Manufacturing Processes

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming

Fall 2023
Lecture outline
• Overview of Metal Forming

• Material Behavior in Metal Forming

• Temperature in Metal Forming

• Strain Rate Sensitivity

• Friction and Lubrication in Metal Forming

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 2 of 38

Metal Forming
• Large group of 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

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 3 of 38

Stresses in Metal Forming
• Stresses to plastically deform the metal are usually
compressive (rolling, forging, extrusion)
• However, some forming processes stretch the metal
(tensile stresses)
• Others bend the metal (tensile and compressive)
• Still others apply shear stresses

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 4 of 38

Material Properties in Metal
Forming
• 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

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 5 of 38

Basic Types of Metal Forming
Processes
Bulk deformation
• Rolling processes
• Forging processes
• Extrusion processes
• Wire and bar drawing

Sheet metalworking
• Bending operations
• Deep or cup drawing
• Shearing processes

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 6 of 38

Bulk Deformation Processes
• Characterized by significant deformations and massive
shape changes

• "Bulk" refers to workparts with relatively low

surface area-to-volume ratios

• Starting work shapes are usually simple geometries

• Examples:
• Cylindrical billets

• Rectangular bars

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 7 of 38

Bulk Deformation Processes

(a) Rolling (b) Forging

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 8 of 38

Bulk Deformation Processes

(c) Extrusion (d) Wire and bar Drawing

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 9 of 38

Sheet Metalworking
• 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 these operations are

performed on presses
• Parts are called stampings

• Usual tooling: punch and die

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 10 of 38

Sheet Metalworking

(a) Bending (b) Deep drawing

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 11 of 38

Sheet Metalworking

(c) Shearing: (1) punch first contacting sheet and

(2) after cutting

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 12 of 38

Material Behavior in Metal Forming
• Plastic region of stress-strain curve is primary interest
because material is plastically deformed

• In plastic region, metal's behavior is expressed by the

flow curve:
s = Ken
where K = strength coefficient; and n = strain hardening exponent

• Flow curve based on true stress and true strain

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 13 of 38

Flow Stress
• For most metals at room temperature, strength increases
when deformed due to strain hardening

• Flow stress = instantaneous value of stress required to

continue deforming the material

Yf = Ken
where Yf = flow stress, that is, the yield strength as a function of strain

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 14 of 38

Average Flow Stress
Determined by integrating the flow curve equation
between zero and the final strain value defining the range
of interest

𝑲𝜺𝒏
𝒀𝒇 =
(𝒏 + 𝟏)

where 𝑌*# = average flow stress; and ε = maximum strain

during deformation process

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 15 of 38

Stress-Strain Relationship

Average flow stress 𝑌*# in

relation to:
• Flow stress Yf
• Yield strength Y

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 16 of 38

Temperature in Metal 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

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 17 of 38

Temperature in Metal Forming
• Any deformation operation can be accomplished with
lower forces and power at elevated temperature
• Three temperature ranges in metal forming:
• Cold working
• Warm working
• Hot working

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 18 of 38

Cold Working
• Performed at room temperature or slightly above

• Many cold forming processes are important mass

production operations

• Minimum or no machining usually required

• These operations are near net shape or net shape
processes

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 19 of 38

Advantages of Cold Forming
• Better accuracy, closer tolerances

• Better surface finish

• Strain hardening increases strength and hardness

• Grain flow during deformation can cause desirable

directional properties in product

• No heating of work required

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 20 of 38

Disadvantages of Cold Forming
• Higher forces and power required for deformation

• Starting work surfaces must be free of scale and dirt

• Ductility and strain hardening limit the amount of forming

that can be done

• In some cases, metal must be annealed before

further deformation can be accomplished

• In other cases, metal is simply not ductile enough to

be cold worked

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 21 of 38

Warm Working
• Performed at temperatures above room temperature but
below recrystallization temperature

• Dividing line between cold working and warm

working often expressed in terms of melting point:

• 0.3Tm, where Tm = melting point (absolute temperature)

for metal

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 22 of 38

Pros and Cons of Warm Working
Advantages
• Lower forces and power than in cold working
• More intricate work geometries possible
• Need for annealing may be reduced or eliminated
Disadvantage
• Workpiece must be heated

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 23 of 38

Hot Working
• Deformation at temperatures above the
recrystallization temperature

• Recrystallization temperature = about one-half of melting point

on absolute scale

• In practice, hot working usually performed somewhat above

0.5Tm

• Metal continues to soften as temperature increases above

0.5Tm, enhancing advantage of hot working above this level

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 24 of 38

Why Hot Working?
• Capability for substantial plastic deformation- far more
than possible by cold working or warm working
• Why?
• Strength coefficient (K) is substantially less than at room
temperature

• Strain hardening exponent (n) is zero (theoretically)

• Ductility is significantly increased

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 25 of 38

Advantages of Hot Working
• Workpart shape can be significantly altered

• Lower forces and power required

• Metals that usually fracture in cold working can be hot

formed

• Strength properties of product are generally isotropic

• No strengthening of part occurs from work hardening

• Advantageous in cases when part is to be subsequently

processed by cold forming

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 26 of 38

Disadvantages of Hot Working
• Lower dimensional accuracy

• Higher total energy required, which is the sum of

• The thermal energy needed to heat the workpiece
• Energy to deform the metal

• Work surface oxidation (scale)

• Thus, poorer surface finish

• Shorter tool life

• Dies and rolls in bulk deformation

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 27 of 38

Strain Rate Sensitivity
• Theoretically, a metal in hot working behaves like a
perfectly plastic material, with strain hardening
exponent n = 0

• The metal should continue to flow at the same flow

stress, once that stress is reached

• However, an additional phenomenon occurs during

deformation, especially at elevated temperatures: Strain
rate sensitivity

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 28 of 38

What is Strain Rate?
• Strain rate is directly related to speed of deformation v

• Deformation speed v = velocity of the ram or other

movement of the equipment

• Strain rate is defined as:

𝒗
𝜺̇ =
𝒉
Where 𝜀̇ = true strain rate and h = instantaneous height of the
workpiece being deformed

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 29 of 38

Evaluation of Strain Rate
• In most practical operations, valuation of strain
rate is complicated by
• Workpart geometry
• Variations in strain rate in different regions of the part

• Strain rate can reach 1000 s-1 or more for some metal
forming operations

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 30 of 38

Effect of Strain Rate on Flow Stress

• Flow stress is a function of temperature

• At hot working temperatures, flow stress also depends on

strain rate

• As strain rate increases, resistance to deformation

increases

• This is the effect known as strain-rate sensitivity

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 31 of 38

Strain Rate Sensitivity

a) Effect of strain rate on flow b) Same relationship

stress at an elevated work plotted on log-log
temperature coordinates

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 32 of 38

Strain Rate Sensitivity Equation

𝒀𝒇 = 𝑪𝜺̇ 𝒎

where C = strength constant (analogous but not equal to

strength coefficient in flow curve equation), and m =
strain-rate sensitivity exponent

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 33 of 38

Effect of Temperature on Flow
Stress
• The constant C, indicated by
the intersection of each plot
with the vertical dashed line at
strain rate = 1.0, decreases

• And m (slope of each plot)

increases with increasing
temperature

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 34 of 38

Notes about Strain Rate Sensitivity
• Increasing temperature decreases C and increases m

• At room temperature, effect of strain rate is almost

negligible
• Flow curve alone is a good representation of material behavior

• As temperature increases
• Strain rate becomes increasingly important in determining flow
stress

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 35 of 38

Friction in Metal Forming

• In most metal forming processes, friction is undesirable:

• Metal flow is reduced
• Forces and power are increased
• Tools wear faster

• Friction and tool wear are more severe in hot working

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 36 of 38

Lubrication in Metal Forming
• Metalworking lubricants are applied to tool-work interface
in many forming operations to reduce harmful effects of
friction

• Benefits:
• Reduced sticking, forces, power, tool wear
• Better surface finish
• Removes heat from the tooling

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 37 of 38

Considerations in Choosing a
Lubricant
• Type of forming process (rolling, forging, sheet metal
drawing, etc.)

• Hot working or cold working

• Work material

• Chemical reactivity with tool and work metals

• Ease of application

• Cost

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Metal Forming Slide 38 of 38