Fundamentals of Metal

Forming
Introduction

 Deformation processes have been designed

to exploit the plasticity of engineering
materials
 Plasticity is the ability of a material to flow as
a solid without deterioration of properties
 Deformation processes require a large
amount of force
 Processes include bulk flow, simple shearing,
or compound bending
States of Stress
Forming Processes:
Independent Variables
 Forming processes consist of independent and
dependent variables
 Independent variables are the aspects of the
processes that the engineer or operator has direct
control
 Starting material
 Starting geometry of the workpiece
 Tool or die geometry
 Lubrication
 Starting temperature
 Speed of operation
 Amount of deformation
Forming Operations
Forming Operations
Forming Operations
Dependent Variables
 Dependent variables are those that are
determined by the independent variable
selection
 Force or power requirements
 Material properties of the product
 Exit or final temperature
 Surface finish and precision
 Nature of the material flow
Independent-Dependent
Relationships
 Independent variables- control is direct and
immediate
 Dependent variables- control is entirely
indirect
 Determined by the process
 If a dependent variable needs to be controlled, the
designer must select the proper independent
variable that changes the dependent variable
Independent-Dependent
Relationships
 Information on the
interdependence of
independent and
dependent variables
can be learned in three
ways
 Experience
 Experiment Schematic representation of a metalforming system
showing independent variables, dependent variables,
 Process modeling and the various means of linking the two.
Process Modeling

 Simulations are created using finite element

modeling
 Models can predict how a material will
respond to a rolling process, fill a forging die,
flow through an extrusion die, or solidify in a
casting
 Heat treatments can be simulation
 Costly trial and error development cycles can
be eliminated
General Parameters

 Material being deformed must be

characterized
 Strength or resistance for deformation
 Conditions at different temperatures
 Formability limits
 Reaction to lubricants
 Speed of deformation and its effects
 Speed-sensitive materials- more energy is
required to produce the same results
Friction and Lubrication Under
Metalworking Conditions
 High forces and pressures are required to deform a
material
 For some processes, 50% of the energy is spent in
overcoming friction
 Changes in lubrication can alter material flow, create
or eliminate defects, alter surface finish and
dimensional precision, and modify product
properties
 Production rates, tool design, tool wear, and
process optimization depend on the ability to
determine and control friction
Friction Conditions
 Metalforming friction differs
from the friction
encountered in mechanical
devices
 For light, elastic loads,
friction is proportional to the
applied pressure
 μ is the coefficient of friction
 At high pressures, friction is
related to the strength of the The effect of contact pressure on the
frictional resistance between two surfaces.
weaker material
Friction

 Friction is resistance to sliding along an

interface
 Resistance can be attributed to:
 Abrasion
 Adhesion
 Resistance is proportional to the strength of
the weaker material and the contact area
Surface Deterioration

 Surface wear is related to friction

 Wear on the workpiece is not objectionable,
but wear on the tooling is
 Tooling wear is economically costly and can
impact dimensional precision
 Tolerance control can be lost
 Tool wear can impact the surface finish
Lubrication

 Key to success in many metalforming

operations
 Primarily selected to reduce friction and tool
wear, but may be used as a thermal barrier,
coolant, or corrosion retardant
 Other factors
 Ease of removal, lack of toxicity, odor,
flammability, reactivity, temperature, velocity,
wetting characteristics
Temperature Concerns
 Workpiece temperature can be one of the
most important process variables
 In general, an increase in temperature is
related to a decrease in strength, increase in
ductility, and decrease in the rate of strain
hardening
 Hot working
 Cold working
 Warm working
Hot Working

 Plastic deformation of metals at a

temperature above the recrystallization
temperature
 Temperature varies greatly with material
 Recrystallization removes the effects of strain
hardening
 Hot working may produce undesirable
reactions from the metal and its surroundings
Structure and Property
Modification by Hot Working
 The size of grains upon cooling is not
typically uniform
 Undesirable grain shapes can be common
(such as columnar grains)
 Recrystallization is followed by:
 grain growth
 additional deformation and recrystallization
 drop in temperature that will terminate diffusion
and freeze the recrystallized structure
Hot Working
 Engineering properties
can be improved
through reorienting
Cross section of a 4-in.-diameter case
inclusion or impurities copper bar polished and etched to show the
as-cast grain structure.
 During plastic
deformation, impurities
tend to flow along with
the base metal or
fraction into rows of Etched surface of a sectioned crankshaft
showing the grain flow pattern that gives forged
fragments parts enhanced strength, fracture resistance,
and fatigue life. (Courtesy of the Forging
Industry Association, Cleveland, OH)
Temperature Variations in Hot
Working
 Success or failure of a hot
deformation process often
depends on the ability to
control temperatures
 Over 90% of the energy
imparted to a deforming
workpiece is converted to
heat
 Nonuniform temperatures
may be produced and may Schematic comparison of the grain flow in a
result in cracking machined thread (a) and a rolled thread (b).
The rolling operation further deforms the axial
 Thin sections cool faster structure produced by the previous wire- or
than thick sections rod-forming operations, while machining
simply cuts through it.
Cold Working
 Plastic deformation below the
recrystallization temperature
 Advantages as compared to hot working
 No heating required
 Better surface finish
 Superior dimensional control
 Better reproducibility
 Strength, fatigue, and wear are improved
 Directional properties can be imparted
 Contamination is minimized
Disadvantages of Cold
Working
 Higher forces are required to initiate and complete
the deformation
 Heavier and more powerful equipment and stronger
tooling are required
 Less ductility is available
 Metal surfaces must be clean and scale-free
 Intermediate anneals may be required
 Imparted directional properties can be detrimental
 Undesirable residual stresses may be produced
Metal Properties and Cold
Working
Two features that are significant in selecting a material for
cold working are
 Magnitude of the yield-point stress
 Extent of the strain region from yield stress to fracture
 Springback should also be considered when selecting a
material

Use of true stress-true strain diagram to assess the

suitability of two metals for cold working.
Initial and Final Properties in a
Cold-Working Process (Below) Stress-strain
curve for a low-carbon
steel showing the
 Quality of the starting commonly observed yield-
point runout; (Right)
material is important to Luders bands or stretcher
strains that form when this
the success or failure of material is stretched to an
the cold-working amount less than the
yield-point runout.
process
 The starting material
should be clean and
free of oxide or scale
that might cause
abrasion to the dies or
rolls
Additional Effects of Cold
Working
 Annealing heat treatments
may be performed prior or
at intermediate intervals to
cold working
 Heat treatments allows
additional cold working and
deformation processes
 Cold working produces a
structure where properties
vary with direction,
Mechanical properties of pure copper as a
anisotropy function of the amount of cold work (expressed in
percent).
Warm Forming
 Deformations produced at temperatures
intermediate to cold and hot working
 Advantages
 Reduced loads on the tooling and equipment
 Increased material ductility
 Possible reduction in the number of anneals
 Less scaling and decarburization
 Better dimensional precision and smoother
surfaces than hot working
 Used for processes such as forging and extrusion
Warm Forming

Increasing the temperature increases the formability of

aluminum, decreasing the strength and increasing the
ductility. (Adapted from data provided by Interlaken
Technology Corporation, Chaska, MN)
Isothermal Forming
 Deformation that occurs
under constant temperature
 Dies and tooling are heated
to the same temperature as
the workpiece
 Eliminates cracking from
nonuniform surface
temperatures
Yield strength of various materials (as indicated by
 Inert atmospheres may be pressure required to forge a standard specimen) as
a function of temperature. Materials with steep
used curves may require isothermal forming. (From “A
Study of Forging Variables,” ML-TDR-64-95, March
1964; courtesy of Battelle Columbus Laboratories,
Columbus, OH.)