A methodology and new criteria to quantify the adhesive and abrasive wear damage on a die radius using white light profilometry

A methodology is developed in this article to assess the wear damage occurring on a die radius in a deep-drawing process. Profilometric and topographic measurements were performed with a white-light-source confocal microscope on the rubbed part of the die radius, using a repeatable procedure. Four new quantitative damage criteria were defined from 2D profiles, to quantify and determine the degree of regularity of both adhesive and abrasive damage. This method allows different tool steels to be classified in terms of their adhesive and abrasive wear behavior, with fairly good repeatability and reliability. ► Wear of different tool steels is investigated using a hot-stamping simulator. ► Methodology is developed to assess the wear on the die-radius tools. ► Profile measurements are performed using a white-light source profilometer. ► Four new criteria are defined to quantify both adhesive and abrasive wear. ► This method allows to classify different tool steels with a good reliability.