Increasing efficiency and sustainability in steel processing - these are the challenges facing modern industry. The development of a modular mould system with additively manufactured, permeable structures for intrinsic lubrication in the deep-drawing process aims to overcome precisely these challenges. The idea is to drastically reduce the use of lubricants through a targeted localised lubricant supply, while at the same time improving the material flow and extending the service life of the tools.

By using the additive manufacturing technology Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF), highly complex tool structures can be created that enable precise control of the friction ratios. The plan is to apply only minimal amounts of lubricant precisely at the critical points in order to make the deep-drawing process more sustainable and cost-efficient. The production of complex components made from high-strength steel materials in particular could become more efficient as a result, which would lead to an expansion of the range of materials that can be processed.

The combination of localised lubrication and targeted tool structuring should enable higher surface quality and more precise shape and dimensional accuracy of the end products. This technological innovation has the potential to open up new avenues for the steel processing industry, increase competitiveness and reduce the environmental footprint of production at the same time.