IRMCO offers in-house stamping lubricant comparison

Evanston, Ill.-based IRMCO®, through a cooperative partnership with Bennett Tool & Die in Nashville, Tenn., has developed a tool and test method to compare the performance of stamping lubricants before customers use them in production.

The iTOOL cup-draw process measures and compares frictional forces and deformation temperatures of one or more lubricants compared to the incumbent lubricant. Customer-supplied metal blanks are used to evaluate lubricants to ensure the closest correlation to actual production conditions experienced in the field.

Housed in a 300-ton AIDA servo press, the tool allows for reproducibility and control of test parameters and data collection.