THE EFFECT OF LUBRICATION VARIATIONS IN THE METAL FORMING PROCESS THROUGH WIRE DRAWING ON Ti6Al4V-ELI WIRE WITH MIDLE MOTOR ROTATION

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of different lubricants on the wire-drawing process of Ti-6Al-4V ELI
titanium alloy at a medium motor speed of 1,397 rpm. The research was motivated by the industrial need to
produce small-diameter wire with high tensile strength and hardness. An experimental method was carried
out in the Mechanical Engineering Laboratory of Universitas Bung Hatta using three lubrication conditions:
oil, grease, and a standard condition without additional lubricant. The wire diameter was reduced from 2.0
mm to 1.7 mm, followed by tensile testing, Micro-Vickers hardness testing, and microstructural analysis.
The results show that oil lubrication provided the best performance, achieving the highest drawing speed
(0.123 m/s at 10 % reduction) and the greatest average hardness of 318.97 VHN, compared with grease
(312.27 VHN) and the standard condition (286.70 VHN). The highest elastic modulus was also recorded
with oil lubrication at 134,082 N/mm. Tensile data revealed an inverse relationship between strain and
stress, with the lowest strain (2 %) producing the highest tensile strength of 963.97 N/mm. These findings
confirm that lubricant type significantly affects drawing speed, hardness, and the mechanical properties of
Ti-6Al-4V ELI wire, indicating that proper lubricant selection is critical for enhancing the quality of
titanium wire products.