Abstract
A forming tool stamps sheet metal blanks into a desired shape. A contoured surface is defined for the forming tool so that respective portions of the metal blank flow over the contoured surface during forming. An intrinsic material flow pattern resulting from the contoured surface is compared to a desired flow in order to identify regions of the contoured surface having an insufficient flow that creates areas in the formed metal blank receiving less than a desired amount of metal. A surface microtexture is applied onto the contoured surface in a pattern selected to increase metal flow along the identified regions by providing a coefficient of friction in the identified regions that is reduced relative to adjacent regions of the contoured surface.