CURARE · Computer-aided laser surface treatment and combined nitriding of forging dies with the objective of a lifetime increase

The European forging industry – dominated by SMEs – is steadily forced to reduce production costs and increase production volumes as well as part quality. One opportunity to meet these challenges is the application of innovative surface treatments to increase the forging dies lifetime by 100-200% and thus to reduce the overall die costs by 30%. Therefore in close co-operation a consortium of two well established RTD-performers with specialised knowledge in surface treatment, three forging enterprises and four enterprises operating as job-shops from 5 different countries develop the computer-aided laser surface treatment (laser alloying/dispersing) and combined nitriding of forging dies with the objective of a lifetime increase - CURARE". To enable a successful implementation of the project results in industrial application four objectives have to be achieved: - Design and linkage of an industrial applicable machining system for laser surface treatment - Development of geometrical flexible machining strategies for laser alloying/dispersing process - Benchmark of nitriding technologies, analysis of edge layer & design of quality control concept - Development of CAx-module and data base for laser treatment. Following the CURARE process chain for combined surface treatments is verified by the use of selected forging dies. The treated dies are applied under industrial conditions in the enterprises of the co-operating end-users. Both the machining system and the applied forging dies are assessed with respect to technical and economic aspects as well as their relevance for industrial implementation. Finally selected staff of the participating enterprises is qualified/trained by using instruction material which has been prepared before by the RTD-performers. The close and permanent co-operation with the European forging association EUROFORGE and their national member associations ensures a sustainable Europe-wide dissemination and use of the achievements even after the end of the project "CURARE"."