Manufacturing Technology

(MEC – 205)

Unit – III

Metal Forming Processes

 Metal Forming

Manufacturing processes in which

plastic deformation is used to change the
shape of metal work pieces
 The tool, usually called a die, applies
stresses that exceed the yield strength
of the metal
 The metal takes a shape determined by
the geometry of the die
 Stresses in Metal Forming

 Stresses to plastically deform the metal are

usually compressive
 Examples: rolling, forging, extrusion
 However, some forming processes
 Stretch the metal (tensile stresses)
 Others bend the metal (tensile and
compressive)
 Still others apply shear stresses (shear
spinning)
 Material Properties
 Desirable material properties:
 Low yield strength
 High ductility
 These properties are affected by
temperature:
 Ductility increases and yield strength
decreases when work temperature is
raised
 Other factors:
 Strain rate and friction
 Plastic Deformation

 Stresses beyond yield strength of

the workpiece material is required.
Classification of Deformation Processes

1. Bulk deformation
 Rolling
 Forging
 Extrusion
 Wire and bar drawing
2. Sheet metalworking
 Bending
 Deep drawing
 Cutting
 Bulk Deformation Process
 Characterized by significant
deformations and massive shape
changes
 "Bulk" refers to workparts with
relatively low surface
area-to-volume ratios
 Starting work shapes include
cylindrical billets and rectangular
bars
(a) Rolling
(b) Forging
(c) Extrusion
 Sheet Metal Working

 Forming and related operations

performed on metal sheets, strips, and
coils
 High surface area-to-volume ratio of
starting metal, which distinguishes
these from bulk deformation
 Often called pressworking because
presses perform these operations
 Parts are called stampings
 Usual tooling: punch and die
(a) Bending
(b) Deep Drawing
(c) Shearing
 Hot Working & Cold Working

 The main difference between hot

and cold working is that hot
working is done at higher temp.
,while cold working is done at room
temp.
 Hot Working
 When the processing temperature of the
mechanical deformation of steel is above the
recrystallization temperature, the process is
termed as hot working process otherwise it is
termed as cold working.
 For hot working processes, large deformation
can be successively repeated as the metal
remain soft and ductile. The hardness of
material cannot be controlled after hot rolling
and it is a function of chemical composition and
the rate of cooling after rolling.
 The hardness obtained by hot rolling is less
comparatively that of obtained by cold rolling.
 However most metal will experience
some surface oxidation resulting in
material loss and poor surface finish.
 Hot working does not produce strain
hardening. Hence there will be no
increase in either yield strength or
hardness. In addition yield strength will
decrease with increase in temperature
and the ductility will improve.
 Advantages

 Higher ductility – more deformation

without cracking
 Lower flow stress – less mechanical
energy required for deformation
 Pores seal up
 Smaller grain size
 Stronger, tougher and more ductile
compare to cast metals
 Metal that usually fracture in cold
working can be hot formed.
 Disadvantages

 Surface reactions between metal and

the furnace atmosphere. (i.e. oxidation)
 Hot shortness, when the working
temperature exceeds the melting
temperature.
 Dimension tolerance is poor due to
thermal expansion at higher
temperatures.
 Handling is more difficult (from furnace
to machine).
 Cold Working Processes

 In cold working metal is shaped by the

application of pressure at temperature
below recrystallization temperature of
the metal. In most cases it is done at
room temperature.
 Cold working is done to achieve closer
dimensions and accuracies and to
improve mechanical properties.
 It is often done after hot working to
obtain better dimensional control.
 If a material is cold worked to a point
near the breaking point further
deformation may become impossible
due to cold working. This is rectified by
making the material go through a
process annealing operation which
returns the material to its original state.
 Cold working involves larger forces and
heavier equipment compared to hot
working but leads to much better
dimensional accuracy and finish.
 Advantages

 Better dimensional control than hot

working is possible because the
reduction In size is not much.
 Strength and hardness of the metal
increased.
 Easier handling (low operating
temperature)
 Contamination problems are minimized.
 No heating of work required.
 Disadvantages

 Higher forces are required to initiate and

complete the deformation.
 Heavier, more powerful and stronger
equipments are required.
 Ductility and strain hardening limit the
amount of forming that can be done.
 Undesirable residual stresses may be
produced.
Role of Temperature in Forming

 For any metal, K and n in the flow

curve depend on temperature
 Both strength (K) and strain
hardening (n) are reduced at higher
temperatures
 In addition, ductility is increased at
higher temperatures
 Rolling
 The workpiece in the form of slab or
plate is compressed between two
rotating rolls in the thickness direction,
so that the thickness is reduced. The
rotating rolls draw the slab into the gap
and compresses it. The final product is
in the form of sheet.
 Terminology

 Bloom: It has a square cross section

150 mm x 150 mm or more.
 Slab: It is rolled from an ingot or a
bloom and has a rectangular cross
section of 250 mm width or more and
thickness 40 mm or more.
 Billet: It is rolled from a bloom and is
square in cross-section with dimensions
40mm on a side or more.
 Blooms are rolled into structural shapes like
rails for railroad tracks.
 Billets are rolled into bars, rods. They become
raw materials for machining, wire drawing,
forging, extrusion etc.
 Slabs are rolled into plates, sheets, and strips.
Hot rolled plates are generally used in
shipbuilding, bridges, boilers, welded
structures for various heavy machines, and
many other products.
 The plates and sheets are further reduced in
thickness by cold rolling to strengthen the
metal and permits a tighter tolerance on
thickness.
 Analysis of Flat Strip Rolling
 In flat rolling, the plate thickness is reduced by
squeezing between two rolls. The thickness
reduction is quantified by draft which is given
by,
d = t0 – tf
Here t0 and tf are initial thickness and final
thickness of the sheet used for rolling.
 Draft is also defined as,
r = d / t0 .
Here r is reduction.
 During rolling, the workpiece width increases which
is termed as spreading. It will be large when we
have low width to thickness ratio and low friction
coefficient.
 In strip rolling, t0w0f0 = tfwfff and hence t0w0v0 = tfwfvf
Here wo and wf are the initial and final work widths,
l0 and lf are the initial and final work lengths. vo and
vf are the entry and exit velocities of the work.
 In strip rolling, the width will not change much
after rolling. From the previous equation, it is
observed that the exit velocity vf is greater than
entry velocity v0. In fact, the velocity of the
rolled sheet continuously increases from entry
to exit.
 The rolls contact the rolling sheet along an arc
defined by angle θ. Each roll has radius R, and
its has surface velocity vr. This velocity is in
between entry and exit velocity.
 However, there is one point or zone along the
contact arc where work velocity equals roll
velocity. This is called the no-slip point, or
neutral point.
 On either side of the neutral point, slipping and
friction occur between roll and sheet. The
amount of slip between the rolls and the sheet
can be quantified by forward slip,

vf is the final velocity,

vr is the roll velocity
 Rolling Mills
 Two high rolling mill: This type of rolling mill
consists of two rolls rotating in opposite
directions.
 Roll diameters: 0.6 to 1.4 m
 Types: either reversing or non-reversing.
 Non-reversing mill: rolls rotate only in one
direction, and the slab always move from
entry to exit side.
 Reversing mill: direction of roll rotation is
reversed, after each pass, so that the slab
can be passed through in both the
directions. This permits a continuous
reductions to be made through the same
pairs of rolls.
 Three high rolling mill: In this
case, there are three rolls one
above the other. At a time, for
single pass, two rolls will be used.
The roll direction will not be
changed in this case. The top two
rolls will be used for first
reduction and the sheet is shifted
to the bottom two rolls and further
reduction is done. This cycle is
continued till actual reduction is
attained.
 Disadvantage: automated
mechanism is required to shift the
slab
 Four high rolling mill: This
consists of two small rolls for
thickness reduction and two large
backing rolls to support the small
rolls. The small rolls will reduce
the roll force required as the roll-
sheet contact area will be
reduced. The large backing rolls
are required to reduce the elastic
deflection of small rolls when
sheet passes between them.
 Cluster rolling mill: This uses smaller rolls for
rolling
 Tandem rolling mill: This consists of series of
rolling stations of the order of 8 to 10. In each
station, thickness reduction is given to the
sheet. With each rolling station, the work
velocity increases. This is fully used in industry
practice, along with continuous casting
operation. This results in reduction in floor
space, shorter manufacturing lead time.
Rolling Defects
 Forging

 Forging is perhaps oldest metal working

process and was known even during
prehistoric days when metallic tools
were made by heating and hammering.
 Forging is basically involves plastic
deformation of material between two
dies to achieve desired configuration.
Depending upon complexity of the part
forging is carried out as open die forging
and closed die forging.
 In open die forging, the metal is
compressed by repeated blows by
a mechanical hammer and shape is
manipulated manually.
 In closed die forging, the desired
configuration is obtained by
squeezing the workpiece between
two shaped and closed dies.
 On squeezing the die cavity gets completely filled
and excess material comes out around the
periphery of the die as flash which is later trimmed.
 Press forging and drop forging are two popular
methods in closed die forging.
 In press forging the metal is squeezed slowly by a
hydraulic or mechanical press and component is
produced in a single closing of die, hence the
dimensional accuracy is much better than drop
forging.
 Both open and closed die forging processes are
carried out in hot as well as in cold state.
 In forging favorable grain orientation of metal is
obtained
 Extrusion
 Extrusion is a bulk forming process in which
the work metal is forced or compressed to
flow through a die hole to produce a desired
cross-sectional shape. Example: squeezing
toothpaste from a toothpaste tube.
 Advantages :
- Variety of shapes are possible, especially
using hot extrusion
- Grain structure and strength properties are
enhanced in cold and warm extrusion
- Close tolerances are possible, mainly in cold
extrusion
 Types of extrusion:
 Direct or forward extrusion,
 Indirect or backward extrusion
 Direct extrusion:
- A metal billet is first loaded into a container
having die holes. A ram compresses the
material, forcing it to flow through the die holes.
- Some extra portion of the billet will be present
at the end of the process that cannot be
extruded and is called butt. It is separated from
the product by cutting it just beyond the exit of
the die.
- In direct extrusion, a significant amount of friction exists between
the billet surface and the container walls, as the billet is forced
to slide toward the die opening. Because of the presence of
friction, a substantial increase in the ram force is required.
- In hot direct extrusion, the friction problem is increased by the
presence of oxide layer on the surface of the billet. This oxide
layer can cause defects in the extruded product.
-
 In order to address these problems, a dummy block is used
between the ram and the work billet. The diameter of the
dummy block is kept slightly smaller than the billet diameter, so
that a thin layer of billet containing the oxide layer is left in the
container, leaving the final product free of oxides.
 Hollow sections like tubes can be made using direct extrusion
setup shown in above figure. The starting billet is prepared with
a hole parallel to its axis. As the billet is compressed, the
material will flow through the gap between the mandrel and the
die opening.
 Indirect extrusion:
- In this type, the die is mounted to the ram and not on the
container. As the ram compresses the metal, it flows through
the die hole on the ram side which is in opposite direction to the
movement of ram.
- Since there is no relative motion between the billet and the
container, there is no friction at the interface, and hence the
ram force is lower than in direct extrusion.
 Limitations: lower rigidity of the hollow ram, difficulty in
supporting the extruded product at the exit
Extrusion Defects
 Drawing
 Drawing is an operation in which the cross-
section of solid rod, wire or tubing is reduced or
changed in shape by pulling it through a die.
 The principle of this procedure consist of
reducing the thickness of a pointed ,tapered
wire by drawing it through a conical opening in
a tool made of a hard material. The wire will
take shape of the hole. Drawing improves
strength and hardness when these properties
are to be developed by cold work and not by
subsequent heat treatment.
 Wire Drawing
 Wire drawing is a metal-reducing process in
which a wire rod is pulled or drawn through a
single die or a series of continuous dies,
thereby reducing its diameter. Because the
volume of the wire remains the same, the
length of the wire changes according to its new
diameter.
 Process Characteristics
 Pulls a wire rod through a die, reducing its
diameter
 Increases the length of the wire as its diameter
decreases
 May use several dies in succession (tandem)
for obtaining small diameter wires.
 Improves material properties due to cold
working
 Wire temper can be controlled by swaging,
drawing, and annealing treatments
 Tube Drawing
 When a hollow tube is drawn through a die,
generally a mandrel or plug is used to support
the inside diameter of the tube, this process is
called tube drawing. The function of the plug is
to effect wall reduction and to control the size
of the hole.
 Sheet Metal Operations
 A piece of metal whose thickness is between
0.006(0.15 mm) and 0.25 inches(6.35 mm).
 Anything thinner is referred to as a foil and
thicker is considered as a plate.
 Sheet thickness is generally measured in
gauge. Greater the gauge number, thinner the
sheet of metal.
 Sheet metal can be cut, bent and stretched into
nearly any shape.
 Generally two types of operations are
performed- forming and cutting.
 Sheet Metal Operations

 Bending  Nibbling
 Shearing  Embossing
 Blanking  Shaving
 Punching  Cutoff
 Trimming  Dinking
 Parting  Coining
 Slitting  Deep drawing
 Lancing  Stretch forming
 Notching  Roll forming
 Perforating
Bending
 Bending is a metal
forming process in
which a force is
applied to a piece
of sheet metal,
causing it to bend
at an angle and
form the desired
shape.
 Types
 V-Bending
 Edge bending

 V-Bending: The sheet metal blank is bent

between a Vshaped punch and die.
 Edge or Wipe Bending: Wipe bending
requires the sheet to be held against the wipe
die by a pressure pad. The punch then presses
against the edge of the sheet that extends
beyond the die and pad. The sheet will bend
against the radius of the edge of the wipe die.
Bending Operations
Spring Back Effect
 The air forming zone shows
that when the press brake
exerts pressure on the sheet,
the metal begins to bend.
During air forming the
workpiece springs back
slightly when released from
pressure, as it attempts to
return to its original shape.
The amount of springback
that occurs is a property of the
material and radius.
Deep Drawing
 Deep drawing is a metal
forming process in which
sheet metal is stretched
into the desired shape.
 A tool pushes downward
on the sheet metal,
forcing it into a die cavity
in the shape of the
desired part
Sequence