What happens during the swaging process?
==> While being pressed, swage fittings will actually elongate. After swage lengths are always longer than before swage lengths. This shows that there is heat and wear being generated by metal to metal contact under great pressure. By design, dies are harder than swaging fittings. Despite the difference in hardness between the dies and swage fittings, the dies will wear during the swaging process.
Why is it necessary to lubricate while swaging?
==> Because you have two metal surfaces grinding against each other under great pressure, a lubricant is required to minimize the friction between the surfaces. Lubrication assists the metal of the swage fitting to flow more freely and therefore, minimize wear on the die surface. It is important to note that not only does lubricating miniminze die wear, it promotes the elongation of swage fitting rather than squeezing the metal of the fitting to the sides which then produces excessive metal "flesh". This metal "flesh" tends to produce an ugly finish of the fitting and can cause the "fitting" to crack.
What makes "WIROP Die Lubricant" such a good lubricant for application?
==> "WIROP Die Lubricant" is formulated to possess a high coefficient of friction under high pressure, compressive loads. This means friction is absolutely minimized. Common heavy greases are certainly better than no lubrication. But most greases are not formulated to perform under high pressure and dies for swage fittings. Besides being a quality high pressure lubricant, "WIROP Die Lubricant" is an affordably priced and will protect the investment you have in your dies.
