Due to high cost pressure, large-scale manufacturers are forced to make their workflows and processes increasingly efficient in order to remain competitive. The optimization of maintenance measures, such as the repair of forming dies, offers an opportunity to increase profitability and reproducible quality. "Innovative manufacturing technologies such as on-site machining by a mobile machine tool and modern production processes help to exploit this potential," explains Michael Keitel. He continues: "Maintenance and servicing measures can take several weeks to months, with transport times accounting for a large proportion of this. Mobile on-site machining offers the opportunity to reduce downtime due to maintenance measures at this point."
However, on-site machining on a mobile machine tool places special demands on the process. For example, conventional cooling, such as flood cooling lubrication, is not feasible. Therefore, it is necessary to adapt existing processes and tooling system to the changed conditions. To this end, the concept of dry machining is being pursued.
The foundations for this are to be laid in the research project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). In a first step, the optimization of grinding tools for dry machining is in the foreground. For this purpose, new tool concepts are being developed with the cooperation partner BDW-BINKA, which allow machining without cooling lubricant and at the same time meet the requirements for surface and edge zone properties, with sufficient tool life. Among other things, an innovative 3D printing process is used to introduce macroscopic pore geometries in a targeted manner. This increases the chip space and reduces the effective contact area, which leads to reduced friction and lowers the thermal load on the tool and workpiece. Furthermore, an empirical model for the prediction of residual stresses for dry machining will be extended.
In a second step, the transfer to the mobile machine tool of Picum MT GmbH will take place. Here, potential disturbance variables, such as the low stiffness of a mobile machine tool, will first be identified and concepts will be developed to compensate for them. Furthermore, the limitations of on-site machining by a mobile tooling system will be shown.
At the end of the project, the newly developed tools and process will be used in the repair of a forming tool.
The researchers' investigations are being funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as part of subproject B8 of the Transregional Collaborative Research Center 73 "Forming of Complex Functional Components with Secondary Forming Elements Made of Thin Sheet Metal - Solid Sheet Metal Forming".
