Dry-film lube (DFL) is a coating that is applied to the strip surface via a coil coating operation. They are used in stamping or forming operations as is without the use of any additional drawing oil or compound. Acrylic DFLs are the most commonly used for severe drawing applications such as stainless steels. Acrylic DFLs are water based acrylics with extremely low VOC (volatile organic compounds) and no HAPS (hazardous air pollutants) that form a coating on the surface of the strip. After the coating has dried, it is not soluble in water and provides a level of water and corrosion resistance. After forming, the DLFs can be removed via an alkaline cleaning process. Acrylic DFLs exhibit ultra-low coefficient of friction in the 0.04 to 0.09 range. Switching to DFLs from oil based lubricants can facilitate steel grade reductions, improved formability, increased productivity, reduced scrap, reduced die maintenance and reduced environmental costs and reporting requirements.
Please contact your NKS representative or the writer to discuss how you can improve the performance of your forming operation and reduce your overall cost to produce a part.