TOOL LIFE AND TOOL QUALITY IN BULK METAL-FORMING

Due to their intermediate position between the machine and workpiece, tools represent the interface of the manufacturing system to the process. Near net shape production, new materials and techniques are the new challenges in metal forming and especially in tooling. A significant economical effect can be achieved through an increase in the life of tool elements, as well as through proper tool management strategies. The greatest problem connected with the preliminary estimation of tool life is the large scatter of service life for a series of identically designed tools. The uncertainty in estimating the expected service life of tools and thus the tooling costs per piece is caused by the enormous variety and confluence of damaging factors, the factory-specific character of tool life and the stochastic phenomenon of tool failures. From the confluence of aspects influencing tool life it is clear that there is no general recipe for increasing tool life and tool quality. Each of the influencing aspects contains some possibilities for increasing the service time of tools. This paper shows some examples of tool design and tool manufacturing and points out that a knowledge-based approach imitating the activity and knowledge acquisition of human experts can be the bridge between computer aided (CA) techniques and human experience in predicting expected tool life.