The Use of Non-Edible Green Oils to Lubricate DC04 Steel Sheets in Sheet Metal Forming Process

Lubrication is a basic and relatively effective way to reduce friction in sheet metal forming operations. The drive to eliminate synthetic and mineral oils, which are difficult to recycle, from the manufacturing process has opened up opportunities for the use of vegetable-based bio-lubricants. This article presents a comparison of the lubrication performance of two non-edible oils (karanja and moringa) with the most frequently tested edible oils (sunflower and rape-seed). Deep drawing quality low-carbon steel sheets DC04, commonly used in the automotive industry, were used as the test material. Friction tests were carried out under various lubricants and normal pressures in the range between 3 and 12 MPa using the strip drawing test. Furthermore, a study was also made of the effect of a change in the surface topography and the mechanical properties of the sheet metal due to plastic deformation resulting from friction. It was found that under the most favorable lubrication conditions (sample pre-strain 21%, nominal pressure 6 MPa), karanja oil reduced the coefficient of friction by approximately 33%. Both non-edible lubricants provided the best lubrication when testing samples pre-strained at 7% under the whole range of nominal pressures. It was also revealed that in the case of the smallest pre-straining of the specimens (7%), karanja oil was the most effective within nominal pressures of 3–6 MPa, while at higher pressures (9–12 MPa), the moringa oil lowered the value of the coefficient of friction to a greater extent.