Manufacturing Processes / UNIT - III/ Metal Forming Processes

UNIT III

METAL FORMING PROCESSES

Hot working and cold working of metals Forging processes Open, impression
and closed die forging - forging operations. Principle of rod and wire drawing-
Tube drawing- Principles of Extrusion Types - Hot and Cold extrusion. Rolling of
metals- Types of Rolling-Flat strip rolling- shape rolling operations-Defects in
rolled parts.

Forming

Forming is a mechanical process used in manufacturing industries wherein materials (mostly

metals) undergo plastic deformations and acquire required shapes and sizes by application of
suitable stresses such as compression, shear and tension.

In the forming process, no material is removed; it is completely displaced and deformed into
the required shape. The deformation of metal can be achieved by following methods, namely

 Cold working

Hot working

Cold Working

 Cold working is the process of strengthening metals through plastic deformation.

 The working of a metal below their recrystallization temperature is known as cold

working.

 Most of the cold working processes are performed at room temperature.

 When material is cold worked the resulting change in material shape causes changes
in grain structure.

Advantages of cold working process

 Improved surface finish.

 Scale free and bright surface.

 Closer dimensional tolerances.

 Increased strength and hardness of metal.

Disadvantages of cold working

 Only small sized components can be cold worked as it requires greater forces.

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 Residual stresses are setup in the metal.

 Grain structure is distorted.

 Higher costs

 Metals having less ductility cannot be cold worked at room temperature.

Cold working processes list

 Cold rolling.

 Cold forging.

 Cold drawing,

 Cold bending.

 Cold shearing, punching, blanking.

 Cold spinning.

 Cold extrusion.

Hot Working

 The working of a metal above their recrystallization temperature at which new grains
are formed is called hot working.

 The hot working should be carried above the recrystallization temperature but below
the melting point.

Advantages of hot working

 Refinement of grain structure is achieved.

 Elimination of porosity and blow holes in steel.

 Greater flexibility in changing shape and size due to reduction in elastic limit.

 A uniformity is established due to proper distribution of impurities throughout the

mass.

 Improved mechanical properties like, ductility, toughness, elongation etc.

 The power required to finish the part from ingot is less.

Disadvantages of hot working

 Poor surface finish by rapid oxidation or scaling due to high temperature.

 Close tolerance cannot be maintained due to poor surface finish.

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 Reduced tool life due to high temperature.

 Tooling and handling costs are high.

Hot working processes

 Hot rolling

 Hot forging

 Hot extrusion

 Hot drawing

 Hot spinning

 Piping and Tube production.

Forging

 Forging is one of the forming processes.

 This is a process in which metal deforms plastically to another requires shape and size
with the help of a hand or Machine forging with a certain temperature.

Forging is done by two processes:

• Hand forging

• Machine forging

Hand Forging

 The work piece is heated in the furnace after heating Keep the heated work piece
(with the support of blacksmith tongs) onto the anvil and take the hammer are a strike
on it, make the required shape and size.

Machine Forging

 In this process, the operation is performed by the machine but we (Human) regulate
the machines.

Types of Forging

 Drop Forging

 Press Forging

Drop forging

 Drop forging may be a metal forming process. A work piece is inserted into a die then
hammered until it’s assumed the form of the die. The lower die could be a stationary
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part, while the upper part may be a moving hammer dropped onto the work piece so
as to deform it. Drop forging are often performed both at high or ambient temperature.

Press forging

 Press forging is placed between dies. It is the process of forming a metal by applying
mechanical or hydraulic pressure. Press forging is done in a forging press and is a
machine that results in gradual pressure on the forging dies.

 The difference between impact forging and press forging is that in impact forging, a
rapid impact force is applied to the die, but in press forging, a gradually increasing
pressure is applied to the die.

 Press forging is suitable for forging efficiency for large-volume materials.

Drop Forging

 open-die drop forging

 closed-die drop forging

 impression-die forging.

Open-die forging

 Forging in which the flat dies of simple shape are used to allow the material to freely
deformed in lateral directions of applied load.

Closed-die forging

 Forging in which the material is fully constrained in the cavity created by the upper
and lower die halves.

 It allows more accurately shaped parts to be formed,

 higher interface pressures required,

 requires very accurate control of material volume and proper die design.
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Impression Die Forging

 Here half the impression of the finished forging is sunk or made in the top die and
other half of the impression is sunk in the bottom die.

 The process of cutting the impression in a die is called die-sinking and is performed
on a special kind of machine called die sinking machine.

 In impression die forging, the work piece is pressed between the dies. As the metal
spreads to fill up the cavities sunk in the dies, the requisite shape is formed between
the closing dies.

 Some material which is forced out of the dies, is called “flash”.

 The flash provides some cushioning for the dies, as the tup strikes the anvil.

 The flash around the work piece is cut and discarded as scrap.

 For a good forging, the impression in the dies have to be completely filled by the
material.

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Forging operations

 Upsetting

 Drawing

 Fullering

 Edging

 Swaging

 Upsetting

 These forging operations are done to increase the cross-sectional area of the work
piece to expand the length. The force is applied in a parallel direction of the long axis.
A good example of an upsetting operation is a bolt head.

Drawing
 These types of forging operations are carried out to make the metal longer by pulling
and stretching in the cross-sectional area. The force is applied in a perpendicular
direction to the length axis.
Fullering
 fullering are forging operations done by keeping the bottom fuller in an angle hole
with the heated metal placed on it, the top filler is then placed above the metal, force
is applied through the top filler using a sledgehammer.

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Edging
 This forging operation is carried out by striking or forcing the metal plate into the
desired shape. The work piece is forced between two die edges.

Swaging
 This forging operation is done to reduce the finished work into desired size and shape,
usually either round or hexagon. Bottom swage is used for small jobs while large jobs
are performed by swage block.

Metal drawing
 Metal drawing is a cold working process which is used to produce wires, rods, tubes,
and other sections by pulling the metal through a die in order to reduce it to a desired
shape and size.
 In manufacturing, metal drawing process is used to manufacture parts of different
cross sections like circular, square, rectangular as well as other cross sections can be
produced using suitable metal drawing dies.
 Hot and cold drawing, both can be done based on different applications.
 In the hot drawing process, the metal is first heated before its drawing operation.
 while in cold drawing, the metal is drawn at room temperature.
 There are 3 types of metal drawing process in manufacturing.

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Wire drawing
 Rod drawing
 Tube drawing
Wire Drawing
 A wire is a circular, small diameter flexible rod. Wire drawing is an cold working
process.
 It is an operation to produce wire of various sizes within certain specific tolerances.
 This process involves reducing diameter of thick wire by passing it through a series of
wire drawing dies with successive die having smaller diameter than the preceding
one.
 Mostly die are made by chilled cast iron, tungsten carbide, diamond or other tool
material. The maximum reduction in area of wire is less than 45% in one pass.

Rod Drawing
 Rod drawing is similar process like wire drawing except it is rigid and has larger
diameter compare to wire.
 This process need heavier equipment compare to wire drawing because the wire can
be coiled but a rod should be kept straight.
 The work piece is first fed into die and pulled by a carriage which increase its length
and decrease its cross section.
 Now the rod is to be cut into sections.

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Tube Drawing
 Tube drawing is also similar to other two processes except it uses a mandrel to reduce
wall thickness and cross section diameter of a tube.
 This mandrel placed with die and the work piece is pulled by a carriage system as
describe in rod drawing. The tube is either circular or rectangular.
 It also required more than one pass to complete drawing operation.

Extrusion
 Extrusion is a metal forming process in which metal or work piece is forced to flow
through a die to reduce its cross section or convert it into desire shape.
 This process is extensively used in pipes and steel rods manufacturing.
 The force used to extrude the work piece is compressive in nature.
 The most common material extruded are plastic and aluminum.
Working Principle
 Extrusion is a simple compressive metal forming process. In this process, piston or
plunger is used to apply compressive force at work piece. These process can be
summarized as follow.
 First billet or ingot (metal work piece of standard size) is produced.
 This billet is heated in hot extrusion or remains at room temperature and placed into a
extrusion press
 (Extrusion press is like a piston cylinder device in which metal is placed in cylinder
and pushed by a piston. The upper portion of cylinder is fitted with die).
 Now a compressive force is applied to this part by a plunger fitted into the press
which pushes the billet towards die.
 The die is small opening of required cross section. This high compressive force allow
the work metal to flow through die and convert into desire shape.
 Now the extruded part remove from press and is heat treated for better mechanical
properties.
Extrusion processes can be classified as followed
 (A) Hot Extrusion
(i) Forward or Direct extrusion.
(ii) Backward or Indirect extrusion.
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 (B) Cold Extrusion

(i) Hooker extrusion.
(ii) Hydrostatic extrusion.
(iii) Impact extrusion.
(iv) Cold extrusion forging.
Hot Extrusion
 If the extrusion process takes place above recrystallization temperature which is about
50-60% of its melting temperature, the process is known as hot extrusion.

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.
 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 through the die-
opening in the form of a long strip of the required cross-section.

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Backward or indirect extrusion

 This process is depicted in Fig. 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.

Advantages of hot extrusion

 Low force required compare to cold working.
 Easy to work in hot form.
 The product is free from stain hardening.
Disadvantages of hot extrusion
 Low surface finish due to scale formation on extruded part.
 Increase die wear.
 High maintenance required.
Cold Extrusion
 If the extrusion process takes place below crystallization temperature or room
temperature, the process is known as cold extrusion. Aluminum cans, cylinder,
collapsible tubes etc. are example of this process.
Hooker extrusion process
 This process is also known as extrusion down method.
 It is used for producing small thin walled seamless tubes of aluminum 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. This process is a direct extrusion
process.


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Hydrostatic Extrusion
 This process uses fluid to apply pressure on billet.
 In this process, the friction is eliminated because the billet is neither contact with
cylinder wall or plunger.
 There is a fluid between the billet and plunger.
 The plunger applies force on fluid which further applied on billet.
 Normally vegetable oils are used as fluid.
 This process accomplished by leakage problem and uncontrolled speed of extrusion.

Impact extrusion
 In this process, which is shown in Fig. 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.

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Advantages of cold extrusion

 High mechanical properties.
 High surface finish
 No oxidation at metal surface.
Disadvantages cold extrusion
 High force required.
 Product is accomplished with strain hardening.
Application of extrusion
 Extrusion is widely used in production of tubes and hollow pipes.
 Aluminum extrusion is used in structure work in many industries.
 This process is used to produce frames, doors, window etc. in automotive industries.
 Extrusion is widely used to produce plastic objects.
Rolling Process
 It is one of a metal forming process in which the metal work piece is compressed
between a set of rolls where it reduces its cross section area and increases its length.
Types of Rolling Process
Hot Rolling Process
 If the temperature of the metal is above the recrystallization temperature, then the
process is known as hot rolling.
Cold Rolling Process
 If the temperature of the metal is below the recrystallization temperature during
rolling, then the process is known as cold rolling.
Working Principle
 Rolling works on same as any other metal forming process.
 When a compressive force applied by a set of rolls on ingot or any other product like
blooms or billets, plastic deformation takes place which decrease its cross section area
and convert it into required shape.
 These rolls are designed according to the final product requirement.
 They are cylindrical in shape and fitted with the die of the required shape which to be
rolled on blooms or billets.
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 Rolling can be done in both hot and cold way.

Nomenclature of Rolled Products

 Blooms: It is the first product obtained from the breakdown of Ingots. A bloom has a
cross section ranging in size from 150 mm2 to 250 mm2 or sometimes 250 × 300 mm
 Billet: A billet is the next product rolled from a bloom. Billets vary from 50 mm
square to 125 mm square.
 Slab: Slab is of rectangular cross-section with thickness ranging from 50 to 150 mm
and is available in lengths up to 112 metres.
 Plate: A plate is generally 5 mm or thicker and is 1.0 or 1.25 metres in width and 2.5
metres in length.
 Sheet: A sheet is up to 4 mm thick and is available in same width and length as a
plate.
 Flat: Flats are available in various thickness and widths and are long strips of material
of specified cross-section.
 Foil: It is a very thin sheet.
 Bar: Bars are usually of circular cross-section and of several metres length. They are
common stock (raw material) for capstan and turret lathes.
 Wire: A wire is a length (usually in coil form) of a small round section; the diameter
of which specifies the size of the wire.
Types of Rolling Mills
 Two high mills
 Three high mills
 Four high mills
Two high mills
 A two high rolling mill arrangement is shown in Fig.
 It comprises of two heavy rolls placed one over the other.
 The rolls are supported in bearings housed in sturdy upright frames (called stands)
which are grouted to the rolling mill floor.

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 The vertical gap between the rolls is adjustable. The rolls rotate in opposite directions
and are driven by powerful electrical motors. Usually the direction of rotation of rolls
cannot be altered, thus the work has to be fed into rolls from one direction only.
 If rolling entails more than one ‘pass’ in the same set of rolls, the material will have to
be brought back to the same side after the first pass is over.

Three high mills

 A three high rolling mill arrangement is shown in Fig. It consists of three rolls
positioned directly over one another as shown.
 The direction of rotation of the first and second rolls are opposite as in the case of two
high mill.
 The direction of rotation of second and third rolls are again opposite to each other.
 All three rolls always rotate in their bearings in the same direction.
 The advantage of this mill is that the work material can be fed in one direction
between the first and second roll and the return pass can be provided in between the
second and third rolls.

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Four-High Rolling Mill

 It is essentially a two-high rolling mill, but with small sized rolls.
 Practically, it consists of four horizontal rolls, the two middle rolls are smaller in size
than the top and bottom rolls as shown in Figure.
 The smaller size rolls are known as working rolls which concentrate the total rolling
pressure over the work piece.
 The larger diameter rolls are called back-up rolls and their main function is to prevent
the deflection of the smaller rolls, which otherwise would result in thickening of
rolled plates or sheets at the centre.

Shape Rolling
 Straight and long structural shapes (such as channels, I-beams, railroad rails, and solid
bars) are formed by shape rolling (profile rolling)
 in this rolling the heated stock passes through pairs of specially designed rolls (shown
in Fig.)
 Cold shape rolling also can be done, with the starting materials in the shape of rod,
with various cross-sections.

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Flat strip rolling

 Steel strips are commonly manufactured of continuously cast slabs.
 Coiled steel strips have the thickness (gauge) up to 0.2” (5 mm).
The strips are supplied in different conditions:
 Hot rolled
 Pickled
 Cold rolled
 Coated
Hot rolling
Continuously cast steel slabs are processed in a hot Rolling line:
 Heating in a gas/oil fired reheating furnace to the temperature 2200-2280ºF (1200-
1250ºC).
Removing oxide scale in a scale breaker.
 Iron oxides form on the slab surface as a result of high temperature oxidation in the
reheating furnace. Scale breaker utilizes high pressure water jets directed to the slab
surface.
 Rough rolling in either reversing or tandem roughing rolling mill. Rough rolling mills
may have either two-high or four-high configuration. The strip temperature decreases
in the rough rolling operation to about 1830ºF (1000ºC).
 Finishing rolling in a tandem four-high rolling mill (5-7 stands). The strip dimensions
(thickness, width) are strictly controlled in this operation.
 Cooling by water jets. The temperature is reduced to max. 1110ºF (600ºC).
 Coiling the finished strip. Hot rolled strips have a thin scale of iron oxides on their
surface. Part of the strips is used in as-rolled condition. Other part is processed in a
pickling line where the oxide scale is removed.

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Rolling Defects
o Wavy edges
o zipper cracks
o Edge cracks
o Alligatoring

Wavy edges and zipper cracks

 These defects are caused due to bending of rolls under the rolling pressure.
 This causes tensile stress in the centre and compressive stress in the edges. The
former causes zipper cracks in the centre and the latter causes wavy edges.
 Remedy for zipper cracks and wavy edges lies in provide a “camber” to the rolls.
They are made slightly convex in the central portion to offset the effect of deflection
under rolling loads.

Edge cracks and centre split

 These defects are caused due to non homogeneous plastic deformation of metal across
the width.
 As the work piece passes through the rolls, under the rolling pressure its height
decreases while its length increases.
Alligatoring
 Alligatoring is the splitting of a rolled slab into two halves across a plane that is
parallel to the rolling plane. Alligator cracking is majorly due to the non-
homogeneous flow of materials across the sheet thickness.

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