CLASSIFICATION OF FORMING & SHAPING PROCESSES & EQUIPMENT

TEMPERATURE IN METAL FORMING

Any deformation operation can be accomplished with lower forces and power at elevated temperature. Three temperature ranges in metal forming processes are: Cold working Warm working Hot working

COLD WORKING
Performed at room temperature or slightly above. Many cold forming processes are important in mass production operations e.g. assembly lines

ADVANTAGES OF COLD WORKING VS. HOT WORKING

Better accuracy Better surface finish No heating of workpiece required

DISADVANTAGES OF COLD WORKING

Higher forces and power required Surfaces of workpiece must be free of scale and dirt In some operations, metal must be annealed to allow further deformation In other cases, metal is simply not ductile enough to be cold worked

WARM WORKING
Performed at temperatures above room temperature but below or within the range of recrystallization temperature (between 0.3 Tm to 0.5 Tm).

ADVANTAGES OF WARM WORKING

Lower forces and power than in cold working More complex and difficult work geometries possible Need for annealing may be reduced or eliminated

HOT WORKING
Deformation at temperatures above recrystallization temperature In practice, hot working somewhat above 0.5Tm usually performed

Metal continues to soften as temperature increases above 0.5Tm, enhancing advantage of hot working above this level

ADVANTAGES OF HOT WORKING VS. COLD WORKING

Workpart shape can be significantly altered Lower forces and power required Metals that usually fracture in cold working can be hot formed

DISADVANTAGES OF HOT WORKING

Lower dimensional accuracy Higher total energy required (i.e. thermal energy to heat the workpiece) Work surface oxidation (scaling), poorer surface finish Shorter tool life

BULK DEFORMATION PROCESSES

Metalworking processes in which the workpiece is subjected to plastic deformation under forces applied through various dies and tooling.

In bulk deformation processes, the parts made have a relatively small surface-area-to-thickness ratio while it is much higher for sheet metal forming processes.
Starting work shapes for these processes include cylindrical billets and rectangular bars or slabs. Deformation processes are classified by type of operations: 1. Primary working: Operations involve taking a solid piece of metal and breaking it down successively into materials of various shapes by the processes of forging, rolling, extrusion etc. 2. Secondary working: Operation involves further processing of the products from primary working into final products such as bolts, gears and sheet-metal parts.

BULK DEFORMATION PROCESSES

Primary working operations are classified into: 1. 2. 3. 4. Forging Rolling Extrusion Rod, Wire and Tube Drawing

FORGING
Forging is a deformation process in which the workpiece is compressed between two dies, using either impact or gradual pressure to form the part. Forged parts usually require further processing to achieve a finished part.

As the metal is shaped during the forging process, its internal grain deforms to follow the general shape of the part. As a result, the grain is continuous throughout the part, giving rise to a piece with improved strength characteristics. Forging is an important industrial process used to make a variety of high-strength components for automotive, aerospace, and other applications.

TYPES OF FORGING METHODS

Open-die forging Close-die forging Impression die forging

OPEN-DIE FORGING
If open-die forging is carried out under ideal conditions of no friction between work and die surfaces, then homogeneous deformation occurs, and the radial flow of the material is uniform throughout its height, as shown in Figure.

OPEN-DIE FORGING: BARRELING EFFECT

When the friction opposes the flow of work metal at the die surfaces, it creates the barreling effect as shown in the Figure. Higher coefficient of friction and heat transfer at and near the die surfaces cools the metal and increases its resistance to deformation. The metal in the middle of the part flows more readily than the cooler metal at the ends. These effects are more significant as the diameter-to-height ratio of the work part increases, due to the greater contact area at the work-die interface.

CLOSED-DIE FORGING
In closed die forging no flash is formed and the workpiece is completely surrounded by the dies as shown in the Figure. Proper control of the volume of material vs. die-cavity volume is essential in order to produce a forging of the desired shape. Undersized billets will prevent the complete filling of the die cavity and over-sized blanks, slabs, billets etc may cause premature die failure or jamming of the dies.

IMPRESSION-DIE FORGING
Impression die forging is performed with dies that contain the inverse of the desired shape of the part as shown in the Figure. As the die closes to its final position, flash is formed by metal that flows beyond the die cavity and into the small gap between the die plates. As the flash begins to form in the die gap, friction resists the continued flow of metal into the gap, thus constraining the bulk of the work material to remain in the die cavity.

TYPE OF FORGING OPERATIONS

Basic types of forging operations are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Fullering Edging Cogging Coining Piercing Orbital forging Hubbing Heading Roll forging Swaging

TYPE OF FORGING OPERATIONS

Fullering: It is accomplished by dies with convex surfaces while the material is distributed away from the area. Edging: Similar to Fullering, except that the dies have concave surfaces. It is used to shape the ends of the bars and to gather metal into a localized area. Cogging: It consists of a sequence of forging compressions accomplished using open dies with flat or slightly contoured surfaces. The term incremental forging is sometimes used for this process.

Fullering

Edging

Cogging

TYPE OF FORGING OPERATIONS

Coining: It is a special application of closed-die forging in which fine details in the die are impressed into the top and bottom surfaces of the work part. A common application of coining is the stamping of coins.

Piercing: In this process, a punch indents (cuts or tears) the workpiece surface to produce a cavity or an impression with a specific shape.

TYPE OF FORGING OPERATIONS

Orbital forging: In this process, deformation occurs by means of a coneshaped upper die that is simultaneously rolled and pressed into the work part. The work is supported on a lower die, which has a cavity into which the work is compressed.

Hubbing: Hubbing is a deformation process in which a hardened steel form

is pressed into a soft steel (or other soft metal) block to make mold cavities for plastic molding and die casting.

TYPE OF FORGING OPERATIONS

Heading: This is basically an upsetting operation, typically performed at the end of a rod to produce a shape with larger cross-section. Examples are the heads of bolts, screws, nails etc.

Roll forging: In roll forging, the cross-sectional area of a bar is reduced and altered in shape by passing it through a pair or sets of grooved rolls of various shapes.

TYPE OF FORGING OPERATIONS

Swaging: It is a forging process in which the dimensions of an item are altered using a die or dies, into which the item is forced. It is used in manufacturing round bars, tubes etc .

FORGING EQUIPMENT
Forging equipment of various designs and capacities is illustrated in the Figure.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

FORGING EQUIPMENT
Hammers: Hammers as shown in the Figure (a) derive their energy from the potential energy of the ram, which is then converted to kinetic energy; thus hammers are energy limited. In power hammers, the ram is accelerated in the downstroke by steam or air. Several blows may have to be made on the part to finalize its shape. Screw presses: Screw presses derive their energy from a flywheel and transmit the forging load through a vertical screw as shown in Figure (b). The presses are particularly suitable for producing small quantities, producing parts requiring precision such as turbine blades etc. Mechanical presses: Mechanical presses as shown in Figure (c) are stroke limited with speeds varying from a maximum at the centre of the stroke to zero at the bottom. The force available depends on the stroke position and becomes extremely large at the center position. Hydraulic presses: These presses have constant low speed of operation. Large amounts of energy can be transmitted to the workpiece by a constant load that is available throughout the stroke. Hydraulic presses as shown in Figure (d) are used for both open-die and closed-die forging operations.

ROLLING
Rolling is the most rapid method of forming metal into desired shapes by plastic deformation through compressive stresses using two or more than two rolls. The main objective of rolling is to convert larger sections such as billets/ingots into smaller sections.

This is an effective method to reduce grain size and

refine the microstructure in metals, resulting in improved strength and good ductility.
Rolling process is being widely used in the production of large number of useful products such as Rails, Sheets, Structural Sections, Plates etc

TYPES OF ROLLING OPERATIONS

Basic types of rolling operations are:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Flat rolling Shape rolling Rolling mills Thread rolling Ring rolling Roll piercing

FLAT ROLLING
It involves the rolling of slabs, strips, sheets, and plates work parts of rectangular cross section.

In flat rolling, the work is squeezed between two rolls so that its thickness is reduced by an amount called the Draft.

where, d=draft, mm; to=starting thickness, mm; and tf=final thickness, mm .

Draft is sometimes expressed as a fraction of the starting stock thickness, called the Reduction.

where r = reduction.

SHAPE ROLLING
In shape rolling, the work is deformed into a contoured cross section. Products made by shape rolling include construction shapes such as I-beams, L-beams, and Uchannels; rails for railroad tracks; and round and square bars and rods as shown in Figure 1. The process is accomplished by passing the work through rolls that have the reverse of the desired shape. Shaping rolls are more complicated; and the work, usually starts as a square shape, requires a gradual transformation through several rolls in order to achieve the final cross section.

FLAT AND SHAPE ROLLING

Figure 1: Schematic outline of various flat-rolling and shape rolling operations

ROLLING MILLS
The basic rolling mill consists of two opposing rolls and is referred to as a two-high rolling mill. The rolls in these mills have diameters in the range 0.6-1.4 m. The two-high configuration can be either reversing or non-reversing. In the non-reversing mill, the rolls always rotate in the same direction, and the work always passes through from the same side. The reversing mill allows the direction of roll rotation to be reversed, so that the work can be passed through in either direction. This permits a series of reductions to be made through the same set of rolls, simply by passing through the work from opposite directions multiple times. Following types of configuration are available as shown in the Figure 2 (next slide): 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 2 High Mill 3 High Mill 4 High Mill Cluster Mill Tandem Mill

ROLLING MILLS

Figure 2: Various configurations of rolling mills: (a) 2-high, (b) 3-high, (c) 4-high, (d) cluster mill, and (e) tandem rolling mill

THREAD ROLLING
Thread rolling is used to form threads on cylindrical parts by rolling them between two dies. It is the most important commercial process for mass producing external threaded components (e.g., bolts and screws). The dies are of two types: (1) Flat dies, which reciprocate relative to each other (2) Round dies, which rotate relative to each other

Figure 3: Thread rolling with flat dies: (1) start of cycle and (2) end of cycle

RING ROLLING
Ring rolling is a deformation process in which a thick-walled ring of smaller diameter is rolled into a thin-walled ring of larger diameter. The before and after views of the process are illustrated in Figure 4. Applications of ring rolling include steel tires for railroad wheels, and rings for pipes, pressure vessels, and rotating machinery.

Figure 4: Ring rolling used to reduce the wall thickness and increase the diameter of a ring: (1) start and (2) completion of process

ROLL PIERCING
When a solid cylindrical part is compressed on its circumference, as in Figure 5a, high tensile stresses are developed at its center. If compression is high enough, an internal crack is formed. In roll piercing, this principle is exploited by the setup shown in Figure 5b. Compressive stresses on a solid cylindrical billet are applied by two rolls, whose axes are oriented at slight angles (about 6") from the axis of the billet, so that their rotation tends to pull the billet through the rolls. A mandrel is used to control the size and finish of the hole/cavity created by the action.

Figure 5: Roll piercing: (a) formation of internal stresses and cavity by compression of cylindrical part; and (b) setup of rotary-tube-piercing process for producing seamless tubing

EXTRUSION
Extrusion is a compression process in which the work metal is forced to flow through a die opening to produce a desired cross-sectional shape. The process can be linked to squeezing toothpaste out of a toothpaste tube. There are several advantages of the extrusion process: (1) A variety of shapes are possible (2) Grain structure and strength properties are enhanced. (3) In some extrusion operations, little or no wasted material is created.

TYPES OF EXTRUSION OPERATIONS

Basic types of extrusion operations are:

1. 2. 3. 4.

Direct extrusion Indirect extrusion Impact extrusion Hydrostatic extrusion

DIRECT EXTRUSION
A metal billet is loaded into a container, and a ram compresses the material, forcing it to flow through one or more openings in a die at the opposite end of the container. As the ram approaches the die, a small portion of the billet remains that cannot be forced through the die opening. This extra portion, called the butt, is separated from the product by cutting it just beyond the exit of the die. In direct extrusion, significant friction exists between the work surface and the walls of the container as the billet is forced to slide toward the die opening. Due to this friction the ram force increases.

DIRECT EXTRUSION: HOLLOW SECTIONS

Hollow sections (e.g., tubes) are possible in direct extrusion by the process setup as shown in Figure 6. The starting billet is prepared with a hole parallel to its axis. This allows passage of a mandrel that is attached to the dummy block. As the billet is compressed the material is forced to flow through the clearance between the mandrel and the die opening. The resulting cross section is tubular. Semi-hollow cross-sectional shapes are usually extruded in the same way.

Figure 6: (a) Direct Extrusion to produce a hollow section (b) hollow and (c) semi-hollow cross sections.

INDIRECT EXTRUSION
In Indirect Extrusion, also called backward extrusion and reverse extrusion, as shown in Figure 7, the die is mounted to the ram rather than at the opposite end of the container. As the ram penetrates into the work, the metal is forced to flow through the clearance in a direction opposite to the motion of the ram. Since the billet is not forced to move relative to the container, there is no friction at the container walls, and the ram force is therefore lower than in direct extrusion.

Figure 7: Indirect extrusion to produce (a) a solid cross section and (b) a hollow cross section

IMPACT EXTRUSION
Impact extrusion is performed at higher speeds and shorter strokes than conventional extrusion. It is used to make individual components. The punch impacts the work part rather than simply applying pressure to it. Impacting can be carried out as forward extrusion, backward extrusion, or combinations of these. Backward impact extrusion is most common. Products made by this process include toothpaste tubes and battery cases.

Figure 8: Impact extrusion: (a) forward, (b) backward, and (c) combination of forward and backward

HYDROSTATIC EXTRUSION
One of the problems in direct extrusion is friction along the billetcontainer interface. This problem can be addressed by surrounding the billet with fluid inside the container and pressurizing the fluid by the forward motion of the ram, as shown in Figure 9. This way, there is no friction inside the container, and friction at the die opening is reduced. Consequently, ram force is significantly lower than in direct extrusion. Hydrostatic extrusion is an adaptation of direct extrusion

Figure 9: Hydrostatic extrusion

DEFECTS IN EXTRUSION
Center burst: This defect is an internal crack that develops as a result of tensile stresses along the centreline of the work part during extrusion. Piping: Piping is a defect associated with direct extrusion. It is the formation of a sink hole in the end of the billet. Surface cracking: This defect results from high work part temperatures that cause cracks to develop at the surface. They often occur when extrusion speed is too high, leading to high strain rates and associated heat generation.

Figure 10: Common defects in extrusion: (a) center burst, (b) piping, and (c) surface cracking

ROD, WIRE AND TUBE DRAWING

In the context of bulk deformation, drawing is an operation in which the cross section of a bar, rod, or wire is reduced by pulling it through a die opening, as in Figure. The general features of the process are similar to those of extrusion. The difference is that the work is pulled through the die in drawing, whereas it is pushed through the die in extrusion. Although the presence of tensile stresses is obvious in drawing, compression also plays a significant role because the metal is squeezed down as it passes through the die opening.

ROD, WIRE AND TUBE DRAWING

The basic difference between bar drawing and wire drawing is the stock size that is processed. Bar drawing is the term used for large diameter bar and rod stock, while wire drawing applies to small diameter stock. Wire sizes down to 0.03 mm (0.001 in) are possible in wire drawing. Wire drawing is an important industrial process, providing commercial products such as electrical wire and cable; wire stock for fences, coat hangers, and shopping carts; screws, rivets, springs, and other hardware items. Bar drawing is used to produce metal bars for machining, forging, and other processes.

WIRE DRAWING
Wire drawing is a metalworking process used to reduce the diameter of a wire by pulling the wire through a single, or series of drawing dies.

TUBE DRAWING
Tube drawing is a metalworking process to size tube by shrinking a large diameter tube into a smaller one, by drawing the tube through a die. This process produces high quality tubing with precise dimensions, good surface finish, and the added strength of cold working. Tube drawing (schematic next slide) can be carried out either with or without a mandrel. The simplest method uses no mandrel and is used for diameter reduction, as shown in Figure (previous slide). The problem with tube drawing in which no mandrel is used is that it lacks control over the inside diameter and wall thickness of the tube. This is why mandrels of various types are used, two of which are illustrated in Figure (next slide).

TYPES OF MANDREL
Fixed Mandrel: Uses a fixed mandrel attached to a long support bar to establish inside diameter and wall thickness during the operation. The length of the support bar in this method restrict the length of the tube that can be drawn. Floating Plug: A floating plug whose shape is designed so that it finds a "natural" position in the reduction zone of the die. The mandrel is held in by the friction forces between the mandrel and the tube. The greatest advantage of this is that it can be used on extremely long lengths, sometimes up to 1,000 feet (300 m). The disadvantage is that it requires a precise design otherwise it will give inadequate results. This process is often used for oil-well tubing.

Figure 11: Tube drawing with mandrels: (a) fixed mandrel, and (b) floating plug.

Oil-well tubing