Extrusion and wire drawing of metals

December 8-15, 2010

Extrusion
A plastic deformation process in which a billet of certain material is formed by forcing it to flow through a die of the required geometrical cross-section. Advantages Wide variety of shapes High production rates Close tolerances are possible Economical Design flexibility Extrusion process can be carried out hot and cold. Complicated cross-sectional shape can be produced by extrusion. In general, extrusion is used to produce long parts of uniform cross sections

Types of Extrusion
Direct extrusion
Metal is pushed through the die.

Types of Extrusion
Indirect extrusion: Die is pushed into the metal

Impact Impact extrusion: is indirect extrusion but used for hollow shapes

hydrostatic

Hydrostatic Extrusion
Hydrostatic extrusion: chamber is filled with incopressible fluid to transmit the pressure to the billet, there is no friction along the container walls, and the fluid provides triaxial compressive stresses on the workpiece providing improved formability Usually carried at room temperature, typically using vegetable oils as the fluid Brittle materials are extruded generally by this method It increases ductility of the material It has complex nature of the tooling

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General view of a 9-MN (1000-ton) hydraulic-extrusion press.

Hot and cold extrusion

cold extrusion is the process done at room temperature or slightly elevated temperatures. Examples of metals: lead, tin, aluminum alloys, copper, titanium, molybdenum, vanadium, steel. Examples of parts : collapsible tubes, aluminum cans, cylinders, gear blanks. The advantages of cold extrusion are: 1. No oxidation takes place. 2. Good mechanical properties due to severe cold working as long as the temperatures created are below the re-crystallization temperature. 3. Good surface finish with the use of proper lubricants.

Trim parts

Hot extrusion is done at high temperatures, approximately 50 to 75 % of the melting point of the metal. Used for metals and alloys that do not have sufficient ductility at room temperature, or in order to reduce the forces required. The pressures can range from 35-700 MPa (5076 - 101,525 psi). Due to the high temperatures and pressures and its detrimental effect on the die life as well as other components, good lubrication is necessary. Oil and graphite work at lower temperatures, whereas at higher temperatures glass powder is used for cooling Typical parts produced by extrusions are trim parts used in automotive and construction applications, window frame members, railings, aircraft structural parts. 6

Metal flow in extrusion

a. The most homogeneous flow pattern is obtained when there is no friction at the

billet-container-die interfaces. This happens if the lubricant is very effective or with indirect extrusion. b. When friction along all interfaces is high, a dead-metal zone develops . Note the high-shear area as the material flows into the die exit, somewhat like a funnel. This configuration may indicate that the billet surfaces (with their oxide layer and lubricant) could enter this high-shear zone and be extruded, causing defects in the extruded product. c. The high-shear zone extends farther back. This extension can result from high container-wall friction, which retards the flow of the billet, or materials in which the flow stress drops rapidly with increasing temperature. In hot working, the material near the container walls cools rapidly and hence increases in strength. Thus the material in the central regions flows toward the die more easily than that at the outer regions. As a result, a large dead-metal zone forms and the flow is inhomogeneous. This flow pattern leads to a defect known as a pipe or extrusion defect.

Metal flow in extrusion

Punch force Punch displacement

Phase I: Coining phase The plastic deformation (flow) of the work piece to fill the cavity in the container. Phase II: Steady state phase Due to reduction of the billet length, the friction force between the billet and the container is decreased, thus, the force is reduced Phase III: Non steady state phase - Region 1: Non steady state without pipe defect. - Region 2: Non steady state with pipe defect.

Punch load (F)

Start of extrusion

II

III

Punch displacement Point A: Elastic Limit. Point B: Maximum Extrusion Force. Point C: Start of piping Note: Pont C > Elastic Limit (Point A)

Factors affecting extrusion pressure

Extrusion ratio is defined as the ratio of billet (initial) area to final area. If redundant work is neglected, the absolute value of true strain is = ln(Ao/Af ). Thus, the extrusion ratio affects the extrusion force directly in an ideal situation. Die geometry has an effect related to material flow and, thus, contributes to the redundant work of deformation. Extrusion speed has an effect because at elevated temperatures the flow stress will increase with increasing strain rate, depending on the strain-rate sensitivity of the workpiece material. Higher temperatures lower the yield stress and thus, reduce forces.
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Extrusion Defects
1. 2. 3. Surface cracking. Pipe. Internal Cracking

Fig : (a) Chevron cracking (central burst) in extruded round steel bars. Unless the products are inspected, such internal defects may remain undetected, and later cause failure of the part in service. This defect can also develop in the drawing of rod, of wire, and of tubes. (b) Schematic illustration of rigid and plastic zones in extrusion. The tendency toward chevron cracking increases if the two plastic zones do not meet. Note that the plastic zone can be made larger either by decreasing the die angel or by increasing the reduction in cross-section (or both).

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Mechanics of Extrusion:
Ideal deformation and Frictionless
Extrusion ratio R = A0/Af Total strain el = Ln(A0/Af) = Ln (lf/l0) = Ln(R) Strain energy, u = Y el - (Perfectly Plastic Material) Work = u.Volume = u.A0l0 Work = Fl0 = P.A0l0 , P is extrusion pressure P = u=Y ln(R) (Siebel Formula) For strain hardening material Y should be replaced by the average flow stress Yf
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Example 1:
Calculate the force required in direct extrusion of 1100-O aluminum from a diameter of 6 in. to 2 in. Assume that the redundant work is 30% of the ideal work of deformation, and the friction work is 25% of the total work of deformation.

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Example 2:
A planned extrusion operation involves steel at 800C, with an initial diameter of 100 mm and a final diameter of 20 mm. Two presses, one with a capacity of 20 MN and the other of 10 MN, are available for this operation. the larger press requires greater care and more expensive tooling. Is the smaller press sufficient for this operation? If not, what recommendations would you make to allow the use of the smaller press?

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