Extrusion

Extrusion is a process in which the metal is subjected to plastic flow by enclosing the metal in a closed
chamber in which the only opening provided is through a die. The material is usually treated so that it
can undergo plastic deformation at a sufficiently rapid rate and may be squeezed out of the hole in the
die. In the process the metal assumes the opening provided in the die and comes out as a long strip with
the same cross-section as the die-opening. Incidentally, the metal strip produced will have a longitudinal
grain flow.
The process of extrusion is most commonly used for the manufacture of solid and hollow sections
of nonferrous metals and alloys e.g., aluminium, aluminium-magnesium alloys, magnesium and
its alloys, copper, brass and bronze etc. However, some steel products are also made by extrusion.
The stock or the material to be extruded is in the shape of cast ingots or billets. Extrusion may
be done hot or cold. The cross-sections of extruded products vary widely. Some of these sections are
shown in Fig. 4.1.

Some advantages of extrusion process are described below:
(i) The complexity and range of parts which can be produced by extrusion process is very large.
Dies are relative simple and easy to make.
(ii) The extrusion process is complete in one pass only. This is not so in case of rolling, amount
of reduction in extrusion is very large indeed. Extrusion process can be easily automated.
(iii) Large diameter, hollow products, thin walled tubes etc. are easily produced by extrusion
process.
(iv) Good surface finish and excellent dimensional and geometrical accuracy is the hall mark of
extruded products. This cannot be matched by rolling.
Pressure required for extrusion depends upon the strength of material and upon the extrusion
temperature. It will reduce if the material is hot. It will also depend upon the reduction in cross-section
required and the speed of extrusion. There is a limit to the extrusion speed. If extrusion is done at a high
speed, the metal may crack. The reduction of cross-sectional area required is also called extrusion
ratio. There is a limit to this also. For steel extruded hot, this ratio should not exceed 40 : 1, but for
aluminium extruded hot it can be as high as 400 : 1.
EXTRUSION PROCESSES
Extrusion processes can be classified as followed:
(A) Hot Extrusion
(i) Forward or Direct extrusion.
(ii) Backward or Indirect extrusion.
(B) Cold Extrusion
(i) Hooker extrusion.
(ii) Hydrostatic extrusion.
(iii) Impact extrusion.
(iv) Cold extrusion forging.
A. Hot Extrusion Processes
(i) Forward or direct extrusion process: In this process, the material to be extruded is in the form of
a block. It is heated to requisite temperature and then it is transferred inside a chamber as shown in Fig.
4.2. In the front portion of the chamber, a die with an opening in the shape of the cross-section of the
extruded product, is fitted. The block of material is pressed from behind by means of a ram and a
follower pad. Since the chamber is closed on all sides, the heated material is forced to squeeze through
the die-opening in the form of a long strip of the required cross-section.

The process looks simple but the friction between the material and the chamber walls must be
overcome by suitable lubrication.
When extruding steel products, the high temperautre to which the steel has to be heated makes it
difficult to find a suitable lubricant. The problem is solved by using molten glass as a lubricant. When
lower temperatures are used, a mixture of oil and graphite is used as a lubricant.
At the end of the extrusion process, a small piece of metal is left behind in the chamber which
cannot be extruded. This piece is called buttend scrap and is thrown away. To manufacture a tubular
rod, a mandrel of diameter equal to that of tubebore is attached to the ram. This mandrel passes
centrally through the die when the material is extruded. The outside diameter of the tube produced will
be determined by the hole in the die and the bore of tube will be equal to mandrel diameter. The
extrusion process will then called tubular extrusion.
(ii) Backward or indirect extrusion: This process is depicted in Fig. 4.3. As shown, the block
of heated metal is inserted into the container/chamber. It is confined on all sides by the container walls
except in front; where a ram with the die presses upon the material. As the ram presses backwards, the
material has to flow forwards through the opening in the die. The ram is made hollow so that the bar of
extruded metal may pass through it unhindered.

This process is called backward extrusion process as the flow of material is in a direction opposite
to the movement of the ram. In the forward extrusion process the flow of material and ram movement
were both in the same direction. The following table compares the forwards (direct) and backwards
(indirect extrusion process):

B. Cold Extrusion Processes
(i) Hooker extrusion process: This process is also known as extrusion down method. It is used for
producing small thin walled seamless tubes of aluminium and copper. This is done in two stages. In the
first stage the blank is converted into a cup shaped piece. In the second stage, the walls of the cup one
thinned and it is elongated. The process can be understood by referring to Fig. 4.4. This process is a
direct extrusion process.

(ii) Hydrostatic extrusion: This is a direct extrusion process. But the pressure is applied to the metal
blank on all sides through a fluid medium. The fluids commonly used are glycerine, ethyl glycol,
mineral oils, castor oil mixed with alcohol etc. Very high pressures are used 1000 to 3000 MPa.
Relatively brittle materials can also be successfully extruded by this method.
(iii) Impact extrusion: In this process, which is shown in Fig. 4.5 the punch descends with high velocity
and strikes in the centre of the blank which is placed in a die. The material deforms and fills up the
annular space between the die and the punch flowing upwards. Before the use of laminated plastic for
manufacturing tooth paste, shaving cream tubes etc., these collapsible tubes containing paste were and
are still made by this process. This process is actually a backward extrusion process.

(iv) Cold extrusion forging: This process is depicted in Fig. 4.6. This is generally similar to the impact
extrusion process; but there are two differences:
1. In this process the punch descends slowly, and
2. The height of extruded product is short and the side walls are much thicker than the thin
walled products produced by the impact extrusion process. In essence, this process is one of backward
extrusion.

Comparison between Hot and Cold Extrusion
This is given in the following table:

MACHINES FOR EXTRUSION
Both hydraulic and mechanical presses of horizontal and vertical configuration are used for extrusion.
They should be capable of exerting high forces and their rams should have long strokes. To reduce
friction between metal and extrusion chamber walls, lubricants are used. The dies and punches are
made from good quality alloy steels which are known as hot and cold die steels.
Extrusion speed is of the order of 0.5 m/sec for light alloys and 4.5 m/sec for copper alloys.
EXTRUSION DEFECTS
Sometimes the surface of extruded metal/products develop surface cracks. This is due to heat generated
in the extrusion process. These cracks are specially associated with aluminium, magnesium and zinc
alloy extrusions.
The extruded product can develop internal cracks also. These are variously known as centre
burst, centre cracking and arrowhead fracture. The tendency for centre cracking increases with increasing
die angles and material impurities.