On July 23, 2025, our research associate Stefan Volz successfully defended his doctoral dissertation. His thesis is entitled “Load-Dependent Macroscopic Friction Modeling in Cold Forging”.

Friction plays a central role in cold forging, significantly influencing process stability, tool wear, and component quality. However, conventional friction models insufficiently account for the dependency of friction on the locally applied load. In his dissertation, Mr. Volz developed a novel model that explicitly incorporates this load dependency. To achieve this, he combined experimental investigations with numerical simulations and machine learning methods to accurately characterize friction behavior under realistic forming conditions.

The insights gained enable improved predictions of material flow and contribute to the design of robust and efficient forming processes. The developed model provides a solid foundation for the further development of friction-sensitive process simulations and supports the transfer to various material pairings and lubrication conditions.

In addition to his scientific work, Mr. Volz was actively involved in the International Cold Forging Group (ICFG), where he contributed his expertise and played a key role in shaping the international cold forging network, particularly in the working group “Lubrication.”

We would like to thank Stefan Volz for his many years of commitment and wish him all the best and every success for his professional and private future!