554 Part B Applications in Mechanical Engineering

7.2 Metal Forming

7.2.1 Introduction elevated temperature (warm or hot forming). Where hot
forming is done with workpieces heated over their re-
Metal-forming is the manufacturing through plastic crystallization temperature, warm forming is performed
(permanent) change of the form of a solid body by with workpieces between the room and the recrystal-
preserving both the mass and the cohesion. The term lization temperature or slightly over the recrystallization
forming should be used for controlled plastic straining temperature. Examples of typical bulk forming pro-
with a predefined target shape, whereas the term de- cesses are given in the following.
forming should be used for unwanted or uncontrolled Figure 7.26 shows the primary forming process of
plastic straining. Basic advantages of metal-forming flat rolling: an initial blank is reduced in thickness
processes as compared to alternative processes such as by means of two rolls. The width of the workpiece
casting and machining are [7.22, 23]: remains usually approximately constant. The prod-
uct is used as initial workpiece for other basically
• High material utilization and hence high energy
sheet forming processes. By rolling also the casting-
conservation
microstructure is changed to a more homogenous
• High productivity with short production times
defect-free microstructure.
• High dimensional and shape accuracy within certain
Figure 7.27 shows the basic process of wire draw-
tolerances
ing. Here, an initial rod or wire is forced through
• Superior mechanical material properties of the prod-
a conical die in order to reduce its diameter. Due to
uct (especially for dynamic loadings)
the application of a drawing force the area reduction
On the other hand, these processes are exposed to the is limited to about 20%. Extrusion is demonstrated in
following disadvantages: Fig. 7.28.
Similar to wire drawing the cross-section of a rod is
• Due to the high loads required for plastic forming,
reduced by forcing it through a die opening. However
the tools and machines are expensive requiring min-
this time the workpiece is pushed into the die instead
imum batch sizes for economic production.
Part B 7.2

of pulled through. The extrusion process shown in the

• The limited formability of metals restricts the range
figure produces continuous profiles with various cross-
of product geometries.
sections. These are usually semifinished products and
• The process usually requires a high level of en-
are processed further in subsequent processes. Whereas
gineering including analytical modeling, numerical
analysis (process simulation), and also extended
experience. M
Metal-forming processes can be classified according
F
to various criteria. An academic classification is done ω
according to the dominant stress state existing in
the deformation zone. Accordingly forming processes
can be classified into compressive, tensile, tensile– Roll
Workpiece
compressive, bending and shearing processes. A more
practical classification is according to the type of prod- h0
uct by which two classes of processes are identified: h1
bulk forming and sheet forming processes. In bulk
forming processes the workpieces have spatial geom-
etries (i. e. their geometries are more or less balanced in ω
all space-directions). During forming large changes in
the cross-sections and in the thickness of the products
are found. The material flows in all directions. Gen- F Roll
erally, multiaxial compressive stress states exist in the M
deformation zone. Larger relative forming forces are
needed. Bulk forming can be done either with work-
pieces at room temperature (cold forming) or at an Fig. 7.26 Flat rolling
 Manufacturing Engineering 7.2 Metal Forming 555

a)
Die

d0 d1

Ftotal
Workpiece
α
b) Upper die

Fig. 7.27 Wire drawing

Lower die
Container
Fig. 7.30a,b Forging: (a) upsetting, (b) impression forging
Ram Die

v, F Two further bulk forming processes that have sheet-

like products are shown in Fig. 7.31. Ironing (Fig. 7.31a)
Product
Billet is the process in which the wall-thickness of a cup is
reduced. This is considered as a bulk forming process
Fig. 7.28 Extrusion since the thickness is reduced and the stress states re-
sembles a typical bulk forming process. Figure 7.31b
the extrusion process in Fig. 7.29, also called impact ex- shows a flow turning process. Also here the thickness
trusion or cold-forging, aims to produce discrete parts, of a hollow workpiece is reduced and the stress state is
here, net-shaped or near-net shaped parts, i. e. parts that typical for bulk forming.

Part B 7.2
need no or only minor machining or similar shaping Sheet forming processes, on the other hand, deal
operations are formed. with planar workpieces (sheets, plates) and aim to
Figure 7.30 shows typical forging processes. In produce hollow pieces with almost constant wall thick-
these processes the initial – usually heated – work- ness. Here a change of wall thickness is not intended.
piece is formed between two dies. If the dies are flat Generally two-axial stress states exist. These are ei-
this process is called upsetting or open-die forging ther tensile–compressive or tensile–tensile, and the third
(Fig. 7.30a). If the part is formed between shaped dies stress component normal to the sheet plane is zero or
and during forging an excessive material flow occurs in nearly zero. Sheet forming processes are usually con-
form of a flash, this process is called impression die ducted with workpieces that are not heated. Figures
forging (Fig. 7.30b). Closed die forging is the forging 7.32–7.34 show some examples of typical sheet forming
process in which no flash is produced. This is also called processes. Figure 7.32 describes the bending of sheets.
trapped-die forging. The mechanics of deformation during bending depends

a) Workpiece b)

Punch Workpiece
Punch

Punch

Die Die
Die

Fig. 7.29a,b Impact extrusion: (a) forward rod extrusion, (b) backward can extrusion
556 Part B Applications in Mechanical Engineering

a) t0: Blank thickness

Punch d0: Blank diameter
l0: Initial state
l1–6 : Intermediate states l0
Workpiece l7: Final state 0
1
3 2
4
6 5

7 Pressure roll
α Mandrel d0/2
Support plate
Die
dm/2 dF/2

Workpiece
b) Support plate
Workpiece
Fig. 7.33 Spinning

Blank Forming tool

Mandrel Pressure roll

Fig. 7.31a,b Ironing and flow turning: (a) ironing, (b) flow
turning α
Blank holder
Part B 7.2

very much on the ratio of the sheet thickness to the Fig. 7.34 Incremental sheet forming
bending radius. Mostly the thickness of the sheet varies
only slightly during bending. In the figure the free bend- ducing a hollow cup. The basic deformation occurs in
ing process is shown. Bending can be also conducted in the flange of the workpiece and the stress state here
dies. consists of a tensile and a compressive component. The
The process of stretching (Fig. 7.104) consists of sheet is thickening at the outer rim. In this process
applying tensile forces in the plane of the sheet.
The thickness of the sheet is reduced considerably in Deformation zone
stretching. Figure 7.105 shows the basic process of Forming Tool (rolls)
deep-drawing. During this process an originally mainly machine
flat sheet is drawn by means of a punch into a die pro- Interface
Factory workpiece –
tool

Product

Material prior
to forming Surface reactions

Fig. 7.32 Bending Fig. 7.35 Metal forming system (after [7.22, 23])
 Manufacturing Engineering 7.2 Metal Forming 557

a) Undeformed crystal Material properties of the plastically formed workpiece,

τ
the product, constitute the third item. The tools, here
the rolls, make up the another item. The interface be-
tween the workpiece and the tools is item five. The
Elastic
surface reactions of the workpiece before and after de-
deformation formation constitute the sixth item of the system of
metal forming. The two final items are the forming ma-
τ chine and the factory. All items influence each other
b) Undeformed crystal τ and must, therefore, be mutually taken into considera-
tions.

Elastic 7.2.2 Metallurgical Fundamentals

and plastic
deformation Mechanisms of Plastic Deformation
If a metal crystal is exposed to shear stresses, first the
τ
lattice will deform elastically as shown in Fig. 7.36a.
Fig. 7.36a,b Elastic and plastic deformations of the lattice By removal of the shear stress the lattice will recover
structure its original form. If the shear stress is increased the
crystal will deform elastically and plastically, such that
also bending at the die radius and stretching in the cup upon removal of stresses the crystal will not recover
walls occur. completely its original shape (Fig. 7.36b). Plastic de-
Figure 7.33 exhibits the process of spinning. Spin- formations occur by the movement of atomic layers.
ning is a typical incremental process in which an This movement occurs on so-called slip planes along
originally flat sheet is formed by means of a roll to- slip directions [7.24].
wards a mandrel where the sheet is rotating and the roll The theoretical shear stress necessary to move one
is performing a translatory motion. part of the lattice along a slip plane with respect to the

Part B 7.2
Another recent incremental sheet forming process other part is estimated as
is sketched in Fig. 7.34. In this process a punch control-
G G
lable in three to five axes is used to shape an originally τtheoretical = to , (7.1)
flat sheet incrementally. The process is much slower 30 2π
than the classical deep-drawing or stretching process where G is the shear modulus of the metal. For typi-
and has the advantage of being flexible. Besides solid cal metals the theoretical shear strength as calculated
tools also pressure media can be used in sheet forming by (7.1) is tabulated in Table 7.16.
operations (Figs. 7.114–7.116). Hydroforming, aqua- A second mechanism of plastic deformation is
drawing, and tube-hydro-forming are various process twinning (Fig. 7.37). During twinning atoms on one
variants of this process family. side of the twinning plane are almost instantaneously
Analysis of metal forming processes can be done moved to a mirror position of the other side of the
most efficiently in a system approach. Basic items of plane. Twinning is a preferred mechanism of plas-
the metal forming system are shown in Fig. 7.35 for the tic deformation in hexagonal closed packed (HCP)
flat rolling process. The first item is the material prior metals such as titanium, magnesium and zinc al-
to forming. The deformation zone is the second item. loys. Also, for other metals twinning is preferred if

Table 7.16 Theoretical and actual shear strength for typical metals
Metal Shear modulus Theoretical shear strength Actual shear strength
(MPa) (MPa) (MPa)
Steel 75 800 2527–12 063 150 –750
Aluminum alloys 27 500 917–4377 50 –150
Copper alloys 41 400 1380–6589 100 –250
Titanium alloys 44 800 1493–7130 350 –800