MEC 2101 Manufacturing Processes

MODULE III METAL FORMING PROCESSES

Dr K Sathickbasha
Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering
BSACIST
Module III

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Metal forming Process

• Large set of manufacturing processes in which the material is deformed plastically to take the
shape of the die geometry.
• The tools used for such deformation are called die, punch etc.
• Plastic deformation: Stresses beyond yield strength of the workpiece material is required.
• Categories: Bulk metal forming, Sheet metal forming

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Stress Strain Curve

A- Proportionality Limit
B- Elastic Point
C- Upper Yield Point
D-lower Yield Point
E- Ultimate Tensile Strength
F- Fracture Point

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Classification of metal forming Process

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Classification of bulk deformation process

• Bulk forming: It is a severe deformation process resulting in massive shape change.

The surface area-to-volume of the work is relatively small. Mostly done in hot working
conditions.
• Rolling: In this process, 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.

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Classification of bulk deformation process

• Forging: The workpiece is compressed between two dies containing shaped contours.
The die shapes are imparted into the final part.
• Extrusion: In this, the workpiece is compressed or pushed into the die opening to take
the shape of the die hole as its cross section.
• Wire or rod drawing: similar to extrusion, except that the workpiece is pulled through
the die opening to take the cross-section.

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Cold working

• Generally done at room temperature or slightly above room temperature.

Advantages compared to hot forming:
(1) closer tolerances can be achieved
(2) good surface finish
(3) because of strain hardening, higher strength and hardness is seen in part
(4) grain flow during deformation provides the opportunity for desirable directional properties
(5) since no heating of the work is involved, furnace, fuel, electricity costs are minimized
(6) Machining requirements are minimum resulting in possibility of near net shaped forming.
Disadvantages:
(1) higher forces and power are required
(2) strain hardening of the work metal limit the amount of forming that can be done
(3) sometimes cold forming-annealing-cold forming cycle should be followed
(4) the work piece is not ductile enough to be cold worked

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Hot working

• Involves deformation above recrystallization temperature, between 0.5 Tm to 0.75 Tm.

• Tm melting Point
Advantages:
(1) significant plastic deformation can be given to the sample,
(2) significant change in workpiece shape,
(3) lower forces are required,
(4) materials with premature failure can be hot formed,
(5) absence of strengthening due to work hardening.
Disadvantages:
(1) shorter tool life,
(2) poor surface finish,
(3) lower dimensional accuracy,
(4) sample surface oxidation

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Forging Process

• It is a deformation process in which the work piece is compressed between two dies, using
either impact load or hydraulic load (or gradual load) to deform it.
• It is used to make a variety of high-strength components for automotive, aerospace,
and other applications. The components include engine crankshafts, connecting rods, gears,
aircraft structural components, jet engine turbine parts etc.
• Category based on temperature : cold, hot forging
• Category based on presses: impact load => forging hammer; gradual pressure =>
forging press
• Category based on type of forming: Open die forging, impression die forging, flashless
forging

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Forging Process ( Cont..)

Open die forging

• In open die forging, the work piece is
compressed between two flat platens or dies,
thus allowing the metal to flow without any
restriction in the sideward direction relative to
the die surfaces.
Impression die forging
• In impression die forging, the die surfaces
contain a shape that is given to the work piece
during compression, thus restricting the metal
flow significantly. There is some extra deformed
material outside the die impression which is
called as flash. This will be trimmed off later.

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Forging ( Cont..)

Flashless forging
• The work piece is fully restricted within the die and no flash is produced. The amount
of initial work piece used must be controlled accurately so that it matches the volume
of the die cavity.

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Open die forging
• A simplest example of open die forging is compression of billet between two flat die halves
which is like compression test. This also known as upsetting or upset forging. Basically height
decreases and diameter increases.
• Under ideal conditions, where there is no friction between the billet and die surfaces,
homogeneous deformation occurs. In this, the diameter increases uniformly throughout its
height.
• In ideal condition, ε = ln (ho/h). h will be equal to hf at the end of compression, ε will be
maximum for the whole forming. Also F = σf A is used to find the force required for forging,
where σf is the flow stress corresponding to ε at that stage of forming.

Start of compression Partial compression completed compression

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Open die forging ( Cont..)

• In actual forging operation, the deformation will not be homogeneous as bulging

occurs because of the presence of friction at the die-billet interface. This friction
opposes the movement of billet at the surface. This is called barreling effect.
• The barreling effect will be significant as the diameter-to-height (D/h) ratio of the
work part increases, due to the greater contact area at the billet–die interface.
Temperature will also affect the barreling phenomenon.

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Open die forging ( Cont..)

• In actual forging, the accurate force evaluation is done by using, F = Kf σf A by

considering the effect of friction and D/h ratio.

Where, Kf = forging shape factor, μ = coefficient of friction, D = work piece diameter,

h = workpiece height

Cylinder having h/D < 2 with friction Frictionless compression

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Closed die forging

• Closed die forging called as impression die forging is performed in dies which has the
impression that will be imparted to the work piece through forming.
• In the intermediate stage, the initial billet deforms partially giving a bulged shape. During the
die full closure, impression is fully filled with deformed billet and further moves out of the
impression to form flash.
• In multi stage operation, separate die cavities are required for shape change. In the initial
stages, uniform distribution of properties and microstructure are seen. In the final stage, actual
shape modification is observed. When drop forging is used, several blows of the hammer may
be required for each step.

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Closed die forging ( Cont…)

• The formula used for open die forging earlier can be used for closed die forging, i.e.,
F = Kf σf A
• Where F is maximum force in the operation; A is projected area of the part including flash, σf is
flow stress of the material, Kf is forging shape factor.
• The above equation is applied to find the maximum force during the operation, since this is the
load that will determine the required capacity of the press used in the forging operation.
• Impression die forging is not capable of making close tolerance objects. Machining is generally
required to achieve the accuracies needed. The basic geometry of the part is obtained from the
forging process, with subsequent machining done on those portions of the part that require
precision finishing like holes, threads etc.
• In order to improve the efficiency of closed die forging, precision forging was developed that
can produce forgings with thin sections, more complex geometries, closer tolerances, and
elimination of machining allowances. In precision forging operations, sometimes machining is
fully eliminated which is called near-net shape forging.

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Flashless forging

• In flashless forging, most important is that the work piece volume must equal the
space in the die cavity within a very close tolerance.
• If the starting billet size is too large, excessive pressures will cause damage to the die
and press. If the billet size is too small, the cavity will not be filled.
• Because of the demands, this process is suitable to make simple and symmetrical part
geometries, and to work materials such as Al, Mg and their alloys.

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Coining

• Coining is a simple application of closed die forging in which fine details in the die
impression are impressed into the top or/and bottom surfaces of the work piece.
• Though there is little flow of metal in coining, the pressures required to reproduce the
surface details in the die cavity are at par with other impression forging operations.

Starting of cycle Fully compressed Ram pressure removed and ejection of part
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Forging Tools

Hammers
• Hammers operate by applying an impact loading on the work piece. This is also called
as drop hammer, owing to the means of delivering impact energy.
• When the upper die strikes the work piece, the impact energy applied causes the part
to take the form of the die cavity. Sometimes, several blows of the hammer are
required to achieve the desired change in shape.
Drop hammers are classified as
(1) Gravity drop hammers (2) power drop hammers.
• Gravity drop hammers - achieve their energy by the falling weight of a heavy ram. The
force of the blow is dependent on the height of the drop and the weight of the ram.
• Power drop hammers - accelerate the ram by pressurized air or steam.

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Forging Tools ( Cont…)

Drop hammers

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Forging tools ( Cont..)

Presses
• The force is given to the forging billet gradually, and not like impact force.
Mechanical presses: In these presses, the rotating motion of a drive motor is converted
into the translation motion of the ram.
• They operate by means of eccentrics, cranks, or knuckle joints. Mechanical presses
typically achieve very high forces at the bottom of the forging stroke.
Hydraulic presses : hydraulically driven piston is used to actuate the ram.
Screw presses : apply force by a screw mechanism that drives the vertical ram. Both
screw drive and hydraulic drive operate at relatively low ram speeds.

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Forging tools ( Cont..)

• Forging dies

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Forging tools ( Cont..)

• Parting line: The parting line divides the upper die from the lower die. In other words, it is the
plane where the two die halves meet. The selection of parting line affects grain flow in the part,
required load, and flash formation.
• Draft: It is the amount of taper given on the sides of the part required to remove it from the die.
• Draft angles: It is meant for easy removal of part after operation is completed. 3° for Al and Mg
parts; 5° to 7° for steel parts.
• Webs and ribs: They are thin portions of the forging that is parallel and perpendicular to the
parting line. More difficulty is witnessed in forming the part as they become thinner.
• Fillet and corner radii: Small radii limits the metal flow and increase stresses on die surfaces
during forging.
• Flash: The pressure build up because of flash formation is controlled proper design of gutter
and flash land.

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Rolling

• Rolling is a metal forming process in which the thickness of the work is reduced by
compressive forces exerted by two rolls rotating in opposite direction. Flat rolling is
shown in figure. Similarly shape rolling is also possible like a square cross section is
formed into a shape such as an I-beam, L-beam.

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Rolling (Cont..)

Important terminologies
• Bloom: It has a square cross section 150 mm x 150 mm or more. Blooms are rolled into
structural shapes like rails for railroad tracks.
• 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. 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.
• Billet: It is rolled from a bloom and is square in cross-section with dimensions 40mm
on a side or more. Billets are rolled into bars, rods. They become raw materials for
machining, wire drawing, forging, extrusion etc.

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Rolling ( Cont…)

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Rolling ( Cont…)

• The plates and sheets are further reduced in thickness by cold rolling to strengthen the
metal and permits a tighter tolerance on thickness.
• Important advantage is that the surface of the cold-rolled sheet does not contain scales
and generally superior to the corresponding hot rolled product.
• Later the cold-rolled sheets are used for stampings, exterior panels, and other parts
used in automobile, aerospace and house hold appliance industries.

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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.

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Rolling Mills ( Cont…)

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

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Rolling Mills ( Cont…)

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.

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Rolling Mills ( Cont…)

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.

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Rolling Mills ( Cont…)

Thread rolling
• Thread rolling is used to create threads on cylindrical parts by rolling them between
two dies as shown in figure. It is used for mass production of external threaded parts
like bolts and screws.
Ring rolling
• Ring rolling is a forming process in which a thick walled ring part of smaller diameter
is rolled into a thin walled ring of larger diameter.
• As the thick walled ring is compressed, the deformed material elongates, making the
diameter of the ring to be enlarged.
• Application: ball and roller bearing races, steel tires for railroad wheels, rings for
pipes, pressure vessels, and rotating machinery

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Rolling Mills ( Cont…)

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