die, and the relative
involving industrial conditions. Dies made from tungsten car- length movement between the die and the wire (Archard (5)).
bide were examined using macroscopic and microscopic obser- Knowledge and control of wear often leads to successful metal-
forming operations. According to Wistreich (6), wear is most
vations to measure the wear ring located at the wiredie contact.
severe at the first contact point of the die. The author assumed
Two types of wires were used in this work: aluminum and cop-
that a wear ring occurs in the first contact point between the
per materials. The results obtained show that the die wear rate
wire and the die. Ali, et al. (7) indicated that the die wear is af-
has significant effects on the tolerances of the wire and on the fected by the lubrication conditions and the contact time between
die life. the workpiece and the die. Various models of friction/lubrication
have been developed for cold metal rolling, drawing (Le and
KEY WORDS Sutcliffe (8), (9)), and extrusion processes (Hsu, et al. (10)) under
Wire Drawing; Wear Rate; Experiment different lubrication conditions. The active lubrication regime
and appropriate friction factor were determined from the current
INTRODUCTION local values of interface variables such as mean lubricant film
In the wire-drawing process, the cross section is reduced thickness and workpiece and tooling roughness, in addition to
by forcing the wire through a series of dies. The drawing die the more traditional external variables such as interface pressure
is the most critical part, because it gives the final shape of the and strain rate of the workpiece. Kim, et al. (11) analyzed the die
wire. In the wire-drawing process, the die angle, coefficient of wear in cold wire drawing processes and compared the results of
friction, and area reduction have a major influence on stress simulations and tests. To understand the wear mechanisms, fric-
inhomogeneity and the wire quality as well as die wear (Bandar, tion measurements between steel wire and tungsten carbide dies
et al. (1); Vega, et al. (2)). Die wear is the predominant factor were performed by Hollinger, et al. (12). Their studies confirmed
affecting tool life in the drawing process by thermal load and that die wear is related to the heat generated in the contact zone
wiredie contact during the deformation process. The prediction during the forming process and that changes in lubricants can
of die life is very important to achieve good quality of finished significantly improve die life. The wear mechanisms of ceramic
products. The die wear in a wire-drawing process has significant drawing dies were investigated by Jianxin, et al. (13). They ob-
impacts on the wire industry (wire breaks, short die life, diameter served that the most common failure of ceramic drawing dies is
of wire out of tolerance), and the replacement of dies takes time wear at its approach zone. Christiansen and De Chiffre (14) ana-
lyzed progressive wear and other surface alteration processes that
take place in deep-drawing dies. They found that the maximum
Manuscript received August 4, 2011
Manuscript accepted February 20, 2012 wear takes place at angular positions of 20 and 70 along the die
Review led by Al Segall corner radius, with the minimum at 45 . Gillstrom and Jarl (15)

466
 Analysis of Die Wear in Wire-Drawing Process 467

evaluated the difference in die wear using wire rods descaled by MATERIALS AND EXPERIMENTS
two different treatments, pickling and reversed bending. The re- Experimental investigations of the wire-drawing process in-
sults indicated that the die in the sixth draft had wear an order of volved the measurement of die wear using an industrial multipass
magnitude lower compared to the die in the first draft. Recently, drawing machine for all of the drawing experiments mentioned in
thermomechanical analysis has been studied to characterize the this article. It was not possible to study the die wear for a deter-
interface conditions between the wire and die and to predict the mined quantity of drawn material, in terms of tonnage or drawn
temperature distribution at the die exit in a wire-drawing process length at similar drawing speed.
(Celentano (16); Haddi, et al. (17)). The temperature increase Die wear can be divided into three zones. The first wear zone
was generated by both friction and plastic deformations, which is around the first contact point between the wire and die. The
have significant effects on die wear. The main goal of this article second wear zone is the working cone and the third is the bearing
is to evaluate the die wear using experimental approach in order at the die exit (Fig. 1). The industrial drawing machine consists
to estimate tool life and to predict the possibility of repairing or of capstans around which wire is wound between two consecutive
changing the die in wire-drawing processes. drawing operations. Winding creates enough friction between the
The remainder of this article is organized as follows. The fol- wire and capstan to transmit the drawing force that pulls the wire
lowing section presents the materials and experiments. The next through series of dies. For each pass, the wire diameter decreases
section is devoted to the presentation of results and comments and the drawing speed increases.
on two types of wires, aluminum and copper. Finally, the major For this purpose, aluminum alloy and copper materials were
conclusions are summarized in the final section. used. These materials correspond to geometries usually used in

Fig. 1Multipass drawing machine: (1) first contact point zone, (2) working cone zone, and (3) bearing zone. (color figure available online.)
468 A. HADDI ET AL.

TABLE 1WIRE AND DIE MATERIALS RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Material Drawn Die Material Wire Diameter (mm) Drawing of Aluminum Alloy
Aluminum alloy 1370 Al Tungsten carbide 9.53.5 A multipass drawing machine (SAMP) was used to carry out
(97% Al) tests involving industrial conditions. The wire was drawn from
Copper Electrolytic 31.8 a 9.5- to 3.5-mm diameter with a velocity of 15 m/s. The whole
Tough Pitch (ETP) drawing system (capstans, dies) was fully immersed in a pure oil
(99% Cu) lubricant. During the wire-drawing process, a cooling system was
used to dissipate the heat generated by plastic deformation and
friction at the diematerial interface. The aim of this system is
to keep the temperature between 40 and 50 C and consequently
the wire-drawing industry and the test proposed requires the
save properties of the lubricant. An excessive temperature in-
manufacturd of dies (see Table 1). Table 2 shows the mechani-
crease during the wire-drawing process has a direct impact on
cal properties of the wire. The aluminum alloy wire was drawn
the mechanical properties of the drawn wire and decreases the
from a 9.5 to 3.5 mm diameter using a drawing machine with a lu-
viscosity of lubricant. Therefore, the thickness of the oil film is
brication system by immersion (whole oil). The copper wire was
reduced, leading to an increased coefficient of friction (Lee, et al.
drawn from a 3 to 1.8 mm diameter. The oilwater emulsion has
(19)). This phenomenon may cause severe die wear at the work-
been used as a lubricant and sprayed on dies and wires. The die
ing cone and bearing zone.
geometry was characterized by angle and area reduction r =
Experimental investigations of the die fall into two parts: first,
1 (Rf /Ri )2, where Ri and Rf are the initial and final radii (Fig.
measurement of the diameter of the dies and weight of the dies
1). The die was composed of a die core made of tungsten carbide
before and after drawing and, second, the microscopic observa-
(WC) inserted in a metallic casing. The chemical composition of
tions obtained by SEM. Dies were taken from an industrial plant
the used die material is as follows: cobalt 8%, tungsten 87%, and
after drawing 3.840 tons of product. Table 3 presents the results
carbon 5%. Tungsten carbide die is the essential part in the draw-
obtained for seven different dies before and after aluminum wire
ing machine to provide a final wire diameter whose geometry is
drawing. From these results, it is shown that the evolution of di-
defined with accurate requirements. A recent investigation has
ameter corresponds to a slight decrease in diameter due to a met-
indicated promising friction and wear properties for WC-Ni and
allization of aluminum particles contained in the lubricant. More-
WC-Co cemented carbide in dry sliding contacts (Bonny, et al.
over, the die weight increased after 3.84 tons of aluminum alloy
(18)).
wire drawing.
The dimensions of die were measured on a profile recorder
Results of the die diameter and weight measurements are
(Conoptica, Electro Optical Frame Cu10) before and after the
given in Table 3 and Fig. 2. All surfaces on the die were pol-
wire-drawing process. The profile recorder provides readings of
ished before wire drawing for good plastic material flow and low
die approach angle, diameter, ovality, and bearing length. After
friction values and cleaned after wire drawing for more accurate
drawing, dies worn during the drawing process were analyzed by
measurement of diameter and weight. The variation in diame-
scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The wear process has been
ter of die as a function of weight change is shown in Fig. 2. The
described by Archards wear model (Archard (5)). This model,
variation in diameter at the fifth (A5) and seventh passes (A7)
used to predict die wear in the wire-drawing process, is given by
had different values compared to other dies. These dies showed a
the equation

V kFn 0.08
W= =
L 3H
0.07
Diameter variation (mm)

where W is the worn volume per unit sliding distance, V is the 0.06
volume of the material removed by wear from the surface, L is 0.05
the sliding distance, k is a constant depending on the material
combination and contact conditions, Fn is the normal pressure, 0.04
and H is the hardness of the die.
0.03

0.02

TABLE 2MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF WIRE 0.01

Youngs Ultimate
0
Modulus Yield Stress Strength Fracture
(MPa) (MPa) (MPa) Strain (%) 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25
Die weight variation of (kg)
Aluminum 69,000 195 240 10
alloy
Fig. 2Variation in diameter of die related to weight change after 3.8 tons
Copper 120,000 320 350 6 of aluminum alloy wire drawing.
 Analysis of Die Wear in Wire-Drawing Process 469

TABLE 3RESULTS OF THE WEAR TESTS FOR 3.84 TONS OF ALUMINUM ALLOY WIRE DRAWING
Before drawing After drawing

Die diameter Reduction Die diameter Reduction Diameter Before drawing After drawing Weight
(mm) rate r (%) (mm) rate r (%) variation Die weight (g) Die weight (g) Variation

Entry wire 9.5 9.5

Die number
Al 8.32 23.30 8.30 23.65 0.019 307.16 307.30 0.1430
A2 7.23 24.49 7.21 24.58 0.021 263.59 263.76 0.1710
A3 6.25 25.27 6.22 25.51 0.028 280.49 280.66 0.1740
A4 5.44 24.24 5.37 25.59 0.073 274.02 274.20 0.1800
A5 4.7 25.36 4.66 24.50 0.037 241.86 242.00 0.1400
A6 4.08 24.64 4.01 26.03 0.069 279.66 279.85 0.1920
A7 3.5 26.41 3.49 24.25 0.009 253.79 253.95 0.1620

decreased variation in die diameter related to the increased slid- TABLE 4DIE WEAR RATE RESULTS
ing distance. This is because the lubricant was sprayed on die A7, Sliding Drawing Worn
whereas dies A1A6 were immersed in lubricant. Furthermore, Die Diameter distance speed volume Wear
the reduction rate decreasedby about 1% between dies A3 and numbers Variation (km) (m/s) (mm3) (mm3/m)
A4 and increased by about 1% between A4 and A5. A similar
Al 0.019 26 2.76 0.25 9.53E-06
phenomenon was also observed between dies A5, A6, and A7. A2 0.021 35 3.6 0.24 6.80E-06
The results show a linear correlation between variation in diame- A3 0.028 46 4.77 0.27 5.96E-06
ter and variation in weight. A4 0.073 61 6.4 0.62 1.02E-05
Figure 3 shows the wear ring observed for die A4 with a A5 0.0365 82 8.44 0.27 3.27E-06
diameter of 5.44 mm, which corresponds to the highest variation A6 0.069 109 11.3 0.44 4.02E-06
in diameter. It should be noted that the presence of a wear ring A7 0.009 148 15 0.05 3.34E-07
is clearly observable at the first point of the wiredie contact.
Microscopic observations of die at the first wiredie contact are
shown in Fig. 4. The defect is 640 m wide and 27 m deep. The The wear rate of seven dies after 3.840 tons of wire drawing
tungsten carbide dies for this type of aluminum alloy wire and is summarized in Table 4 and Fig. 5. The effect of the sliding dis-
the diameter range are changed around 500 km of drawn wires. tance on wear rate W is shown in Fig. 5 for aluminum material in
the bearing zone. The results show that the wear rate decreased
with increasing sliding distance and worn volume. This may be
explained by the presence of a metallic transfer inside the dies.
Indeed, aluminum is transferred to the die surface during wire-
drawing process. A slight augmentation of wear was observed at
fourth pass (A4). This can be explained by a 1% decrease in the
reduction rate compared to die A3; that is, from 25.27 to 24.24%.
A similar phenomenon was observed between die numbers A5
and A6. The lowest die wear occurred at the seventh pass (A7).

Fig. 4SEM observations of die wear at the first wiredie contact for
Fig. 3Wear ring located at the wiredie contact for die A4. (color figure die A4: width = 640 m, depth = 27 m. (color figure available
available online.) online.)
470 A. HADDI ET AL.

-6 -7
(x 10 ) (x 10 )
12 10
Experimental data
10 Linear regression 9

Wear rate (mm /m)

Wear rate (mm /m)

3
3

8 8

6
7

4
6
2
5
0 200 300 400 500 600
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Sliding distance (km)
Sliding distance (km)

Fig. 7Die wear rate versus sliding distance for copper wire. (color figure
Fig. 5Variation in die wear rate with sliding distance for aluminum wire. available online.)

This die was sprayed with lubricant, whereas the others were im- before and after the drawing process. Dies were taken from an
mersed in lubricant. industrial plant after drawing 12 tons of products.
In this part, the measurement results showed that variation
Drawing of Copper in die diameter increased after each pass. In Table 5, in the first
The copper wire was used, allowing a reduction in wire diam- die C1, the diameter of the incoming wire was 3 mm. For the
eter from 3 to 1.8 mm using four tungsten carbide dies. Drawing first pass, the diameter of the unused die was 2.6 mm and worn
speed was about 26 m/s and the whole drawing system was fully diameter was 2.65 mm. In this case, the change in die diameter
immersed in oilwater emulsion lubricant. Oil systems have increased by 0.05 mm. In the second die, C2, the incoming wire
cooling capabilities that reduce fluid temperature. However, diameter was the same as the outgoing from die C1. The diameter
if the contact area is significant, friction increases, creating an of the unused die was 2.3 mm, the worn diameter was 2.38 mm,
excessive temperature increase at the diewire interface (average and the change in diameter increased by 0.08 mm. For dies C3
temperature up to 100 C at drawing speed of about 20 m/s). This and C4, the variation in diameter increased by 0.12 and 0.16 mm,
increase in contact temperature can lead to a loss of viscosity of respectively. The variation in diameter ranged from 0.05 to 0.16
the lubricant film. A similar observation of the wiredie contact mm. From these results, it is shown that the final die diameter
related to the steel wire-drawing process has been reported was out of tolerance due to die wear. It should be noted that for
previously (Hollinger, et al. (12)) where two emulsions, A and B, die C4, the desired diameter was 1.8 mm, whereas the obtained
were used to examine the lubricant effect. In the present study, diameter after 12 tons of wire drawing is 1. 96 mm. This seems
to improve lubricant efficiency, a cooling system was used in consistent with a slight decrease in die weight after drawing (cf.
order to maintain the temperature of lubricant around 38 C. Table 5). Figure 6 confirms this finding, because a slight increase
The experimental investigations of the die wear of copper wire in the variation in diameter was measured after drawing 12 tons
involved the measurement of the diameter and weight of the dies of wire to obtain a 12 m wear at the first contact point. Once

Fig. 6Observation of deformed bearing zone and die wear at the working cone. (color figure available online.)
 Analysis of Die Wear in Wire-Drawing Process 471

TABLE 5RESULTS OF THE WEAR TESTS FOR 12 TONS OF COPPER WIRE DRAWING
Before drawing After drawing

Die diameter Reduction Die diameter Reduction Diameter Before drawing After drawing Weight
(mm) rate r (%) (mm) rate r (%) variation Die weight (g) Die weight (g) Variation

Entry wire 3 3
Die number
Cl 2.6 24.89 2.65 21.97 0.05 515.76 515.05 0.71
C2 2.3 21.75 2.38 19.34 0.08 520.03 519.97 0.06
C3 2 24.39 2.12 20.66 0.12 514.69 514.69 0
C4 1.8 19.00 1.96 14.52 0.16 518.86 518.81 0.05

TABLE 6DIE WEAR RESULTS FOR COPPER MATERIAL r A slight decrease in die diameter was observed for aluminum
Sliding Drawing Worn alloy due to metallization of the aluminum contained in the
Die Diameter distance speed volume Wear lubricant.
numbers variation (km) (m/s) (mm3) (mm3/m) r For copper wire, a slight increase in the variation in diameter
can be attributed to die wear in the bearing zone.
Cl 0.05 268 11.5 0.2060625 7.69E-07
r Finally, the amount of aluminum or copper wire to be drawn
C2 0.08 342 15.4 0.293904 8.59E-07
C3 0.12 453 19.66 0.388104 8.57E-07 is enormous, so the die wear rate must be maintained as low as
C4 0.16 560 26 0.472256 8.43E-07 possible in order to ensure that the final diameter of the wire
is not out of tolerance.

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