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 CONTENTS

 Page
WORD OF WELCOMEvii

INTRODUCTIONix
Study unit 1: NATURE OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS1
1.1 Introduction1
1.2 The atomic structure and the elements 1
1.3 Atomic bonding between atoms and molecules 2
1.3.1 Primary bonds 3
1.3.2 Secondary bonding 4
1.4 Structures of engineering materials 5
1.4.1 Crystalline structures 5
[Link] Body-centred cubic 6
[Link] Face-centred cubic 6
[Link] Hexagonal close-packed 7
1.4.2 Non-crystalline structures 8
1.5 Imperfections in crystals 9
1.5.1 Point defect 9
1.5.2 Line defect 9
1.5.3 Surface defects 10
1.6 Deformation in crystals 10
1.7 Grains and grain boundaries in metals 11
Study unit 2: MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS14
2.1 Introduction14
2.2 Stress–strain relationships 14
2.2.1 Tensile properties 14
[Link] Engineering stress–strain curve 16
[Link] True stress–strain curve 17
[Link] Types of stress–strain relationships 18
2.2.2 Compression properties 22
2.2.3 Bending and testing brittle materials 24
2.2.4 Shear properties 24
2.3 Hardness tests 26
2.3.1 Brinell hardness test 26
2.3.2 Rockwell hardness test 27
2.3.3 Vickers hardness test 28
2.4 Effect of temperature on the properties of materials 29
2.4.1 Hot hardness 29
2.4.2 Recrystallisation temperature 30
2.5 Fluid properties 30

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CO N T EN T S

Study unit 3: PROCESSING OF METALS, CERAMICS AND POLYMERS32

3.1 Introduction32
3.2 Metal-casting processes 32
3.2.1 Expandable-mould casting processes 34
3.2.2 Permanent-mould casting processes 34
3.2.3 Casting defects 34
3.2.4 Product-design considerations 35
3.3 Processing of ceramics 35
3.3.1 Processing of traditional ceramics 36
3.3.2 Processing of new ceramics 36
[Link] Preparation of the starting materials 37
[Link] Shaping37
[Link] Sintering37
[Link] Finishing38
3.3.3 Product-design considerations 38
3.4 Shaping processes for polymers 38
3.4.1 The extrusion process 39
3.4.2 Injection-moulding process 39
3.4.3 Product-design considerations 40
3.5 Viscoelastic behaviour of polymers 40
Study unit 4: FUNDAMENTALS OF METAL FORMING42
4.1 Introduction42
4.2 The metal-forming process – an overview 42
4.3 Materials behaviour in metal forming 44
4.4 Temperature changes in metal forming 45
4.4.1 Cold working 45
4.4.2 Warm working 45
4.4.3 Hot working 46
4.4.4 Isothermal forming 46
4.5 Strain-rate sensitivity 46
4.6 Friction and lubrication in metal forming 47
Study unit 5: BULK DEFORMATION PROCESSES IN METALWORKING50
5.1 Introduction50
5.2 Rolling50
5.2.1 Flat rolling 51
5.2.2 Shape rolling 56
5.2.3 Types of rolling mills 56
5.3 Forging57
5.3.1 Open-die forging 57
5.3.2 Closed-die forging 61
5.3.3 Flashless forging 61
5.3.4 Forging hammers, presses and dies 62
[Link] Forging hammers 63
[Link] Forging presses 63
[Link] Forging dies 63
5.4 Extrusion64
5.4.1 Direct extrusion 65
5.4.2 Indirect extrusion 66

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 Co nte nt s

5.4.3 Hot extrusion 66

5.4.4 Cold extrusion 66
5.4.5 Continuous versus discrete processing 66
5.5 Analysis of the extrusion process 66
5.5.1 Extrusion dies and presses 68
5.5.2 Characterisation of defects in extruded parts 69
5.6 Wire and bar drawing 70
5.6.1 Analysis of the mechanics of drawing 70
5.6.2 Drawing equipment 71
5.6.3 Tube drawing 73
Study unit 6: SHEET METALWORKING75
6.1 Introduction75
6.2 Cutting operations 76
6.2.1 Shearing, blanking and punching 77
6.2.2 Analysis of sheet-metal cutting 78
6.3 Bending operations 80
6.3.1 V-bending and edge bending 81
6.3.2 Analysis of the bending operation 82
6.4 Other sheet-metal forming operations 83
6.4.1 Operations performed with metal tooling 83
6.4.2 Rubber forming processes 85
6.5 Dies and presses for sheet-metal processes 86
6.5.1 Dies86
6.5.2 Presses86
6.6 Bending of tube stock 86

REFERENCES88

GLOSSARY OF TERMS89

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 WORD OF WELCOME

Welcome to the module Mechanical Manufacturing Engineering II – MME2601.

This learning guide presents the course contents and most of the information
that you will require during the course of the semester. You are advised to
familiarise yourself with the contents of this guide in order to facilitate your
studies of this module. Information on all assessments, what is expected of you
and what you should expect of the lecturer is provided in the tutorial letters
for this module. In each unit, there are a number of tutorial questions which
you should answer on your own. The answers to these questions will be made
available in due course. The aim of these questions is to promote self-activity
and assist you to achieve success in this module.

The prescribed book for this module is: M. P. Groover. Principles of Modern
Manufacturing. 5th edition, SI Version, 2013. Published by John Wiley & Sons,
Inc. Asia.

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viii
 INTRODUCTION

The field of manufacturing is being rediscovered across the globe and is

gradually regaining the interest of many sectors. The Department of Higher
Education and Training in South Africa is responding to this renewed interest
by developing and redeveloping programmes and courses in manufacturing
systems generally.

Manufacturing is a broad activity comprising many subjects, including the

mechanical behaviour of engineering materials, and the physical behaviour
and properties of such materials. The processing of these materials, improving
machine tools, and processing economics are also important aspects of
manufacturing. As a field of study in the modern, globally evolving context,
manufacturing can be defined either technologically or economically.
Technologically, manufacturing is the application of physical and chemical
processes to alter the geometry, properties, and /or the appearance of a given
starting material in order to make component parts or products. The processes
for accomplishing manufacturing involve a combination of machinery, tools,
power, and manual labour. Manufacturing is almost always carried out as
a sequence of operations. Each operation brings the material closer to the
desired final state that is useful to the end user or the consumer. Economically,
manufacturing is the transformation of materials into items of greater value
by means of one or more processing and/or assembly operations. The key
point is that manufacturing adds value to the material by changing its shape
or properties or by combining it with other materials that have been similarly
altered. The material is thus made more valuable through the manufacturing
operations performed on it.

Manufacturing processes and their control for optimal production have also
become increasingly complex subjects and it is only through analytical
approaches that these topics and their interrelationships can be truly understood.
Many researchers have also established certain milestones with regard to the
crucial aspects of competitive, sustainable manufacturing.

This module takes Mechanical Manufacturing Engineering I a step further. You

will recall that, in the materials cycle, engineers are expected to design and
develop components with the aim to reduce, eliminate or recycle wastes at
all costs in order to conserve energy and materials. Some of these topics with
respect to the processing of materials will be covered in this module. Therefore,
the purpose of this course is to expose you to the nature of engineering
materials, to help you understand the mechanical properties of engineering
materials, and to allow you to gain insight into the processing of metals, ceramics
and polymers. Other aspects of importance that will also be covered in this
module are the fundamentals of metal forming, bulk deformation processes in
metalworking, and sheet metalworking. Typical engineering problems related
to the field are also indicated and solved to help you grasp the concepts. A
glossary of terms is then provided at the end of the guide to give you a basic
understanding of the terminology related to the module. The material in this
learning guide is largely based on the prescribed book.

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 NOMENCLATURE
ASTM – American Society for Testing and Materials
BCC – body-centred cubic
BHN – Brinell hardness number
D – diameter
E – modulus of elasticity measured in megapascal
F – force
FCC – face-centred cubic
G – shear modulus of elasticity
h – height
HCP – hexagonal close-packed
Kf – forging-shape factor
MPa – megapascal
σ – sigma (designating stress)
µ – coefficient of friction
r – radius
TRS – transverse rupture strength
Yf – flow stress

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1 STUDY UNIT 1

1 NATURE OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS

U N I T O U TCO M E

On completion of this unit, you are expected to understand the nature and com-
position of engineering materials.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
It is important for engineering students to understand the nature of engineering
materials, as this area of study is fundamental in the appropriate choice of
materials for a specific application and also in product-design considerations.
In this unit, the atomic structure and the bonding that exists between atoms
and molecules will be discussed. The different types of crystalline and non-
crystalline structures will also be covered.

1.2 THE ATOMIC STRUCTURE AND THE ELEMENTS

What is matter? Matter is anything that has weight and occupies a space.
The basic structural unit of matter is called an atom. An atom consists of a
positively charged nucleus that is usually located at the centre of the atom and
is surrounded by a sufficient number of negatively charged electrons so that
the charges are balanced. The number of electrons in an element identifies the
atomic number and the elements of the atom. There are over 100 elements and
these elements are the components of all matter. The elements are grouped
into families according to their differences and similarities and are set out in a
periodic table. The periodic table refer to page 37 of your prescribed book.

The metallic elements occupy the left and centre portions of the table, while
the non-metals are located on the right-hand side of the table. Between
them, along a diagonal, is a transition zone containing elements that are
called metalloids or semi-metals. These are elements whose properties are
intermediate between those of metals and solid non-metals, for example silicon.
Each of these elements could exist in solid, liquid or gaseous form, depending
on the temperature and pressure they are exposed to at a particular period
of time. Each of the elements has a natural state at room temperature and at
standard atmospheric pressure. For example, iron (Fe) will exist as a solid at
room temperature and standard atmospheric pressure, while mercury (Hg),

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1 M M E 26 01/1


though a metal, exists as a liquid and nitrogen exists as a gas. The elements in
the periodic table are arranged in rows and columns. They are also arranged in
such a way that elements in the same column have similarities. The similarities
and differences among the elements can be better explained by way of their
atomic structures. The simple model of the atomic structures of elements is
called the planetary model. It shows the electrons of the atom orbiting around
the nucleus at certain fixed distances, and there are also a maximum number
of electrons that exist in an orbit. The maximum number of electrons in an
orbit is defined by Equation 1.1.

Maximum number of electrons in an orbit = 2n21.1

Where n identifies the orbit, with n = 1 closest to the nucleus of the element.

The number of electrons in the outermost shell, relative to the maximum

number allowed, determines the chemical affinity of an atom with other atoms.
The number of electrons in the outermost shell also gives an indication of
how the atom will interact with another atom. If the electron/electrons in the
outermost shell is/are greater than half the maximum number allowed in the
outermost shell, the atom will receive an electron/more electrons from other
atoms in order to become stable. Also, if the electron/electrons in the outermost
shell is/are less than half the maximum number allowed, such an atom will
readily give up those electrons to other atoms so as to form molecules. If the
electron/electrons in the outermost shell is/are half the maximum number
allowed, the atom will be ready to share with other atoms to form molecules.
For example, aluminium, which has three electrons in its outermost shell, with
the maximum number allowed being eight, which is less than half, will readily
give up these electrons to form molecules with other atoms. The electrons in
the outermost shell are referred to as the valence electrons. Another example
is sodium; it will react with chlorine to form sodium chloride. In the course
of the reaction, the electron in the outermost shell of sodium (which is one
in number) will combine with the outermost electrons of chlorine (which are
seven in number) to form a stable sodium chloride (NaCl).

1 Ac tivit y 1.1
•• Give a definition of an atom.
•• The elements in the periodic table are grouped according to what?
•• What is the significance of valence electrons?

1.3 ATOMIC BONDING BETWEEN ATOMS AND MOLECULES

Atoms are held together in molecules by different types of bonds, depending
on the valence electrons of the elements. Molecules are attracted to each
other by weaker bonds, which result from the electron configuration of the
individual molecule. Atomic bonding is generally classified into two types:
primary bonds and secondary bonds. The primary bonds are associated with
the formation of the molecules, while the secondary bonds are associated with

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the attraction between the molecules. The primary bonds are usually stronger
than the secondary bonds.

1.3.1 Primary bonds

Primary bonds have strong atom-to-atom attractions that involve the exchange
of the valence electrons. The primary bonds include ionic, covalent and metallic
bonding. The ionic and the covalent bonds are called the intramolecular bonds
because they involve attractive forces between the atoms within a molecule.

(a) The ionic bond: In the case of the ionic bond, the atoms of one element
give up their outer electron(s), which is/are, in turn, attracted to the atoms
of the other element in order to increase their electron count and the
stability of the outermost shell. As discussed earlier, eight electrons in
the outermost shell is the most stable electron configuration. Nature pro-
vides a very strong bond between atoms that achieve this configuration.
A chemical element such as sodium (Na), for example, which has one
electron in the outermost shell (one valence electron), will readily give it
up to become more stable (have a filled outer valency shell). This means
that it has one more proton than its number of electrons, thus becoming
a positive ion with a +1 charge. On the other hand, an element such
as chlorine (Cl), which has seven electrons in its outermost shell, has a
shortage of one electron in its outermost shell and will thus readily accept
one electron to become stable. This means that it will become a nega-
tive ion, as it will now have more electrons than protons; hence it has a
charge of −1. If we place sodium (Na) and chlorine (Cl) together, the Na
readily gives one electron to the Cl, resulting in a very strong electrostatic
attraction between the two elements and thus forming a compound, NaCl
(table salt). The fact that the compound formed has completely different
characteristics from those of either element indicates the high strength
of the bond formed.
(b) The covalent bond: In the case of covalent bonds, electrons in the out-
ermost shell are shared between two atoms and are not transferred as is
the case with ionic bonds. This is done to achieve a stable set of eight
electrons in the outermost shell. The strong bond formed is due to the
electrons shared by the positive nuclei. A good example is the formation
of ammonia (NH3). Nitrogen has five electrons in its valency shell, thus
needing three more electrons to become stable, while hydrogen has one
electron in its valency shell, thus needing one electron to become stable
(because, from Equation 1.1, the maximum number of electrons in the
first orbit (i.e. n = 1) is 2). A nitrogen atom will thus share the electrons
of three hydrogen atoms, and, in turn, shares three of its electrons with
the hydrogen atoms. The resultant compound is ammonia (NH3). Solids
with covalent bonding generally possess high hardness and low electrical
conductivity.
(c) The metallic bond: This involves the sharing of outer-shell electrons by all
atoms (pure metals and their alloys) to form a general electron cloud that
permeates the entire block. Metallic bonding occurs in pure metals and
their alloys, for example copper, zinc, etc. Each of the atoms contributes
its outer valency electrons to the formation of a negative electron cloud.

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 These electrons are not associated with a particular atom, but are free to
move amongst the positive ions in definite energy levels. The three forms
of primary bonding are shown in Figure 1.1 (a) to (c).

FIGURE 1.1 (A) TO (C)

The three forms of primary bonding

The metallic bond may be thought of as an extension of the covalent bond

to a large number of atoms. Typical properties of materials characterised
by metallic bonding include good conduction of heat and good ductility.

1.3.2 Secondary bonding

Secondary bonds involve attraction of forces between molecules, or
intermolecular forces. Such bonds do not involve the transfer or sharing
of electrons as in the case of primary bonding and are therefore weaker
in comparison to primary bonds. The three forms of secondary bonding are
dipole forces, London forces and hydrogen bonding. The dipole and London
forces are referred to as Van der Waals forces and are named after the scientist
who first studied and quantified the forces. This is a type of bond that occurs
between neutral atoms, such as inert gas. The Van der Waals forces are of
importance at low temperatures, when the weak attraction forces can overcome
the thermal agitation of the atoms.

(a) Dipole forces arise in a molecule comprised of two atoms that have equal
and opposite electrical charges. Each molecule therefore forms a dipole,
as indicated in Figure 1.2 (a) for hydrogen chloride. Although the material
is electrically neutral, on a molecular scale the dipoles attract each other.

FIGURE 1.2 (A)

Dipoles attract each other

(b) London forces involve attractive forces between non-polar molecules, that
is, the atoms in the molecules do not have equal and opposite electrical
charges and they do not form dipoles. However, due to the rapid motion
of the electrons in the orbit around the molecule, temporary dipoles are
formed when more electrons happen to be on one side of the molecule

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than on the other, as shown in Figure 1.2 (b). The instantaneous dipoles
formed provide a force of attraction between the molecules in the mate-
rial, for example in the case of methane (CH4).

FIGURE 1.2 (B)

The instantaneous dipoles formed provide a force of attraction
between the molecules in the material

(c) Hydrogen bonding occurs mainly in molecules containing hydrogen atoms

that are covalently bonded to another atom, for example oxygen in H2O.
Owing to the fact that the electrons needed to complete the shell of the
hydrogen atom are aligned on one side of its nucleus, the opposite side
has a net positive charge that attracts the electrons of atoms in neighbour-
ing molecules. Hydrogen bonding is illustrated in Figure 1.2 (c).

FIGURE 1.2 (C)

Hydrogen bonding

2 Ac tivit y 1. 2
• Using diagrams, discuss the differences between primary and secondary
bonding.
• What are the various types of primary bonding (use examples)?
• Name and explain the different types of secondary bonding.

1.4 STRUCTURES OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS

Typical engineering materials consist of atoms and molecules similar to building
blocks. These building blocks are revealed as the macroscopic structure of
matter. The two fundamental structures of engineering materials are crystalline
and non-crystalline.

1.4.1 Crystalline structures

Atoms tend to assume relatively fixed positions. This gives rise to the formation
of crystals in the solid state. The three-dimensional network of imaginary lines
connecting the atoms together is known as the space lattice. A crystalline
structure is one in which the atoms are located at regular and recurring positions
in three dimensions. The pattern may be replicated millions of times within a
crystal. The structure of a material can be viewed as a unit cell, which is the
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5 M M E 26 01/1
 basic geometric grouping of the atoms that is repeated. The unit cell is the
smallest possible unit of a crystal that still represents the full symmetry of the
crystal. There are three common types of crystal lattice structures found in
engineering materials: the body-centred cubic (BCC), the face-centred cubic
(FCC) and the hexagonal close-packed (HCP). These are discussed in more
detail in the following sections.

[Link] Body-centred cubic

The body-centred cubic unit cell is a cube with all sides of the same length
and all faces perpendicular to one another, and which has an atom at each
corner of the unit cell and an atom in the centre of the unit cell. The atoms
are represented as spheres, as shown in Figure 1.3 (a).

FIGURE 1.3 (A)

Body-centred cube

The centre atom touches each corner atom, but these corner atoms do not
touch one another. Each unit cell of the crystal contains:

Eight (8) atoms at each of the corners ×

1 centre atom = 1 atom
∴ Total number of atoms = 2 atoms

Examples of metals crystallising in the BCC structure are tungsten, molybdenum,

vanadium and sodium.

[Link] Face-centred cubic

The face-centred cubic unit cell is a cube (with all sides of the same length
and all faces perpendicular to one another) with an atom at each corner of
the unit cell and an atom situated in the middle of each face of the unit cell.
This is shown in Figure 1.3 (b).

FIGURE 1.3 (B)

Face-centred cube

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There is no atom in the centre of the cube and each face touches its nearest
corner atom. Each unit contains:

Eight (8) atoms at each of the corners ×

6 face-centred atoms ×½ = 3 atoms
∴ Total number of atoms = 4 atoms

The FCC crystals are thus more densely packed than the BCC crystals. Examples
of metals crystallising in the FCC structure are aluminium, copper, gold, silver,
lead, platinum and nickel.

[Link] Hexagonal close-packed

In this structure, we find two basal planes in the form of hexagons, with an
atom at each corner and one in the centre. In addition, there are three atoms in
the form of a triangle midway between the basal planes. The structure formed
in the HCP is not a unit cell but rather a combination of two unit cells. The
structure is shown in Figure 1.3 (c).

FIGURE 1.3 (C)

Hexagonal close-packed

Each unit cell contains:

Eight (8) atoms at each of the corners ×

1 atom inside the cell = 1 atom
∴ Total number of atoms = 2 atoms

Typical examples of metals crystallising in the HCP structure are magnesium,

beryllium, zinc and cadmium.

The crystal structures of common metals at room temperature are given in

Table 1.1.

TABLE 1.1
Crystal structures of common metals

Body-centred cubic Face-centred cubic Hexagonal

(BCC) close-packed

Chromium (Cr) Aluminium (Al) Magnesium (Mg)

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 Body-centred cubic Face-centred cubic Hexagonal
(BCC) close-packed

Iron (Fe) Copper (Cu) Titanium (Ti)

Molybdenum (Mo) Gold (Au) Zinc (Zn)

Tantalum (Ta) Lead (Pb)

Tungsten (W) Silver (Ag)

Nickel (Ni)

1.4.2 Non-crystalline structures

A lot of materials that we come across on a daily basis are non-crystalline. For
example, liquids and gases are non-crystalline. A solid metal will normally
lose its crystalline nature when melted. A typical example of a metal that is
liquid at room temperature is mercury. Some engineering materials also have
a non-crystalline structure in their solid state. These classes of materials are
referred to as amorphous, for example glass, plastics and rubber. The properties
distinguishing crystalline and non-crystalline structures are the fact that non-
crystalline materials lack a long-range order in the molecular structure and
the differences in the melting and thermal-expansion characteristics. The
distinguishing feature between crystalline and non-crystalline structures is
illustrated in Figure 1.4. The crystal structure is regular, repeating and denser,
whereas the non-crystalline structure is more loosely packed and random.

FIGURE 1.4 (A) & (B)

Non-crystalline srtuctures

The closely packed and repeating pattern in the crystal structure is shown in
Figure 1.4 (a), while a typical non-crystalline structure is shown in Figure 1.4
(b). The crystals are loosely packed; they have relatively increased volume
and low density.

3 Ac tivit y 1. 3
• Differentiate between crystalline and non-crystalline materials.
• Name and explain the three major types of crystalline structure.

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1.5 IMPERFECTIONS IN CRYSTALS

Crystal structures were discussed in Section 1.4. You will recall that the smallest
unit of a crystal is a unit cell repeated in the material in all directions. A perfect
crystal is desirable for aesthetic or engineering purposes, but cannot always
be achieved. Moreover, a perfect diamond or gold bar is more valuable than
the one containing imperfections. There are various reasons why the crystal
lattice of a material may not be perfect. The imperfections often arise naturally
because of the inability of the solidifying material to continue to replicate the
unit cell indefinitely without interruption. This is revealed in the structure
of grain boundaries. In some cases, imperfections are purposely introduced
during the manufacturing process, for example by adding an alloying element
to a metal to increase its strength and/or ductility. Imperfections in crystalline
solids are also referred to as a defect, that is, a deviation from the intended
regular pattern of the crystalline lattice. There are three common types of
defects found in crystal structures, namely point, line and surface defects.
These defects will be discussed in more detail in the following subsections.

1.5.1 Point defect

Point defects in a crystal lattice are a type of defect involving only an atom or
a few atoms. The point defect could take various forms. It is called a vacancy
when there is a missing atom within the lattice structure. It is an ion-pair
vacancy when a pair of ions of opposite charge is missing in a compound.
This is also called a Schottky defect. An interstitialcy defect results when
there is a lattice distortion resulting from the presence of an extra atom in the
structure. The displaced ion, also called the Frenkel defect, occurs when an
ion is removed from a regular position in the lattice structure and is inserted
into an interstitial position not normally occupied by such an atom. The point
defects are illustrated in Figure 1.5 (a) to (d).

FIGURE 1.5 (A) TO (D)

The point defect

1.5.2 Line defect

The line defect is a connected group of point defects that forms a line in the
lattice structure. The most important of all such defects is the dislocation,
which can take two forms: (a) edge dislocation and (b) screw dislocation.
An edge dislocation is the edge of an extra plane of atoms that exists in the
lattice, as shown in Figure 1.6 (a). A screw dislocation is a spiral within the
lattice structure wrapped around an imperfection line. Similar to a screw, it
is wrapped around its axis. This is shown in Figure 1.6 (b). Both types could

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 arise in a crystal structure during solidification, for example in casting or they
could be initiated during a deformation process like metal forming.

FIGURE 1.6 (A) & (B)

The line defect

1.5.3 Surface defects

Surface defects are imperfections that extend in two directions to form a
boundary. The most obvious example is the external surface of a crystalline
object that defines its shape. The surface defects occur when there is an
interruption in the lattice structure. Surface boundaries could sometimes lie
inside the material. Grain boundaries are the best example of these internal
surface interruptions. Grains and grain boundaries will be discussed in
more detail later in the following sections, but, for now, we will first discuss
deformation in metal crystals.

1.6 DEFORMATION IN CRYSTALS

A crystal structure first deforms elastically when subjected to a gradually
increasing load. The resulting effect can be likened to a tilting effect. The
original crystal structure can be depicted by way of the repeated structure
shown in Figure 1.7 (a), while the elastic deformation is shown in Figure 1.7
(b). Plastic deformations in the crystals, in which the atoms in the lattice are
forced to move to new positions, are shown in Figure 1.7 (c).

FIGURE 1.7 (A) TO (C)

Deformation in crystals

If the load/stress is continually applied and reaches a relatively high value

relative to the electrostatic forces holding the atoms together in their lattice
positions, a permanent shape change occurs and this state is referred to as

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plastic deformation. The atoms in the lattice have thus moved permanently
from their previous positions. This is represented in Figure 1.7 (b).

FIGURE 1.7 (B)

Plastic deformation

The lattice deformation shown in Figure 1.7 (c) is one possible mechanism,
called slip, by which plastic deformation can occur in a crystalline structure.
Slip involves the relative movement of atoms on opposite sides of a plane in
the lattice, called the slip plane. Twinning is a second way in which metal
crystals deform plastically. Twinning can be defined as a mechanism of plastic
deformation in which atoms on one side of a plane, called the twining plane,
are shifted to form a mirror image of the other side of the plane, as illustrated
in Figure 1.7 (c).

FIGURE 1.7 (C)

Twinning

4 Ac tivit y 1.4
• Imperfections in crystals are referred to as defects. Name and explain
the typical defects in crystal structures.

1.7 GRAINS AND GRAIN BOUNDARIES IN METALS

A given block of metal may contain millions of individual crystals, called
grains. Each grain has its own unique lattice orientation, but, collectively, the
grains are randomly oriented within the block. Such a structure is referred to
as polycrystalline. When a block of metal is cooled from the molten state and

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 begins to solidify, nucleation of individual crystals occurs at random positions
and orientations throughout the liquid. As these crystals grow, they finally
interfere with each other, forming at their interface (where one crystal meets
with another crystal) a surface defect referred to as a grain boundary. The
size of the grains in a metal is determined by the number of nucleation sites
in the molten material and the cooling rate of the material, among many other
factors that come into play. The grain size of a material is inversely related or
proportional to the cooling rate: faster cooling promotes smaller grain size,
while slower cooling has the opposite effect (i.e. slower cooling results in
larger grain size). Grain sizes in a material could be equiaxed or elongated.
The term equiaxed is used when the sizes of the grains are fairly similar and
elongated when the grains are in a deformed state. The grains in a sample are
revealed by using some typical chemicals, referred to as etchants, depending
on the material. This is achieved through a process called etching. A typical
example of elongated grains is shown in the microstructure of aluminium (see
Figure 1.8 (a)), while equiaxed grain is shown in the microstructure of copper
(see Figure 1.8 (b)).

FIGURE 1.8 (A)

Elongated grain in the microstructure of aluminium;

FIGURE 1.8 (B)

Equiaxed grain in the microstructure of copper

Grain size is important in metals because it affects the mechanical properties

of the material. In general, smaller grain size is preferable from a design point
of view, because it means higher strength and hardness. It is also desirable in
manufacturing operations like metal forming, because it translates into higher
ductility during deformation and results in a finished product with a better
surface.

5 Ac tivit y 1. 5
• What are grains in a material? Why are their sizes important with regard
to the mechanical properties of a particular material?
• What is a grain boundary?
• What are etchants used for?

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 S T U DY U N I T 1: N at u r e o f e n g i n e e r i n g m ate r i a ls

6 Ac tivit y 1.6
(a) Manufacturing can be defined in two broad ways, technologically
and economically. Provide these definitions.
(b) What is the charge of a proton?
(c) Give a definition of an atom.
(d) What identifies the atomic number of an atom?
(e) What is a metalloid?
(f) Differentiate between an atom and a molecule.
(g) Name and explain the primary bonds between atoms. Give typical
examples.
(h) Name and explain the secondary bonds between atoms. Give typi-
cal examples.
(i) Differentiate between crystalline and non-crystalline structures.
(j) There are three common types of crystal lattice structures found in
engineering materials. Name and explain them.
(k) What do you understand by the word “amorphous” when used in
relation to engineering materials?
(l) Name and explain the imperfections that may be present in crystals.
(m) What is a grain in a material?
(n) What is the significance of the size of grains in an engineering material?
(o) Differentiate between equiaxed and elongated grains.

Summary
The nature and properties of engineering materials have been discussed.
The atomic structure of the elements and the various bond types that exist in
engineering materials were also discussed. We concluded the unit by looking
into grains and grain boundaries. The typical microstructure of aluminium and
copper, showing different grain orientations and boundaries, was also indicated.
The next unit will focus on the mechanical properties of engineering materials.

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13 M M E 26 01/1


2 STUDY UNIT 2

2 MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS

U N I T O U TCO M E

On completion of this unit, you are expected to understand the mechanical prop-
erties of engineering materials and their response to a change in temperature.

2.1 INTRODUCTION
This unit focuses on the mechanical properties of engineering materials. It also
discusses how to measure the stress and strain of materials through experiments.
Correlating the behaviour of some engineering materials with the stress–strain
diagram will also be discussed. Finally, the response of engineering materials
to changes in temperature will be dealt with.

2.2 STRESS–STRAIN RELATIONSHIPS

Engineering materials can generally be subjected to three different types of static
stresses. These are tensile, compressive and shear stresses. Tensile stresses tend
to stretch the material, compressive stresses tend to squeeze the material, and
shear involves stresses that tend to cause adjacent portions of the material to
slide against each other (similar to tearing something apart). The stress–strain
curve is the basic relationship that describes the mechanical properties of all
three types of stresses.

2.2.1 Tensile properties

The tensile test is the most common test for studying the stress–strain relationship,
especially for metals. During the test, a force is applied that pulls the material,
tending to elongate it and reduce its diameter at the centre as shown in Figure
2.1 (a) to (c).

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 S T U DY U N I T 2: M e ch a n i c a l p r o p e r t i e s o f m ate r i a ls

FIGURE 2.1 (A) TO (C)

Set-up for a tensile-test sample

Standards laid down by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM),
Number 384, specify the preparations and procedure for conducting a tensile
test. A typical test specimen and the set-up for a tensile test are shown in
Figure 2.2 (1) to (6).

FIGURE 2.2 (1) TO (6)

Tensile testing of a material

The starting specimen is assumed to have an original length, Lo, and an

original area, Ao. The length is measured as the distance between the gauge
marks, and the area is measured as the cross section of the specimen. The test
specimen could be in the form of round bars, or flat bars from sheet metal.
During the tensile-testing procedure, the specimen stretches, then necks and
finally fractures as earlier represented in Figure 2.2. As the testing proceeds,
the load and the change in length of the specimen are recorded on a computer
connected to the tensile-testing equipment in order to provide the data required
to determine the stress–strain relationship of the material. The tensile-testing
machine is usually equipped with an extensometer, which is a device used
to measure the elongation of a specimen during a tensile test. There are two
different types of stress–strain curves: the engineering stress–strain and the
true stress–strain. The engineering stress–strain curve is important in design,
while the true stress–strain curve is important in manufacturing.

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15 M M E 26 01/1
 [Link] Engineering stress–strain curve
The engineering stress–strain curve is defined relative to the original area
and the original length of the test specimen. These values are important and
of interest in design, because the designer (engineer) expects that the strains
experienced by any component of a product will not significantly change its
shape. A typical engineering stress–strain curve from a tensile test for a metallic
material is shown in Figure 2.3.

FIGURE 2.3
A typical engineering stress–strain curve

The engineering stress at any point on the curve is defined as the force divided
by the original area:
2.1

Where σ is the engineering stress (MPa), F is the force applied in the test (N),
and Ao is the original area of the test specimen in mm2.
The engineering strain at any point in the test is given by:

2.2

Where ∈ is engineering strain in mm/mm, L is the length at any point during

elongation in mm, and Lo is the original gauge length of the test sample in mm.

The stress–strain curve in Figure 2.3 has two regions indicating two distinct
forms of behaviour, namely the elastic and the plastic. In the elastic region,
the relationship between the stress and strain is linear and the material exhibits
elastic behaviour by returning to its original length when the load or the stress
is removed. The relationship is defined by Hooke’s law:

2.3

Where E is the modulus of elasticity in MPa and is a measure of the inherent

stiffness of the material. This is also referred to as Young’s modulus of the
material.
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 S T U DY U N I T 2: M e ch a n i c a l p r o p e r t i e s o f m ate r i a ls

With reference to Figure 2.3, the elastic behaviour of the material occurs when
the strains in the specimen are within the elastic region. It can be observed
that the curve is actually a straight line throughout most of this region. This
implies that the stress is directly proportional to the strain and the material can
be said to be linearly elastic. The upper stress limit of this linear relationship is
called the proportional limit. When the stress slightly exceeds the proportional
limit, the material may still respond elastically by returning to its original shape,
but the curve tends to bend and flatten out as shown. This continues until
the stress reaches the elastic limit of the material. Upon reaching this point, if
the load/stress is removed, the specimen will still return to its original shape.
Yielding occurs in a material when there is a slight increase in the stress above
the elastic limit. This results in a breakdown of the material and causes it to
deform permanently. The stress that causes yielding to occur is called the yield
stress or the yield point, and the deformation is called plastic deformation.
Strain hardening occurs in a material after yielding. This results when there
is a further loading applied to the specimen, resulting in a curve that rises
continuously but becomes flatter until it reaches a maximum stress referred
to as the ultimate tensile stress (UTS). The rise in the curve described in this
manner is the strain hardening. The decrease in the area of the specimen during
this period is fairly uniform. At the ultimate stress, the cross-sectional area of
the sample begins to decrease in a localised region, known as a “neck”. A neck
gradually tends to form in this region as the specimen elongates further, and
this phenomenon is referred to as “necking”. Since the cross-sectional area is
continually decreasing, the smaller area can only carry an ever-decreasing load;
hence the stress–strain curve tends to bend downwards until the specimen
breaks at a stress referred to as the fracture stress. An example of a ductile
material (steel) after fracture is given in Figure 2.4.

FIGURE 2.4
Fractured ductile material – steel

[Link] True stress–strain curve

Instead of always using the original cross-sectional area and specimen length
to calculate the engineering stress and strain, we could have used the actual
cross-sectional area and the specimen length at the instant that the load is
measured (i.e. as each load is applied, the current cross-sectional area and
the current length are measured and are used for the calculation instead of
using the original length and cross-sectional area). The values of stress and

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17 M M E 26 01/1
 strain computed from these measurements are called the true stress and strain,
and a plot of these values is referred to as the true stress–strain curve/diagram.
Note that the conventional engineering stress–strain curve and the true stress–
strain curve are coincident when the strain is small. The differences between
the curves only becomes significant from the strain-hardening range where
the magnitude of the strain becomes significant. A typical, true stress–strain
diagram is shown in Figure 2.5.

FIGURE 2.5
True stress–strain curve

7 Ac tivit y 2.1
• Why is it important to conduct a tensile-stress test?
• Use a graph/diagram to differentiate between engineering and true
stress–strain.

[Link] Types of stress–strain relationships

There are three basic types or forms of stress–strain relationships that describe
the behaviour of nearly all types of solid materials. These are briefly discussed
below.

(1) Perfectly elastic. The typical behaviour of this type of material is defined
by its stiffness. This is indicated by the modulus of elasticity of the mate-
rial, E. The material will rather fracture instead of yielding to plastic flow.
Brittle materials such as ceramics, cast iron and thermosetting polymers
fall in this category. They are not good materials for forming operations.
(2) Elastic and perfectly plastic. The group of materials that belongs to this
category also has a stiffness defined by E, but, once the yield strength, Y,
is reached, the material deforms plastically at the same stress level. Lead
(Pb) exhibits this behaviour at room temperature.
(3) Elastic and strain hardening. Material falling into this category conforms
to Hooke’s law in the elastic region and begins to flow at its yield strength,
Y. At room temperature, the plastic deformation does not continue at the
same stress level due to strain hardening. Instead, the stress has to be in-
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 S T U DY U N I T 2: M e ch a n i c a l p r o p e r t i e s o f m ate r i a ls

creased to further plastically deform the material. Most ductile materials

behave in this way, especially metals such as copper, aluminium, steel, etc.

The graphical representations of these stress–strain relationships are given in

Figure 2.6 (A) to (C).

FIGURE 2.6 (A) TO (C)

Stress–strain relationships

Question 1:
During a tensile test on a copper (Cu) specimen, the results in respect of load and
corresponding extension were recorded. These results are shown in Table 2.1.

TABLE 2.1
Load and the corresponding-extension data

Load (N) Extension (mm)

65 0.08

550 0.09

870 0.10

2 400 0.16

3 650 0.2

5 270 0.26

6 450 0.3

6 860 0.4

6 680 0.5

6 950 0.8

6 700 1.0

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19 M M E 26 01/1
 Other data in respect of the sample are:
Width of the test piece 12.5 mm
Thickness of the test piece 3.2 mm
Gauge length 50.0 mm
Distance between gauge marks after fracture 71 mm
Minimum width of the fractured test piece 9.6 mm

Determine the following:

(a) The stress–strain graph (i.e. plot the graph).
(b) The tensile strength.
(c) The modulus of elasticity.
(d) The yield stress.
(e) The percentage elongation.
(f) The percentage reduction in area.

Solution:
(a)

FIGURE 2.7
Stress–strain graph

From the graph of the stress–strain relationship:

(b) The ultimate tensile strength, UTS = 173.75 MPa
(c) The modulus of elasticity, that is, the slope of the elastic region of the
stress–strain curve, E = (131.75) / (0.0052) = 25.336 GPa ≈ 25.34 GPa
The modulus of resilience, that is, the maximum energy absorbed during
elastic deformation and the area under the linear portion of the stress–
strain curve, Ur = 0.5 × (131.75 − 13.75) × (0.006 × 0.0018) = 0.24
(d) The yield stress, YS = 161.25 MPa
(e) The percentage elongation, %EL= [(Lf (final length) − Li (initial length)) /
Li] × 100 = [(71 − 50) / 50] × 100 = 42%

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 S T U DY U N I T 2: M e ch a n i c a l p r o p e r t i e s o f m ate r i a ls

(f) The percentage reduction in area:

Ai = wi x ti (width × thickness) = 12.5(3.2) = 40 mm2

Af = wf x tf = 9.6(3.2) = 30.72 mm2

%AR= [(Ai − Af ) / Ai] × 100 = {(40 − 30.72)} / 40.0 × 100 = 23.2%

TABLE 2.2
Test results

Load or Extension or change ε = ∆L / L (mm/ σ=F/

force (N) in length (mm) mm) A(MPa)

0 0 0 0

550 0.09 0.0018 13.75

870 0.1 0.002 21.75

2 400 0.16 0.0032 60

3 650 0.2 0.004 91.25

5 270 0.26 0.0052 131.75

6 450 0.3 0.006 161.25

6 860 0.4 0.008 171.5

6 880 0.5 0.01 172

6 950 0.8 0.016 173.75

6 700 1 0.02 167.5

Question 2:
During a tensile test on a mild-steel specimen, the following results were
recorded:

Diameter of the test piece 11.5 mm

Gauge length 50.0 mm
Load at yield point 28.8 kN
Maximum load 58.5 kN
Distance between gauge marks after fracture 70 mm
Minimum diameter of fractured test piece 8 mm

Determine the following:

(a) The ultimate tensile strength (UTS).

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21 M M E 26 01/1
 (b) The yield stress of the material.
(c) The percentage elongation.
(d) The percentage reduction in area.

Memo

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Note that materials which have a high percentage of elongation – usually above
20% –are referred to as being ductile engineering materials.

8 Ac tivit y 2. 2
• Differentiate between the different types of stress–strain relationship
curves.

2.2.2 Compression properties

A compression test can be regarded as completely the opposite of a tensile
test. In a compression test, a load is applied in order to squeeze a cylindrical
specimen between platens, as shown in Figure 2.8 (a) & (b).

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 S T U DY U N I T 2: M e ch a n i c a l p r o p e r t i e s o f m ate r i a ls

FIGURE 2.8 (A) & (B)

Compression properties

As the specimen is compressed, its height is reduced, while the cross-sectional

area increases (see Figure 2.8 (b)). The engineering stress in the compression
test is defined by:

2.4

Where Ao is the original area of the specimen. This is the same definition of
stress used in tensile testing.

The engineering strain in the compression test is defined by:

2.5

Where h is the height of the specimen at a particular moment during the test
in mm and ho is the original or the starting height of the specimen.

A typical engineering stress–strain curve for a compression test is given in

Figure 2.9.

FIGURE 2.9
Typical stress–strain curve for a compression test

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23 M M E 26 01/1
 The compression curve is also divided into an elastic and a plastic region,
similar to the stress–strain curve for tensile testing, but the shape of the plastic
region differs from that of the tensile test. During the compression test, the
cross-sectional area increases as the load increases, which is opposite to that
of the tensile test because, in the compression test, the area increases as the
height reduces (i.e. the area increases at the expense of the height). This results
in a higher value for the calculated engineering stress.

2.2.3 Bending and testing brittle materials

Hard and brittle materials, for example ceramics, possess elasticity but very little
or no plasticity and are often tested using the method of bending by subjecting
the specimen to a bending load. These materials do not respond well to either
the tensile or the compression tests. The bending test, also called the flexure
test, is used to test the strength of these brittle materials. The experimental
set-up is shown in Figure 2.10 (1) to (3).

FIGURE 2.10 (1) TO (3)

Bending test

The strength value derived from this test is called the transverse rupture strength,
which is calculated using the formula:

2.6

Where TRS is the transverse rupture strength measured in megapascal (MPa),

F is the applied load at fracture in Newton (N), L is the length of the specimen
between the supports in mm, and b and t are the dimensions of the cross
section of the specimen as shown in Figure 2.10 measured in mm.

The bending test is also used for certain non-brittle materials such as thermoplastic
polymers. Because the material is likely to deform rather than fracture, the TRS
cannot be determined based on failure of the specimen. Instead, either of two
measurements are used: (1) the load is recorded at a given level of deflection,
or (2) the deflection is observed at a given load.

2.2.4 Shear properties

Shear involves the application of stresses in opposite directions on either side
of a thin element in order to deflect it, as illustrated in Figure 2.11 (a) & (b).

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 S T U DY U N I T 2: M e ch a n i c a l p r o p e r t i e s o f m ate r i a ls

FIGURE 2.11 (A) & (B)

Application of stresses

The shear stress of a material is defined by:

2.7

Where τ is the shear stress measured in megapascal (MPa), F is the applied

force, and A is the area over which the force is applied in mm2.

Shear strain can also be defined by:

2.8

Where γ is the shear strain in mm/mm (i.e. no unit), δ is the deflection of the
element in mm, and b is the orthogonal distance over which deflection occurs
in mm.

The shear stress and strain of a material are commonly tested by way of a torsion
test in which a thin-walled, tubular specimen is subjected to torque. As the
torque is increased, the tube deflects by twisting, which is a shear strain for
this geometry. The shear stress is then determined by employing the formula:

2.9

Where T is the torque applied in N-mm, R is the radius of the tube measured
to the neutral axis of the wall in mm, and t is the thickness of the specimen
in mm.

The torsion test set-up is shown in Figure 2.12.

FIGURE 2.12
Torsion test

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25 M M E 26 01/1
 The shear strain can be calculated by measuring the amount of the angular
deflection of the tube, converting this into a distance deflected and dividing
by the gauge length, L, given as:

2.10

Where α is the angular deflection in radians. A typical shear stress–strain curve

is shown in Figure 2.13.

FIGURE 2.13
Typical sheer stress–strain curve

In the elastic region of the curve, the relationship is defined by:

2.11

Where G is the shear modulus of elasticity of the material.

2.3 HARDNESS TESTS

The hardness of a material is a measure of its resistance to permanent indentation.
Good hardness generally means that the material is resistant to scratching and
wear, but there is a limit to this degree of hardness. When the hardness of a
material is too high, it tends to be too hard and brittle for many engineering
applications. A strong correlation exists between the hardness and strength
of an engineering material. There are different types of hardness tests that are
generally employed to measure the hardness of a material. These tests will be
discussed in the following subsections.

2.3.1 Brinell hardness test

The Brinell test, named after the Swedish engineer who developed it, is used
for testing metals and non-metals of low to medium hardness. A schematic of
the test is provided in Figure 2.14 (a).

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 S T U DY U N I T 2: M e ch a n i c a l p r o p e r t i e s o f m ate r i a ls

FIGURE 2.14 (A)

Brinell test

During the test procedure, a hardened steel ball 10 mm in diameter is pressed

into the surface of the specimen using a load of 500, 1 500 or 3 000 kg,
depending on the material being tested. The load is then divided by the
indentation area to obtain the Brinell hardness number (BHN). In equation
form, it can be represented as:

2.12

Where HB is the Brinell hardness number (BHN), F is the indentation load

in kilograms, Db is the diameter of the ball in mm, and Di is the diameter of
the indentation on the surface (also in mm). The resulting BHN has a unit in
kilograms per square millimetres (kg/mm2). These dimensions are indicated
in Figure 2.14 (a). Note that large loads are applied to very hard materials for
accuracy of the measurements.

2.3.2 Rockwell hardness test

The Rockwell hardness test is also widely used and is named after the metallurgist
who developed it. This test is convenient to use and it has also been improved
on over the years. During the testing procedure, a cone-shaped indenter or
a small-diameter ball with a diameter of 1.6 or 3.2 mm is pressed into the
specimen by first using a minor load of 10 kg, thus seating the indenter in the
material. Then a major load of 150 kg, or any other value, is applied further on
the specimen, causing penetration further into the specimen. This additional
penetration distance, d, is converted into a Rockwell hardness reading by the
testing machine. This is shown in Figure 2.14 (b).

FIGURE 2.14 (B)

Rockwell test
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27 M M E 26 01/1
 2.3.3 Vickers hardness test
The Vickers hardness test utilises a pyramid-shaped, diamond indenter. The
test is based on the principle that impressions made by this indenter are
geometrically similar regardless of the load applied. Loads of various magnitudes
can be employed, depending on the hardness of the material. The Vickers
hardness (HV) can be determined using the formula:

2.13

Where F is the applied load in kilograms (kg) and D is the diagonal of the
impression made by the indenter in mm.

The Vickers test can be used for all metals. A schematic of a Vickers hardness
test is shown in Figure 2.14 (c), while a typical indentation made on a sample is
shown in Figure 2.15. The sample shown is the joint interface of an aluminium
and copper weld.

FIGURE 2.14 (C)

Vickers test

FIGURE 2.15
Knoop test

It should be noted that values can be read off where modern hardness testers
are utilised; hence the use of equations is not required.

9 Ac tivit y 2. 3:
• Why is it important to conduct a hardness test on a sample?
• Using diagrams, differentiate between the Brinell and Vickers hardness
tests.

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2.4 EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON THE PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS

The temperature at which an engineering material is operating has a significant
effect on its properties. It is therefore important in this regard for a designer or
an engineer to have a good idea of the behaviour of these materials at various
temperatures, as this is known to have an effect on their mechanical properties.
At elevated temperatures, materials generally are lower in strength and higher
in ductility. The general relationships pertaining to the effect of temperature
on the strength and ductility of materials are indicated in Figure 2.16.

FIGURE 2.16
Effect of temperature on the strength and ductility of mateials

From the graph, it can be deduced that, as the temperature increases, the
ductility of a material – especially metals – increases, while the tensile strength
and the yield strength decrease as the operating temperatures increase.

2.4.1 Hot hardness

Hot hardness is a property used to characterise the strength and hardness of
a material at elevated temperatures. Hot hardness is the ability of a material
to retain its hardness at elevated temperatures. It is usually presented as a plot
of hardness against temperature. The hot-hardness plot of steel and ceramics
is shown in Figure 2.17.

FIGURE 2.17
Hot hardness

Ceramics are generally known to exhibit superior properties at elevated

temperatures. A good example of ceramic material is a coffee mug and a jug.
Ceramics are also usually selected for high-temperature applications such as
turbines, cutting tools and refractory applications.
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29 M M E 26 01/1
 2.4.2 Recrystallisation temperature
At room temperature, most metals behave according to the flow curve in the
plastic region of the stress–strain graph. As the metal is strained, the strength
increases. However, if the metal is heated to a sufficiently high temperature
and then deformed, strain hardening does not occur. Rather, new grains are
formed that are free of strain and the metal behaves as a perfectly plastic
material. The formation of these new strain-free grains occurs in a process
referred to as recrystallisation and the temperature at which this takes place
is called the recrystallisation temperature. The recrystallisation process in
metals takes time, sometimes about an hour.

2.5 FLUID PROPERTIES

Fluids behave differently from solids. Fluid flows and takes the shape of
the container that holds it. Fluids generally include liquids and gases, but a
manufacturing engineer is more concerned with liquids, as, sometimes, solids
are converted into liquids during a manufacturing operation. An example of this
is the fact that metals are cast in the molten state. Viscosity can be defined as
the resistance to flow; it is a measure of the internal friction that arises when
velocity gradients are present in the fluid. The reciprocal of viscosity is fluidity,
which is the ease at which a fluid flows. The fluid flow between two parallel
plates is shown in Figure 2.18.

FIGURE 2.18
Fluid flow between two parallel plates

The two parallel plates are separated by a distance, d. One of the plates is
stationary, while the other one is moving at a velocity, v, and the space in
between the plates is occupied by the fluid. Orienting the parameters, d is on
the y-axis while v is on the x-axis. The motion of the upper plate is resisted by
a force, F, that results from the shear viscous action of the fluid flowing. This
force can be reduced to a shear stress, τ:

2.14

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 S T U DY U N I T 2: M e ch a n i c a l p r o p e r t i e s o f m ate r i a ls

Where τ is the shear stress in (N/m2) or pascal (Pa).

This shear stress is related to the rate of shear, which is defined as the change
in velocity (dv) relative to the change in distance (dy):

2.15

Where is the shear rate, dv is the incremental change in velocity (m/s), and
dy is the incremental change in distance y (m).

10 Ac tivit y 2.4
• What are the effects of temperature on the mechanical properties of
an engineering material?
• What do you understand by “recrystallisation temperature”?

11 Ac tivit y 2. 5
(a) What do you understand by the “stress–strain relationship” of an
engineering material?
(b) Sketch the stress–strain graph for a ductile material, and then label
and explain the important aspects of the graph.
(c) Differentiate between the engineering and true stress–strain graphs.
(d) Name and explain the different types of stress–strain relationships.
(e) Explain the importance of the compression test.
(f) Explain the significance of a tensile test.
(g) What do you understand by “transverse rupture strength”?
(h) Name and explain the different types of hardness tests that you know.
(i) Explain the effect of temperature on the properties of engineering
materials.
(j) Explain the term “hot hardness”.
(k) Define recrystallisation temperature.

SUMMARY
A knowledge of the mechanical properties of engineering materials is very
important in the successful manufacture of components. In this unit, the stress–
strain relationships, namely the tensile, compression and shear properties of
materials, were indicated and discussed. The significance of the hardness of
a material was also discussed and the various types of hardness tests were
explained. The unit concluded with a discussion of the behaviour of engineering
materials at elevated temperatures, and their properties as a fluid were also
highlighted. The next unit will focus on the processing of metals, ceramics
and polymers.

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31 M M E 26 01/1


3 STUDY UNIT 3

PROCESSING OF METALS, CERAMICS AND

3

POLYMERS

U N I T O U TCO M E

On completion of this unit, you are expected to have gained insight into the
processing of metals, ceramics and polymers.

3.1 INTRODUCTION
Having studied the mechanical properties and the behaviour of engineering
materials, it is essential to know how these engineering materials are processed.
This unit focuses on the processing of metals, ceramics and polymers. These
engineering materials are of importance to manufacturing industries and are
very relevant for daily use. A basic understanding of these processes and of
the product-design considerations of each one will now be provided.

3.2 METAL-CASTING PROCESSES

The process of casting metal in order to shape it is the oldest and still one of
the most widely used metal-forming processes. A casting is formed by pouring
molten metal into a mould whose cavity is the shape of the required component.
For ease of casting, the metal should have a high fluidity (ease of flow) and a
high fusibility (low melting point). For example, cast iron, with its high carbon
content, has a high fluidity and high fusibility compared with low-carbon steel.
Therefore, cast iron can be readily cast into complex shapes, whereas steel can
only be cast into simple shapes, as it has a low fluidity. In all casting processes,
the pattern (mould) has to be made oversize to allow for any contraction of
the metal that occurs during the change of state from liquid to solid, and
also to allow for the continued contraction as the solid metal cools to room
temperature. The steps in the production sequence of sand casting are set out
in Figure 8.2, page 176, of the prescribed book.

In the metal-casting process, it is important to know the properties of the

moulding sands, the additives, and the different types of binders applicable to
metal casting. Consequently, these properties will now be discussed.

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The properties of moulding sands:

•• Cohesiveness: the ability to retain its shape after the pattern has been
removed and during the pouring and solidification of the metal.
•• Refractoriness: the ability to withstand the high temperatures associated
with molten metals without itself melting or burning.
•• Permeability: the ability to remain sufficiently porous after ramming so that
the steam and other gases evolved during pouring can escape.
•• Strength: the mould’s ability to maintain its shape and resist erosion caused
by the flow of molten metal.
•• Thermal stability: the ability of the sand at the surface of the mould cavity
to resist cracking and buckling upon contact with the molten metal.
•• Collapsibility: the ability of the mould to give way and allow the casting to
shrink without cracking the casting.
•• Reusability: whether the sand from the broken mould can be reused to
make other moulds. (Sand moulds are often referred to as “green-sand”,
with “green” indicating that they can be reused).

Additives to starting powders:

There are various additives that are often combined with the starting powders
in the production of ceramics:

•• Plasticisers: to improve plasticity and workability.

•• Binders: to bond the ceramic particles into a solid mass in the final products.
•• Wetting agents: to achieve better mixing.
•• Deflocculants: to prevent clumping and premature bonding of the powders.
•• Lubricants: to reduce friction between ceramic grains during forming and
to reduce sticking during mould release.

Different binders used in core sands:

•• Water-soluble binders such as the by-products of flour milling, called gluten
and dextrin. These are added to ordinary moulding sands.
•• Oil binders such as linseed oil, soybean oil and fish oils added to clay-free
sands. These oils undergo a chemical change during the baking of the core
and set off hard.
•• Resin binders such as phenolic syrups which are added to clay-free sands
and are cured when the core is baked.
•• Carbon dioxide gas: The core sand is mixed with sodium silicate which,
after ramming into the core box, is exposed to carbon dioxide gas to achieve
a high strength.

12 Ac tivit y 3.1
•• What are the steps in the production sequence of a typical sand-casting
process?
•• List and explain the properties of a moulding sand.
•• What are the different types of binders used in core sands?

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33 M M E 26 01/1


The metal-casting processes are broadly grouped into two according to the
type of mould employed, namely the expandable mould and the permanent
mould. These will now be discussed in more detail.

3.2.1 Expandable-mould casting processes

Expandable moulds are made of sand, plaster, ceramics, and similar materials,
which are generally mixed with various binders, or bonding agents. These
materials are refractory materials, that is, they have the capability to withstand
the high temperatures of molten metals. After the casting has solidified, the
moulds in these processes are broken up in order to remove the casting. The
mould should have good collapsibility. Typical examples of patterns and cores
employed in sand casting are given in Figure 8.3, page 176, of the prescribed
book.

3.2.2 Permanent-mould casting processes

In the permanent-mould casting process, also called hard-mould casting, two
halves of the moulds are made from materials such as cast iron, steel, bronze,
or refractory metal alloys. The mould cavity and gating system are machined
into the mould and thus become an integral part of it. To produce castings
with internal cavities, cores made of metal or sand aggregate are placed in
the mould prior to casting. The steps in permanent-mould casting are set out
in Figure 8.11 page 187 of your prescribed book.

Typical core materials are oil-bonded or resin-bonded sand. Grey iron is

the most commonly used, particularly for large moulds for aluminium and
magnesium castings. In order to increase the life of permanent moulds, the
surfaces of the mould cavity are usually coated with a refractory slurry, such as
sodium silicate and clay, or are sprayed with graphite after every few castings.
These coatings also serve as parting agents and as thermal barriers, controlling
the rate of cooling of the casting. Mechanical ejectors, such as pins located in
various parts of the mould, may be needed for the removal of complex castings.

3.2.3 Casting defects

Common defects encountered in casting processes are the following:

•• Sand blow – this defect consists of a balloon-shaped gas cavity caused by

the release of mould gases during pouring. It occurs at or below the casting
surface near the top of the casting. Low permeability, poor venting and high
moisture content of the sand mould are usual causes.
•• Pinhole – a defect similar to a sand blow which involves the formation of
many small gas cavities at or slightly below the surface of the casting.
•• Sand wash – a wash is an irregularity in the surface of the casting that results
from erosion of the sand mould during pouring.
•• Scab –blemishes on the surface of the casting resulting from sand breaking
away from the surface of the mould. May be caused by lack of cohesiveness
due to insufficient clay content and inadequate ramming.
•• Uneven wall thickness – can be caused by the moulder who does not
assemble the core correctly or accidentally displaces the core when
reassembling the mould.
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•• Cold shuts – caused by casting components with thin sections made from
metal that is lacking in fluidity and which is at too low a temperature. The
molten metal solidifies before the detail in the mould is filled.

Some of these casting defects are illustrated in Figure 8.25, page 201, of the
prescribed book.

3.2.4 Product-design considerations

Product-design considerations (PDCs) in relation to sand casting are guidelines
for facilitating the production of a part successfully in order to avoid defects.
These PDCs are as follows:

•• Geometric simplicity: Simplifying the part design improves its castability.

Avoid unnecessary complexities.
•• Corners: Sharp corners and angles should be avoided as much as possible.
•• Section thicknesses: Section thicknesses should be uniform in order to
avoid shrinkage cavities.
•• Draft: Part sections that project into the mould should have a draft or taper.
In expandable-mould casting, the purpose of the draft is to facilitate the
removal of the pattern from the mould while in permanent-mould casting.
Its purpose is to aid removal of the part from the mould.
•• Use of cores: Minor changes in part design can reduce the need for coring.
•• Dimensional tolerances: Significant differences in dimensional accuracies in
casting can be achieved, depending on the type of casting process employed.
•• Surface finish: The end-product, surface-finish requirement should be
considered, as this is dictated by the type of casting process to be employed.

13 Ac tivit y 3. 2
•• Differentiate between expandable- and permanent-mould casting
processes.
•• What are the typical defects associated with casting?
•• What are the product-design considerations (PDCs) in the sand-casting
process?

3.3 PROCESSING OF CERAMICS

The term “ceramics” brings to mind visions of hard and brittle objects such
as porcelain and glass. Also included in this category are some construction
materials, such as bricks, tiles, and bathroom fixtures. They break abruptly
without noticeable deformation. The aforementioned examples can be referred
to as “the family of old ceramics”. Typical examples of the new ceramics are to
be found in magnets, high-temperature engines, fuel cells, and high-strength
materials. They have excellent electrical and magnetic properties which make
them suitable for certain engineering applications.

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35 M M E 26 01/1
 3.3.1 Processing of traditional ceramics
The processing techniques for producing traditional ceramic products such as
pottery, stoneware, bricks, tiles and refractories will first be discussed.

In preparing the raw materials, the first step is crushing, which involves the
reduction of large lumps from the mine to smaller sizes for subsequent further
reduction. This may require several stages. The next step is grinding, which,
in this context, refers to the operation of reducing the small pieces produced
by crushing them into a fine powder. The grinding process is achieved by
using different types of mills. The typical steps in the processing of traditional
ceramics are set out in Figure 3.1 (a) & (b).

FIGURE 3.1 (A) & (B)

Typical steps in processing traditional ceramics

The powders produced are then mixed in various proportions with water. Four
different categories of shaping processes are used for traditional ceramics.
These are slit casting, plastic forming, semi-dry pressing and dry pressing. The
shaping processes require high fluidity; at about 50% water by volume, the
mixture is slurry that flows like a liquid.

3.3.2 Processing of new ceramics

The new ceramics are based on simpler chemical compounds such as oxides,
carbides and nitrides. The manufacturing sequence for the new ceramics can
be summarised in four steps, namely:

(1) Preparation of the starting material.

(2) Shaping.
(3) Sintering.
(4) Finishing.

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[Link] Preparation of the starting materials

The starting powder can be produced either by mechanical or chemical
methods. The mechanical method consists of mill-grinding operations, while
the chemical methods are freeze-drying and precipitation from solution. In
freeze-drying, salts of the appropriate starting chemistry are dissolved in water
and the solution is sprayed to form small droplets, which are rapidly frozen. The
water is then removed from the droplets in a vacuum chamber and the resulting
freeze-dried salt is decomposed by heating to form the ceramic powders.
Precipitation from solution is the second chemical method of producing
ceramics. The desired ceramic compound is dissolved from the starting mineral,
thus permitting impurities to be filtered out. An intermediate compound is then
precipitated from solution, which is then converted into the desired compound
by heating.

[Link] Shaping
The shaping processes for the new ceramics are associated with powder
metallurgy. These are:
Hot-pressing: Hot-pressing is carried out at elevated temperatures such that
sintering of the product is accomplished simultaneously with pressing. This
eliminates the need for a separate firing step in the sequence.
Isostatic pressing: This utilises hydrostatic pressure to compact the ceramic
powders from all directions, thus avoiding the problem of non-uniform densities
in the final product.
Doctor-blade process: This process is used for making thin sheets of ceramics,
something that is applicable to the electronics industry. The ceramic slurry is
introduced into a moving carrier film such as cellophane, and, as the slurry
moves down the line, it is dried into a flexible, green ceramic tape.
Power-injection moulding: The ceramic particles are mixed with a thermoplastic
polymer that acts as a carrier and provides the proper flow characteristics at
moulding temperatures. The mix is then heated and injected into a mould
cavity. Before the sintering process is carried out, the plastic binder must be
removed, and this process is referred to as debinding.

[Link] Sintering
Sintering is the pressing and heating of powdered materials close to their
melting point to create a solid shape. Sintering creates materials with very
uniform contents.

The functions of a sintering step are as follows:

(1) To bond individual grains into a solid mass.

(2) To increase density.
(3) To reduce or eliminate porosity.

The sintering process is carried out at about 80 to 90% of the melting temperature
of the material that is being sintered. The sintering mechanism is mass diffusion
across the contacting particle surfaces, accompanied by some plastic flow.

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[Link] Finishing
The final part produced requires some finishing. These finishing operations
have one or more of the following purposes:

(1) To increase the dimensional accuracy.

(2) To improve the surface finish.
(3) To make minor changes in the part geometry.

Finishing operations may involve grinding and other abrasive processes, as

applicable.

3.3.3 Product-design considerations

The following are the product-design considerations (PDCs) applicable to the
processing of ceramics:

•• Ceramic materials are several times stronger in compression than in tension.

Therefore, ceramic components should be designed so as to be subjected
to compressive stresses and not tensile stresses as is the case with metals.
•• Ceramics are brittle and possess almost no ductility. Ceramic parts should
therefore not be used in applications that involve impact loading or high
stresses.
•• It is desirable to keep shapes simple for both economic and technical reasons.
•• Outside edges and corners should be designed to have radii or chamfers to
protect the product from microscopic chipping which could lead to failure.
•• The appropriate size allowances should be considered so that the final
dimensions are within the tolerances specified.
•• Screw threads in ceramic parts should be avoided. They are difficult to
fabricate and do not have adequate strength in service after fabrication.

14 Ac tivit y 3. 3
•• Explain the differences and the processes involved in the production
of traditional and new ceramics.
•• What are the product-design considerations (PDCs) applicable to the
processing of ceramics?

3.4 SHAPING PROCESSES FOR POLYMERS

Plastics can be defined as organic materials containing molecules of high
molecular weight that can be moulded into various shapes by the application
of pressure at moderately high temperatures. Plastics are the major ingredients
of products such as paints, adhesives and polymer matrix composites. Polymers
are giant, organic chain-like molecules which are not rigidly connected
together.

The following are the typical properties of polymers:

•• They have good ductility and formability.
•• They have low electrical and thermal conductivities.

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• They are low in strength.

• They are not suitable for use at high temperatures.
• They are often used in composites as fibres and as a matrix.

Engineering polymer materials are specially designed for the following

reasons:
• To provide improved strength.
• To give better performance at elevated temperatures.
• So that they can be produced in relatively small quantities.
• Because they are less expensive.
• Because fibres from polymers have strength greater than steel.

Polymerisation is the process by which smaller molecules are joined together

to create giant molecules.

Polymers can be classified as thermoplastics and thermosets. The main difference

is that thermosets undergo a curing process during heating and shaping which
causes a permanent chemical change in their molecular structure, while
thermoplastics do not cure and their chemical structure remains unchanged
upon reheating, even though transformed from solid to fluid form. To shape a
thermoplastic polymer, it must be heated so that it softens to the consistency of
a liquid. When in this form, it is called a polymer melt. The shaping processes
for polymers that are common in the industry are the extrusion process and
the injection-moulding process. These are discussed below.

3.4.1 The extrusion process

The extrusion process is one of the fundamental processes for processing metals,
ceramics and polymers. Extrusion is a compression process in which material
is forced to flow through a die orifice in order to produce long, continuous
product whose cross-sectional shape is determined by the shape of the orifice.
A typical example of components and features of an extruder for plastics is
given in Figure 3.2.

FIGURE 3.2
An extruder for plastic

3.4.2 Injection-moulding process

The injection-moulding process is a process in which a polymer is heated to a
highly plastic state and forced to flow under high pressure into a mould cavity

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39 M M E 26 01/1


where it solidifies. The moulded part, called a moulding, is then removed from
the cavity. The process produces discrete component parts that are almost
near net shape. The entire product-cycle time ranges from 10 to 30 seconds.
The cycle may be longer for large parts. A diagram of an injection-moulding
machine appears in Figure 10.21, page 239, of the prescribed book.

Complex and intricate shapes are possible with injection moulding. The major
challenge is to fabricate a mould whose cavity is of the same geometry as the
part to be produced and which allows for part removal. Injection moulding is
the most widely used moulding process for thermoplastics.

3.4.3 Product-design considerations

The product-design considerations (PDCs) for the shaping processes of polymers
can be highlighted as follows:

•• Strength and stiffness: Since plastics are not as strong or stiff as metals,
they should not be used in applications in which high stresses are required.
•• Impact resistance: The capacity of plastics to absorb impact is generally
good. In this regard, plastics compare favourably with most metals.
•• Service temperatures: The service temperatures of plastics are limited
relative to engineering metals and ceramics.
•• Thermal expansion: Thermal expansion is greater for plastics than metals.
•• Degradation: Plastics are subject to degradation from the sunlight but are
resistant to conventional corrosion that afflicts metals. These characteristics
should be taken into account by the designer.

3.5 VISCOELASTIC BEHAVIOUR OF POLYMERS

Viscoelastic behaviour is the property of a substance exhibiting both elastic and
viscous behaviour. Viscoelasticity is the property of an engineering material
that determines the strain it experiences when subjected to combinations of
stress and temperature over a certain period of time. The property is peculiar
to polymers.

15 Ac tivit y 3.4
•• What are polymers?
•• What is polymerisation?
•• What are the typical properties of polymers that make them attractive
for use in engineering applications?

16 Ac tivit y 3. 5
(a) Define the following terms:
(i) Fluidity.
(ii) Fusibility.
(iii) Casting.

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(b) What are the properties of moulding sands used in metal-casting

processes?
(c) Name five additives and their corresponding functions in a metal-
casting process.
(d) Name and explain the different types of binders used in core sands.
(e) State the difference between expandable- and permanent-mould
casting processes.
(f) Name and explain, with the aid of sketches, five casting defects that
may result in a metal-casting process.
(g) What are the product-design considerations (PDCs) for facilitating
the successful design of a metal-casting process?
(h) What is a ceramic?
(i) Differentiate between crushing and grinding in the processing of
traditional ceramics.
(j) Name and explain the four basic steps employed in the processing
of new ceramics.
(k) What are the product-design considerations (PDCs) in the design of
the manufacturing process for ceramics?
(l) Differentiate between plastics and polymers.
(m) What are the typical properties of polymers?
(n) What are the specific reasons why typical engineering polymers are
manufactured?
(o) Define the following terms:
(i) Polymerisation.
(ii) Polymer melt.
(p) With the aid of a sketch, explain the extrusion process in the process-
ing of polymers.
(q) With the aid of a diagram, explain the injection-moulding process in
the production of polymers.
(r) What are the product-design considerations (PDCs) in the shaping
processes for polymers?

SUMMARY
As an engineer, it is important to have insight into the processing of metals,
ceramics and plastics, as these materials are valuable engineering materials
applicable to everyday use. Typical sequences of steps in the production of
these materials were discussed and explained in this unit, and the product-
design considerations (PDCs) for each of the processes were highlighted. The
next unit focuses on fundamentals of metalworking.

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4 STUDY UNIT 4

4 FUNDAMENTALS OF METAL FORMING

U N I T O U TCO M E

On completion of this unit, you are expected to have an overview of metal form-
ing and of the response of engineering materials to metal forming.

4.1 INTRODUCTION
The process of metal forming generally includes a large group of manufacturing
processes in which plastic deformation is used to change the shape of metal
workpieces. The term “metal forming” also refers to a group of manufacturing
methods through which the shape of a workpiece is converted to another shape
without a change in the mass or composition of the material of the workpiece.
In this unit, an overview of the metal-forming process, of the behaviour of
engineering materials with regard to metal-forming process, of the influence
of temperature in metal forming, of the strain-rate sensitivity, and of the effect
of friction and lubrication in metal forming will be provided.

4.2 THE METAL-FORMING PROCESS – AN OVERVIEW

About 90% of metal products start off as cast. However, a very large proportion
of this is then processed by a bulk plastic deformation process, either to improve
the structure and properties of the materials or to produce the desired final
shape. “Metal forming” is used synonymously with “deformation”, a process
during which an object is changed due to an applied force. These changes
can either be reversible or irreversible, depending on the type of material, the
size and geometry of the object, and the magnitude of the force applied to the
object. Metal deformations are achieved through the application of external
forces to the workpiece, with the external forces being in equilibrium. With
the application of load to the workpiece, internal stresses and displacements
are generated, causing shape distortions. If the loads are very low when
the load is released, the workpiece has a tendency to return to its original
shape. Consequently, it is then said that the applied loads were elastic and
so were the stresses and strains, as such elastic strains are recoverable on
release of the loads. However, when the loads are high enough, the changes
in shape will not disappear after the load is released. This phenomenon is
called plastic deformations, a process that involves a permanent change in

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shape without a change in volume, and without melting. The loads causing
the plastic deformations are said to have exceeded the elastic limit, and the
point in loading where incipient plastic flow commences is called the yield
point. Deformation results from the use of a tool, usually called a die, in metal
forming, which applies stresses that exceed the yield strength of the material.
The classification of the metal-forming operations is presented in Figure 4.1.

Rolling
processes

Bulk Forging
deformation processes

Extrusion
processes

Wire and bar

Metal forming drawing

Bending
operations

Sheet Deep or cup

metalworking drawing

Shearing
processes

Miscellaneous
processes

FIGURE 4.1
Classification of metal-forming operations

The two major categories of metal-forming processes, namely bulk deformation

and sheet metalworking processes, are discussed in more detail in Unit 5 and
Unit 6, respectively.

A more recent technology in the field of forming is laser beam forming (LBF).
Laser beam forming is a flexible manufacturing process that changes the shape
of a metal sheet by means of thermal stresses induced by an external heat source
instead of an external force common in the mechanical-forming process. Laser
beam forming can also be referred to as laser beam-induced deformation and
a non-contact, sheet-forming process. The objective of laser beam forming is
to selectively heat areas of a workpiece in order to bring about deformation
in a controlled manner. The deformation of the sheets and plates is achieved
by scanning the laser beam across one side of the material.

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 4.3 MATERIALS BEHAVIOUR IN METAL FORMING
The dramatic advances in manufacturing processes that have been
achieved during the course of the last few decades have been accompanied
by commensurate developments in forming technology. Compared with other
materials-processing technologies, forming can contribute unique advantages
such as low cost, high materials yield, excellent mechanical and metallurgical
properties, and high precision. In addition, through the invention and imagination
of engineers and researchers, the versatility of forming techniques is being
expanded continuously to meet ever-widening industrial needs and enable
the manufacture of products as diverse in nature as aerospace structures and
nanocomponents/microcomponents. The significance of the behaviour of metals
during the forming operation can be deduced from the stress–strain curves
for most metals as discussed in Unit 2. In metal forming, the plastic region
is of utmost importance, because the material is plastically and permanently
deformed during the process. In the plastic region, the metal’s behaviour is
expressed by the flow curve, with the stress being expressed as:

4.1

Where K is the strength coefficient in (MPa), and n is the strain-hardening

exponent of the material.

The flow curve describes the stress–strain relationship in the region in which
metal forming takes place. It indicates the flow stress of the metal, which is the
strength property that determines the forces and power required to accomplish
a particular forming operation. For most metals at room temperature, as the
metal is being deformed, its strength increases due to strain hardening. Hence
the stress required to continue the deformation must be increased to match
this increase in strength. The flow stress is defined as the instantaneous value
of stress required to continue deforming the material, that is, to keep the metal
“flowing”. It is the yield strength of the material as a function of the strain,
which can be expressed as:

4.2

Where Yf is the flow stress in megapascal (MPa).

The average flow stress, also referred to as the mean flow stress, is the average
value of stress over the stress–strain curve from the beginning of strain to the
final (maximum) value that occurs during deformation. The equation is:

4.3

Where is the average flow stress (MPa) and ∈ is the maximum strain value
during the deformation.

In response to metal forming, a non-permanent deformation is recovered or

regained by a material upon release of a mechanical stress/load, and this is
termed elastic recovery or springback.

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4.4 TEMPERATURE CHANGES IN METAL FORMING

Temperature changes are very important during the metalworking process.
For any metal, the values of k and n depend on the operating temperature.
You will recall that strength and strain hardening are both reduced at higher
temperatures. These property changes are important, because they result
in lower forces and power requirements during the forming process. Three
temperature ranges are used in the metal-forming process, namely cold, warm
and hot working. These temperature ranges as they apply to metal-forming
operations will now be discussed.

4.4.1 Cold working

Cold working, also known as cold forming, is a metal-forming process that
is carried out at room temperature or slightly above room temperature.
The advantages and disadvantages, or limitations, of the cold-forming
process compared with the hot-working process are listed below:

Advantages of cold working:

(1) Greater accuracy and closer tolerances can be achieved.
(2) A better surface finish results.
(3) Higher strength and hardness of the part produced results due to strain
hardening.
(4) Grain flow during deformation provides an opportunity for desirable
properties.
(5) No heating of the workpiece is required, which saves on furnace and fuel
costs and permits higher production rates.

Disadvantages of cold working:

(1) Higher forces and power are required.
(2) Special care must be taken to ensure that the surfaces of the starting
workpiece are free of scale and dirt.
(3) Ductility and strain hardening of the work metal limit the amount of form-
ing that can be done on the part.

In order to overcome some of the challenges of the cold-working process, some

metal-forming processes are performed at elevated temperatures. There are
two elevated temperatures, namely the warm- and the hot-working processes.

4.4.2 Warm working

You will recall that the plastic deformation properties of engineering materials
are enhanced at elevated temperatures. Therefore, forming operations performed
at temperatures just above room temperature but below the recrystallisation
temperature of the material are referred to as warm forming or warm working.
This is usually done at 30% of the melting temperature of the material. The lower
strength and the resulting strain hardening at the intermediate temperatures,
as well as higher ductility, have the following advantages: (1) Lower forces
and power are required for the operation compared with cold working. (2)
More intricate work geometries are possible. (3) The need for annealing may
be reduced or eliminated in the product.

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4.4.3 Hot working

Hot working is also referred to as hot forming. This involves deformation at
temperatures above the recrystallisation temperature of the material. The
recrystallisation temperature of a material is usually about one-half of its
melting point on the absolute scale. In practice, hot forming is carried out
at between 50 to 75% of the melting temperature of the material. The most
significant advantage of hot working is the capability of producing substantial
plastic deformation of the metal, far more than is possible with cold- and warm-
working processes. The advantages and the disadvantages of the hot-working
process can be highlighted as follows:

Advantages of the hot-working process:

(1) The shape of the work part can be significantly altered.
(2) Lower forces and power are required to deform the metal.
(3) Metals that usually fracture in cold working can be hot-formed.
(4) Strength properties are generally isotropic because of the absence of the
oriented grain structure typically created in cold working.
(5) No strengthening of the part occurs from work hardening.

Disadvantages of the hot-working process:

(1) Lower dimensional accuracy when compared with the cold- and warm-
working processes.
(2) Higher total energy is required.
(3) There could be work-surface oxidation.
(4) Poorer surface finish.
(5) Shorter tool life.

4.4.4 Isothermal forming

Isothermal forming refers to forming operations that are carried out in such a
way as to eliminate surface cooling and the resulting thermal gradients in the
work part. It is achieved by preheating the tools that come in contact with the
part to the same temperature as the work metal. Isothermal forming is similar
to forging operations and will be discussed in more detail in Unit 6.

17 Ac tivit y 4.1
•• Give a definition of the metal-forming process.
•• Explain the plastic behaviour of metals during metal forming.
•• State the differences between cold, warm and hot working in a metal-
forming process.

4.5 STRAIN-RATE SENSITIVITY

The phenomenon that characterises the behaviour of metals during deformation
– especially at elevated temperatures of hot working – is referred to as strain-
rate sensitivity. The strain rate of a material is the rate at which the material
is strained in a forming process and it is directly related to the speed of

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deformation, v. The forming speed is equal to the velocity of the ram or other
moving element. The strain rate can be defined as:

4.4

Where is the true strain rate in m/s/m or simply s-1, and h is the instantaneous
height of the workpiece being deformed in (m). If the deformation speed, v,
is constant during the operation, the strain rate will change as h changes.
Your will recall that the flow stress of a metal is a function of the operating
temperature. At the temperatures of hot working, flow stress depends on the
strain rate. The effect of strain rate on the strength properties of a material is
referred to as strain-rate sensitivity. The effect of strain rate on flow stress at
an elevated temperature in a material is shown in Figure 4.2.

FIGURE 4.2
The effect of strain rate on flow stress

As strain rate is increased, resistance to deformation increases. This usually plots

approximately as a straight line on a log-log graph, thus leading to the formula:

4.5

Where C is the strength constant and m is the strain-rate sensitivity exponent.

The value of C is determined at a strain rate of 1.0 and m is the slope of the
curve as shown in Figure 14.6 page 343 of your prescribed book.

4.6 FRICTION AND LUBRICATION IN METAL FORMING

Friction often occurs in metal-forming operations due to the close contact
between the tool and the workpiece surfaces, as well as the pressures that
drive the surfaces together in these operations. However, friction is undesirable
for the following reasons:
(1) The metal flow in the work is retarded, causing residual stresses and
sometimes defects in the products.
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47 M M E 26 01/1


(2) The forces and power needed to perform the operation are increased.
(3) Tool wear can lead to loss of dimensional accuracy, resulting in defective
parts.

The metal-forming environment features high pressures between a hardened

tool and a soft work part, plastic deformation of the softer material, and high
temperatures. These conditions can result in high coefficients of friction in
metalworking. If the coefficient of friction becomes large enough, a condition
known as sticking may occur. Sticking in metalworking, also referred to as
sticking friction, is the tendency for the two surfaces in relative motion to
adhere to each other rather than slide.

Metalworking lubricants are applied to the tool–work interface to reduce the

effect of friction.

The advantages of lubrication in metalworking operations include:

(1) Reduced sticking.
(2) Reduced forces, power and tool wear.
(3) A better surface finish on the product.
(4) The removal of heat from the tooling.

Factors to be considered in choosing an appropriate lubricant for a

metalworking operation are the following:
(1) The type of forming process.
(2) Whether the lubricant will be used in hot working or cold working.
(3) The work material.
(4) The chemical reactivity of the tool and the workpiece.
(5) Ease of application.
(6) Toxicity.
(7) Flammability.
(8) Cost.

The different types of lubricants used in metalworking include mineral oils,

fats and fatty oils, water-based emulsions, soaps, and other coatings.

18 Ac tivit y 4. 2
•• Provide a definition of strain-rate sensitivity of an engineering material.
•• What are the factors to be considered in the choice of an appropriate
lubricant for a metal-forming operation?
•• Determine the strain rate of a material, given that the velocity of the
ram is 2 m/s and the instantaneous height of the workpiece is 1 m.

19 Ac tivit y 4. 3
(a) In your own words, define the metalworking process.
(b) What are the two major categories of metalworking processes?
(c) What does the cold metalworking process entail?
(d) What are the advantages of employing the cold metalworking process?
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(e) What are the limitations of the cold metalworking process?

(f) What is the difference between warm and hot metalworking
processes?
(g) What are the benefits derived from using the hot metalworking
process to deform metals?
(h) What are the limitations of using the hot metalworking process?
(i) Explain the isothermal-forming process.
(j) What do you understand by the “strain-rate sensitivity of metals”?
(k) What are the undesirable problems caused by friction during the
metalworking process?
(l) Lubrication is essential in the metalworking process. What are the
advantages of lubrication?
(m) List and explain the factors to be considered in choosing an appropri-
ate lubricant for a metalworking process.
(n) What are the various types of lubricants employed in the metalwork-
ing process?
(o) Determine the strain rate of a material to be deformed given that the
instantaneous height of the workpiece being deformed is 120 mm
and the deformation speed is 10 m/s.

SUMMARY
The metal-forming operation is an important aspect in manufacturing. An
overview of the metal-forming process has been presented in this unit. The
behaviour of engineering materials during metal-forming operations was also
discussed. Furthermore, the effect of temperature changes in metal forming was
highlighted and the unit concluded with a discussion of the strain-rate sensitivity
of engineering materials and of the importance of friction and lubrication. The
focus of the next unit is bulk deformation processes in metalworking.

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49 M M E 26 01/1


5 STUDY UNIT 5

BULK DEFORMATION PROCESSES IN

5

METALWORKING

U N I T O U TCO M E

On completion of this unit, you are expected to have a basic understanding of

rolling, forging and extrusion deformation processes.

5.1 INTRODUCTION
Bulk deformation processes in manufacturing involve forming and shaping
manufacturing processes that are generally used in the industry to produce
parts. Forming is changing the shape of an existing solid body. In forming, the
starting material, usually called the workpiece, stock or blank, may be in the
shape of a plate, sheet, bar, rod, wire or tube. Shaping processes involve the
moulding and casting of soft or molten materials and the finished product is
usually at or near the final desired shape. These deformation processes may
be carried out either cold or hot as desired. When the operation is performed
at elevated temperature, as a hot-working process, it results in a significant
change in the shape of the work part. When it is performed as a cold-working
process at room temperature, it can be used to shape parts and to increase their
strength through strain hardening. These processes generally produce little or
no waste, as most of them are near net shape process, that is, they achieve
the final product geometry with little or no subsequent machining. The bulk
deformation processes discussed in this unit include rolling, forging, extrusion
and wire drawing. These deformation processes are very important, as most
of them are used in the manufacturing of many component parts.

5.2 ROLLING
Rolling is the process of reducing the thickness or changing the cross section
of a long workpiece by way of compressive forces applied through a set of
rolls. The schematic representation of the rolling process is shown in Figure
15.1 of your prescribed book.

Figure 5.1 depicts the flat-rolling process employed to reduce the thickness
of a rectangular cross section. Rolling processes require the use of massive
equipment, called rolling mills. Most rolling operations are carried out at
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elevated temperature, referred to as hot rolling, due to the large amount of

deformation required during the process. The major disadvantages of the hot-
rolling process are that the product cannot be produced close to tolerances
and the surfaces usually have an oxide layer. You will recall the steps in the
steel-making process as discussed in Mechanical Manufacturing Engineering I.
The latter process is a typical application of rolling. The process starts as a cast
steel ingot that has just solidified. While it is still hot, the ingot is placed in a
furnace where it remains for hours until it has reached a uniform temperature
throughout so that the metal will flow consistently during the rolling process.
The desired temperature for steel is about 1 200 oC. The heating operation
is called soaking and the furnace in which the heating is done is called the
soaking pit. From the soaking pit, the ingot is moved to the rolling mill where
it is rolled into one of three intermediate shapes called blooms, billets or slabs.
A bloom has a cross section of 150 mm × 150 mm, or sometimes larger. A
slab is rolled from an ingot or a bloom and has a rectangular cross section
of 250 mm or more in width and a thickness of 40 mm or more. A billet is
rolled from a bloom and is square with dimensions 40 mm or larger on a side.
These intermediate shapes are then rolled into final shapes. Further flattening
is achieved by using a cold-rolling process. There are different types of rolling
processes, which are discussed and illustrated below.

5.2.1 Flat rolling

The flat-rolling process is shown in Figure 5.1. The flat-rolling process involves
the rolling of slabs, sheets or plates into work parts with rectangular cross
sections in which the width is greater than the thickness. Some of the products
made in a rolling mill are illustrated in Figure 5.1.

FIGURE 5.1
Products made in a rolling mill

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51 M M E 26 01/1
 FIGURE 5.2
The flat-rolling process

The workpiece is squeezed between two rolls so that its thickness is reduced
by an amount called the draft, d:

5.1

Where d is the draft in mm, to is the starting thickness, and tf is the final
thickness in mm.

From Equation 5.1, draft is sometimes also expressed as a fraction of the starting
stock thickness, called the reduction:

5.2

Where r is the reduction. In addition to thickness reduction, rolling is also

usually used to increase the work width, and this is referred to as spreading.

During the rolling process, the conservation of matter is preserved, such that
the volume of the metal exiting the rolls is equal to the volume entering. This
can be represented by way of equation 5.3:

5.3

Where wo and wf are the widths before and after rolling in mm, and Lo and
Lf are the lengths of the workpiece before and after rolling in mm. In terms
of the volume rates of materials flow through the rolls, Equation 5.4 is a true
reflection:

5.4

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Where vo and vf are the entering and exiting velocities of the material.

The rolls contact the work along an arc defined by angle θ, as shown in
Figure 5.2. There is a point along the arc where work velocity equals the rolls’
velocity, which is called the no-slip point or the neutral point. On either side
of this point, slipping and friction occur between the roll and the work. The
amount of slip between the rolls and the work can be measured by means of
the forward slip, a term defined as:

5.5

Where s is the forward slip, vf is the final or exiting velocity in m/s, and vr is
roll speed in m/s.

The true strain experienced by the work in rolling is based on before and after
stock thicknesses (t0 and tf ). This is defined as:

5.6

The true strain can be used to determine the average flow stress:

5.7

You will note that Equation 5.7 is the same as Equation 4.3.

Note that there is a limit to the maximum possible draft that can be accomplished
in flat rolling with a given coefficient of friction The maximum possible draft,
defined as the difference between the initial and final strip thickness or (h0 –
hf ) is a function of the coefficient of friction, µ, between the strip and the roll.
The roll radius, R, is given by the following relationship:

5.8

Where dmax is the maximum draft, to is the initial thickness in mm, tf is the
final thickness, µ is the coefficient of friction, and R is the roll radius in mm.

Question 1:
Determine the maximum possible reduction for cold-rolling a 250 mm-thick
slab when µ = 0.06 and the roll diameter is 720 mm.

Memo:
Data obtained:
Initial thickness = 250 mm
Coefficient of friction, µ= 0.06

Diameter = 720 mm:

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53 M M E 26 01/1
 From Equation 5.8:
dmax = µ2R
dmax = (0.06)2 × 360
dmax = 1.296 mm

Also note that the thickness of the workpiece must be controlled within the
tolerance limits.

Factors that may cause the thickness of a strip to change in rolling are:
• A variation in the thickness of ingoing material (from hot rolling).
• Changes in the hardness of the material.
• Roll speed.
• A variation in lubrication.

The rolling conditions must be controlled online and must be rapidly changed
to maintain the correct gauge.

Two methods are used in practice to maintain the correct gauge during a
rolling operation. These are:
(1) Adjusting the roll gap.
(2) Changing the tension applied to the strip.

The contact length between the rolls and the workpiece as shown in Figure
5.2 can be calculated using:

5.9

The nomenclature and the parameters used in this equation are the same as
in the earlier equations above.

The roll force, F, in flat rolling can be estimated from the formula:

5.10

Where L is the roll-strip contact length, w is the width of the strip, and
is the average true stress of the strip in the roll gap.

The power required per roll can be estimated by assuming that F acts in the
middle of the arc of contacts. Therefore:

5.11

Where F is in Newton, L is the length in metres, and N is the revolutions per

minute of the roll.

Note that power in joules per second (J/s) is given by power, P = 2πNFL.

The torque in rolling can be estimated by assuming that the roll force is centred
on the work as it passes between the rolls. Thus torque can be estimated using:

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5.12

Where T is torque in Nmm.

Question 2:
A steel-rolling plant is required to produce a 250-mm wide strip of 15 mm
thickness from an original 25 mm block.
Given: The coefficient of friction is 0.10, the roll radius is 200 mm, the roll
speed is 40 rev/min and the average yield stress is 135 MPa. The work material
has a flow curve defined by K = 255 MPa and n = 0.12.
Determine the following:
(a) The draft in the rolling operation.
(b) The maximum draft in one rolling operation.
(c) The contact length.
(d) The flow stress of the material.
(e) The force required for this operation.
(f) The power requirement for this operation in kW.
(g) The torque required to drive each roll.

Memo:
Data obtained:
Width of the material, w = 250 mm
Original thickness, to = 25 mm
Final thickness, tf = 15 mm
The coefficient of friction, µ = 0.10
Roll radius, R = 200 mm
Roll speed, N = 40 rev/min
Yield stress, Y = 135 MPa
Material flow constant, K = 255 MPa
Constant, n = 0.12

(a) The draft in the rolling operation:

Draft, d = to – tf
d = 25 – 15 =10
Draft, d = 10 mm

(b) The maximum draft in one rolling operation:

dmax = µ2R
dmax = (0.10)2 × 200 = 2
dmax = 2 mm

(c) The contact length:

Substituting:

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55 M M E 26 01/1
 (d) The flow stress of the material:

We first need to calculate the true strain:

Substituting, we obtain:

The flow stress of the material is 210 MPa.

(e) The force required for this operation:

(f) The power requirement for this operation in kW:

(g) The torque required to drive each roll:

5.2.2 Shape rolling

The shape-rolling process is employed to deform a workpiece into a contoured
cross section. Products produced from shape rolling include L-beams, I-beams
and U-channels. Also, railroad tracks, square bars and rods are produced using
the shape-rolling process. Most of the principles applied in flat rolling also
apply to shape rolling. The design of the sequence of intermediate shapes and
the corresponding rolls is referred to as roll-pass design.

5.2.3 Types of rolling mills

Different types of rolling mills are commonly used in the rolling industries:

(1) Two-high rolling mill: This is a basic rolling mill that consists of two op-
posite rolls. The rolls could be reversing or non-reversing. The reversing
mill allows the direction of the roll rotation to be reversed so that the
workpiece can pass through in either direction, while in the non-reversing
mill the rolls always rotate in the same direction and the workpiece will
always pass through one side.
(2) Three-high rolling mill: In the three-high configuration, there are three
rolls in a vertical column and the direction of rotation of each roll remains
unchanged.

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(3) Four-high rolling mill: This mill uses two smaller-diameter rolls to contact
the workpiece and two backing rolls behind them. Owing to the high
rolling forces, the smaller rolls will deflect elastically between their end
bearings as the work passes through.
(4) Cluster rolling mill: This configuration allows smaller working rolls against
the work.
(5) Tandem rolling mill: This configuration consists of a series of rolling stands.
A typical tandem rolling mill may have up to eight or 12 rolling stands,
which results in a shorter manufacturing lead time.

There are some other deformation processes that are related to rolling. These
include thread rolling, ring rolling, gear rolling and roll piercing.

20 Ac tivit y 5.1
•• Differentiate between “rolling” and “spreading”.
•• What are the factors that may cause the thickness of a strip to change
during a rolling process?
•• Name and explain the different types of rolling mills.

5.3 FORGING
Forging is a basic process in which the workpiece is shaped by compressive
forces applied through various dies and tooling. Forging operations produce
discrete parts. Because the metal flow in a die and the material’s grain structure
can be controlled, forged parts have good strength and toughness and are
reliable for highly stressed and critical applications. Forging may be carried
out at room temperature (cold forging) or at elevated temperature (warm or
hot forging). There are two major types of forging, namely open-die forging
and closed-die forging. Other typical types of forging also exist and all of these
will be discussed in this section.

5.3.1 Open-die forging

In open-die forging, a solid workpiece is placed between two flat dies and
is reduced in height by compressing. The open-die forging operation is also
referred to as upsetting or upset forging. The process reduces the height of the
workpiece and increases its diameter. A schematic representation of a forging
operation under ideal conditions appears in Figure 5.3.

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57 M M E 26 01/1
 FIGURE 5.3
A forging operation under ideal conditions

Under ideal conditions, the true strain experienced by the workpiece during
the process can be determined by:

5.13

Where ho is the starting height of the workpiece in mm and h is the height at

an intermediate point in the process in mm. At the end of the compression
stroke, h assumes its final value, (hf ), and, at this point, the strain reaches its
maximum value.

The force required for upset forging under ideal conditions can be estimated
using:
5.14

Where F is force, N, A is the cross-sectional area in mm2, and Yf is the flow

stress in MPa.

An ideal homogenous deformation of a cylindrical work part is shown in

Figure 5.4.

FIGURE 5.4
An ideal homogenous deformation of a cylindrical work part
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5.15

In actual upset forging, friction opposes the flow of the workpiece at the die
surfaces. This creates a barrelling effect as shown in Figure 5.5.

FIGURE 5.5
Actual upset forging

The force required in an actual upset-forging operation takes into consideration

a forging-shape factor, Kf.:

5.16

Where µ is the coefficient of friction, D is the work-part diameter (mm) and h

is the work-part height (mm).

The actual forging force is therefore estimated using:

5.15

Question 3:
An upset-forging operation is used to work on a mild-steel cylindrical workpiece.
The starting piece is 85 mm in height and 45 mm in diameter. At the end of the
forging operation, the workpiece has a final height of 50 mm. The material has
a flow curve defined by K = 320 MPa and n = 0.15. The coefficient of friction
is 0.1. Determine the force as the process begins and at 60 mm. Assume that
the strain at the initial point is 0.002.

Memo:
Data obtained:
Initial height = 85 mm
Final height = 50 mm
Diameter, D = 45 mm
Flow curve, K = 320 MPa
Constant, n = 0.15
Coefficient of friction = 0.1

Volume of the workpiece, V = 85(452/4) = 135 186.66 mm3

Flow stress Yf = Kεn = 320 × (0.002)0.15
= 125.9 MPa
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59 M M E 26 01/1
 The cross-sectional area,
The forging-shape factor, Kf, is computed:

The actual forging force, F = Kf YfA = 1.021 × 125.9 × 1 590.4 =

204 436.22 MPa

At h = 60 mm:

Area = Volume/height = 135 186.66/60 = 2 253.11 mm2

Area = πD2/4; make D the subject of the formula to obtain the value
of D, the diameter.

The forging-shape factor, Kf, is again computed for D = 53.56 mm:

The actual forging force, at h = 60 mm:

F = Kf YfA = 1.036 × 273.14 × 2 253.11 = 637 569.4 N

F = 637.6 kN

Other operations classified as open-die forging or related operations include

fullering, edging and cogging. Fullering is a forging operation performed to
reduce the cross section and redistribute the metal in a work part in preparation
for a subsequent shape-forging operation. This is achieved by using convex
surfaces. Edging is similar to fullering, except that the dies have concave
surfaces. Cogging consists of a sequence of forging compressions along the
length of a work part to reduce the cross section and increase the length. This
is applicable to the steel industries. A schematic representation of these and
other related forging operations is given in Figure 5.6.

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FIGURE 5.6
Open-die forging

5.3.2 Closed-die forging

Closed-die forging is also referred to as impression-die forging. The workpiece
takes the shape of the die cavity while being forged between two shaped dies.
The dies contain the inverse of the desired shape of the product. A schematic
representation of the closed-die forging operation is given in Figure 15.14 in
page 364 of your prescribed book.

The formula for estimating the force requirement for closed-die forging is the
same as in open-die forging, but the interpretation of the nomenclature and
the process parameters are slightly different:

5.18

Where F is the maximum force, N, during the operation, A is the projected

area of the part, including the flash, in mm2, Yf is the flow stress of the material
in MPa, and Kf is the forging-shape factor.

Note that flash is the unwanted excess material resulting from a forging
operation.

5.3.3 Flashless forging

Flashless forging imposes more requirements on process control to ensure that
there is no flash resulting from the forging operation. It is designed such that the
work volume must be equal to the space in the die cavity within a very close
tolerance. A schematic representation of flashless forging is given in Figure 5.7.

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61 M M E 26 01/1
 FIGURE 5.7
Flashless forging

Flashless forging is sometimes classified as a precision-forging process. The

traditional and the precision-forging process are shown in Figure 15.17 in page
366 of your prescribed book.

Precision forging is designed with flash extensions to accommodate the flash

that could result during the forging operation. Coining is a special application
of closed-die forging in which fine details in the die are impressed into the
top and bottom surfaces of the work part. There is little flow of metal in the
coining operation. A typical coining operation is depicted in Figure 5.8.

FIGURE 5.8
A typical coining operation

5.3.4 Forging hammers, presses and dies

Equipment used in forging operations consists of forging machines classified
as hammers, presses or dies.

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[Link] Forging hammers

Forging hammers operate by applying an impact loading against the workpiece.
The term drop hammer is often used for these machines due to the fact that
they deliver impact energy. Drop hammers are used for impression-die forging.
A diagram showing the details of a drop hammer for impression-die forging
is shown in Figure 5.9.

FIGURE 5.9
A drop hammer for impression-die forging

The upper portion of the forging die is attached to the ram, and the lower
portion is attached to the anvil. During operation, the work is placed on the
lower die and the ram is lifted and then dropped. Drop hammers are further
classified as gravity drop hammers and power drop hammers. The gravity
drop hammers achieve their energy by the falling weight of a heavy ram.
The force of the blow is determined by the height of the drop and the weight
of the ram, while the power drop hammers accelerate the ram by means of
pressurised air or steam.

[Link] Forging presses

Forging presses apply gradual pressure to achieve forging, rather than impact
loading with drop hammers. Forging presses include mechanical presses,
hydraulic presses and screw presses. Mechanical presses operate by means of
cranks and knuckle joints which convert the rotating motion of a drive motor
into the translation motion of a ram. Hydraulic presses employ hydraulically
driven pistons to actuate the ram. Screw presses apply force by way of a screw
mechanism that drives the vertical ram.

[Link] Forging dies

These are specially designed dies for forging operations. Terms related to die
forging are the following:

• Parting line: This is the plane that divides the upper die from the lower die.

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63 M M E 26 01/1
 • Draft: This is the amount of taper on the sides of the part required to
remove it from the die.
• Web and ribs: A web is a thin portion of the forging that is parallel to the
parting line, while a rib is a thin portion that is perpendicular to the parting
line.
• Fillet and corner radii: These are features on the die. Small radii tend to
limit metal flow and increase stresses on the die surface during forging.
• Flash: Flash formation causes pressure build-up inside the die to promote
filling of the cavity. This is controlled by designing a flash land and gutter
into the die.
These terms as they relate to conventional impression-die forging are illustrated
in Figure 5.10.

FIGURE 5.10
Conventional impression-die forging

Other deformation processes related to forging are: upsetting and heading;

swaging and radial forging; roll forging; orbital forging; hubbing; isothermal
forging; and trimming.

21 Ac tivit y 5. 2
• What is forging?
• Indicate the differences between open- and closed-die forging
operations.
• Differentiate between forging hammers and presses.

5.4 EXTRUSION
The extrusion process consists of forcing a billet of metal through a die in order
to provide a continuous length of constant cross section corresponding to the
shape of the die orifice. The process can be either hot or cold. Hot extrusion
involves a hot-working process at high temperatures (depending on the material
extruded – for steel alloys, it is about 1 200 °C) and high pressures, while cold

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extrusion is carried out at room temperature. Materials that are commonly

extruded include: copper (Cu), aluminium (Al) and steel alloys. The force may
reach up to 2 000 tons and, in the case of the billets (with diameters of 150 to
500 mm for steel and 750 to 1 800 mm for aluminium), the reduction ratios in
area could vary from 20:1 to 60:1. There are basically two types of extrusion:
direct extrusion and indirect extrusion. This will be discussed in more detail
later in this unit. There are several advantages associated with the modern
extrusion process and these are highlighted below.
Advantages of the modern extrusion process:
(1) It is possible to extrude a variety of shapes.
(2) The resulting grain structure and strength properties are enhanced in cold
and warm extrusion.
(3) Fairly close tolerances are possible, especially in cold extrusion.
(4) There is little or no waste material at the end of the operation.

Despite all these advantages, a major limitation is achieving a uniform cross

section throughout the length of the workpiece.

The faster the speed of extrusion, the closer the process comes to adiabatic
conditions due to the lower heat loss, and, therefore, the greater the temperature
rise in the billet. Though extrusion pressure reduces as billet temperature
increases, there is a limit set, otherwise there will be cracking of the extrusion
as it leaves the die (melting of the alloy constituent with the lowest melting
temperature). At very slow extrusion speeds, the billet becomes stiffer, requiring
a higher extrusion pressure (to some upper limit). The two major types of
extrusion are the direct and indirect extrusion processes, both of which can
be either hot or cold.

5.4.1 Direct extrusion

Direct extrusion employs an extrusion press that is mechanically simple,
and there is no relative movement between the billet and container. Direct
extrusion is also referred to as forward extrusion. Direct extrusion is illustrated
in Figure 5.11.

FIGURE 5.11
Direct extrusion

A metal billet is loaded into a container and a ram compresses the material,
forcing it to flow through one or more openings in a die.

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65 M M E 26 01/1
 5.4.2 Indirect extrusion
Indirect extrusion requires less force and provides better-quality product. There
is relative movement between the billet and the container. Indirect extrusion
is also referred to as backward extrusion and reverse extrusion. The die is
mounted to the ram rather than at the opposite end of the container. As the
ram penetrates into the workpiece, the metal is forced to flow through the
clearance in a direction opposite to the motion of the ram. Indirect extrusion
is shown in Figure 5.12.

FIGURE 5.12
Indirect extrusion

5.4.3 Hot extrusion

Hot extrusion involves prior heating of the billet to a temperature above its
recrystallisation temperature. This reduces the strength and increases the
ductility of the metal, permitting more extreme reductions and the production
of more complex shapes.

5.4.4 Cold extrusion

Cold or warm extrusion is basically employed to produce discrete parts, usually
in the near net shape form. The term impact extrusion is used to qualify high-
speed cold extrusion.

5.4.5 Continuous versus discrete processing

The extrusion process could be continuous or discrete. A true, continuous
extrusion process operates in a steady-state mode for an indefinite period of
time. This is employed to produce long sections, while, in the discrete-extrusion
process, a single part is produced in each extrusion cycle. Impact extrusion
is a typical example of this.

5.5 ANALYSIS OF THE EXTRUSION PROCESS

This section focuses on the analysis of the process parameters, the flow stress,
the ram pressure, and the force requirements in a typical extrusion process.
In Figure 5.13, showing the parameters during extrusion, the diagram assumes
that both the billet and the extrudate have a round cross section.

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 S T U DY U N I T 5: B u lk d e f o r m at i o n p r o ce ss e s i n m e t a l wo r k i n g

FIGURE 5.13
Analysis of the extrusion process

The extrusion ratio, also referred to as the reduction ratio, can be calculated
thus:
5.19

Where rx is the extrusion ratio, Ao is the cross-sectional area of the starting billet
in mm2, and Af is the final cross-sectional area of the extruded section in mm2.

The true strain in extrusion can be achieved using:

5.20

Under ideal conditions, that is, where there is no friction and no redundant
work, the pressure applied by the ram to compress the material can be calculated
using:
5.21

Where is the average flow stress during the extrusion process in MPa.

Remember that:

The extrusion process is not frictionless; therefore, Equation 5.20 and 5.21
underestimate the extrusion true strain and pressure.

Therefore, an empirical formula advanced by Johnson [8] suggests:

5.22

Where is the extrusion strain, and a and b are empirical constants for a
given die angle.

Typical values for these constants are: a = 0.8 and b = 1.2 to 1.5. The values
of a and b tend to increase with increasing die angle.

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67 M M E 26 01/1
 The ram pressure to perform indirect extrusion is given by:

5.23

Where is calculated based on the ideal strain.

The ram pressure for direct extrusion can be calculated from:

5.24

Where L is the billet length remaining to be extruded in mm, and Do is the

original diameter of the billet in mm.

The ram force in indirect or direct extrusion is simply the pressure obtained
from Equations 5.23 and 5.24, respectively, multiplied by the billet area, Ao.

5.25

The power required to carry out the extrusion operation is given by:

5.26

Where P = power, J/s; F = ram force, N; and v = ram velocity, m/s.

5.5.1 Extrusion dies and presses

The die angle and the orifice shape are important factors in the extrusion
process. The definition of the die and the die angle is shown in Figure 5.14.

FIGURE 5.14
Definition of the die and the die angle

Greater force and higher pressure are required for a complex orifice. The effect
of the die orifice can be expressed as the die-shape factor, given by:

5.27

Where Kk is the die-shape factor in extrusion, Cx is the perimeter of the extruded

cross section in mm, and Cc is the perimeter of a circle of the same area as
the extruded shape in mm.

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 S T U DY U N I T 5: B u lk d e f o r m at i o n p r o ce ss e s i n m e t a l wo r k i n g

Die materials used for hot extrusion include tool and alloy steels. The important
properties of die materials include:

(1) High wear resistance.

(2) High hot hardness.
(3) High thermal conductivity.

Extrusion presses are usually hydraulically driven. This drive is suited for semi-
continuous production of long sections, as in the direct-extrusion process, while
the mechanical drives are often used for the cold extrusion of individual parts.

5.5.2 Characterisation of defects in extruded parts

Owing to the large amount of deformation taking place during the extrusion
process, a number of defects result in the finished products. There are three
major types of defects associated with extruded parts, namely centreburst,
piping and surface cracking. These are briefly discussed as follows:

(1) Centreburst: This type of defect is an internal crack that develops as a

result of tensile stresses along the centreline of the work part during the
extrusion process.
(2) Piping: Piping is a defect that is commonly associated with direct extru-
sion. It is the formation of a sinkhole at the end of the billet.
(3) Surface cracking: This results from high work-part temperatures that cause
cracks to develop at the surface of the product.

These defects are presented diagrammatically in Figure 5.15.

FIGURE 5.15
Defects in extruded parts

22 Ac tivit y 5. 3
• With the aid of sketches, differentiate between direct- and indirect-
extrusion processes.
• Indicate the differences between cold- and hot-extrusion processes.
• Name and explain some common defects in extruded parts.

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69 M M E 26 01/1
 5.6 WIRE AND BAR DRAWING
Large quantities of rods, tubes, wires and special sections are finished by cold
drawing. This is a process in which the workpiece is pulled through a cavity of
a smaller size and emerges reduced in size. “Bar drawing” is the term used for
large-diameter bar and rod stock, while wire drawing applies to small-diameter
stock. Wire sizes down to 0.03 mm are possible in wire drawing. A schematic
diagram of drawing is given in Figure 5.16.

FIGURE 5.16
Wire and bar drawing

In drawing operations, the change in the size of the workpiece is usually given
by the area reduction, defined as:

5.28

Where r is the area reduction in drawing, Ao is the original area of the workpiece
in mm2, and Af is the final area in mm2.

The area reduction is always expressed as a percentage.

The draft in drawing is the difference between the original- and the final-stock
diameters expressed mathematically as:

5.29

Where d is the draft in mm, Do is the original diameter of the workpiece in

mm, and Df is the final diameter of the workpiece in mm.

5.6.1 Analysis of the mechanics of drawing

In drawing, assuming there is no friction, the true strain can be determined as:

5.30

The stress resulting from this ideal situation can be estimated from:

5.31

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 S T U DY U N I T 5: B u lk d e f o r m at i o n p r o ce ss e s i n m e t a l wo r k i n g

Where = average flow stress based on the value of the strain.

However, other variables such as the die angle and the coefficient of friction
influence the stress resulting from a drawing operation.

5.32

Where is draw stress in MPa, is the coefficient of friction, is the

die angle (half-angle) and is a factor that accounts for inhomogeneous
deformation determined as follows:

5.33

Where D is the average diameter of the work during drawing in mm, and Lc
is the contact length of the work with the draw die in mm.

The values of D can be determined as follows:

5.34

5.35

The draw force can be estimated as follows:

5.36

Where F is the draw force, N, and the other terms are as defined earlier.

The power requirement in a drawing operation is the product of the force and the
exit velocity, represented mathematically as:

5.37

The advantages of drawing operations in manufacturing include the

following:
(1) Close dimensional control.
(2) Good surface finish.
(3) Improved mechanical properties.
(4) Adaptability to economical batch or mass production.

5.6.2 Drawing equipment

The equipment employed for bar drawing is called a draw bench. It basically
consists of an entry, a die stand, a carriage and the exit rack. A schematic
diagram of a hydraulic draw bench is shown in Figure 5.17.

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71 M M E 26 01/1
 FIGURE 5.17
A hydraulic draw bench

Wire drawing is done on a continuous-drawing machine that consists of multiple

draw dies, separated by drums between the dies, as shown in Figure 5.18.

FIGURE 5.18
Continuous-drawing machine

A typical draw die is shown in Figure 5.19. The important regions on the die
are the entry, approach angle, bearing surface (also referred to as the land)
and the back relief.

FIGURE 5.19
A typical draw die

The entry region is usually a bell-shaped mouth that does not contact the work.
Its purpose is to funnel the lubricant into the die. The approach is where the
drawing process occurs. It is cone-shaped with an angle (half-angle) ranging
from 6o to 20o. The bearing surface determines the size of the final stock
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 S T U DY U N I T 5: B u lk d e f o r m at i o n p r o ce ss e s i n m e t a l wo r k i n g

from the die, and, finally, the back relief is the exit zone where the stock/final
product leaves the machine.

5.6.3 Tube drawing

The drawing operation can be used to reduce the diameter or wall thickness of
seamless tubes and pipes after the initial tubing has been produced by some
other processes such as extrusion. Tube drawing can be carried out with or
without a mandrel. A mandrel is a spindle or an axle used to secure or support
a material being drawn. Figures 5.20 (a) and (b) illustrate tube drawing with
and without a mandrel.

FIGURE 5.20 (A) & (B)

Tube drawing

Tube drawing in which no mandrel is used lacks control over the inside diameter
and the wall thickness of the tube. There are different types of mandrels. The
first is the fixed mandrel attached to a long support bar which establishes
the inside diameter and the wall thickness during the drawing operation. The
second type is a floating plug whose shape is designed so that it finds a natural
position in the reduction zone of the die. This method removes the limitations
on work length present with the fixed mandrel.

23 Ac tivit y 5.4
• With the aid of a sketch, explain the bar-drawing operation.
• What are the advantages associated with drawing in manufacturing.
• Why are mandrels important in tube drawing?

24 Ac tivit y 5. 5
(a) Define the following terms:
(i) Bulk deformation.
(ii) Forming.
(iii) Near net shape.
(b) With the aid of a sketch, explain the rolling process.
(c) Differentiate between a bloom, slab, ingot and billet.
(d) List and explain the factors that may cause the thickness of a strip to
change during the rolling process.

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73 M M E 26 01/1


(e) What are the two ways used in practice to maintain the correct gauge
during the rolling operation?
(f) The upset-forging operation is used to work on a mild-steel cylindri-
cal workpiece. The starting piece is 75 mm in height and 55 mm in
diameter. At the end of the forging operation, the workpiece has a
final height of 58 mm. The material has a flow curve defined by K =
320 MPa and n = 0.12. The coefficient of friction is 0.1. Determine the
force as the process begins and at 65 mm. Assume that the strain at
the initial point is 0.002.
(g) Name, explain and differentiate between the five types of rolling mills.
(h) Define forging.
(i) Name, explain and differentiate between the different types of forg-
ing operations.
(j) With respect to forging operation, define the following terms:
(i) Parting line.
(ii) Draft.
(iii) Web and ribs.
(iv) Fillet and corner radii.
(v) Flash.
(k) What is an extrusion process? Give examples of some materials that
can be extruded.
(l) What are the advantages of the modern extrusion process?
(m) Differentiate between direct- and indirect-extrusion processes.
(n) Differentiate between hot- and cold-extrusion processes.
(o) Name and explain the common defects associated with extruded
parts.
(p) What do you understand by “bar drawing”?
(q) What are the advantages associated with the use of bar-drawing
operations in a manufacturing industry?

SUMMARY
The bulk deformation processes such as rolling, extrusion, forging and drawing
as they apply to the field of manufacturing have been discussed and explained
in this unit. The advantages and the limitations of each process were also
highlighted. To assist students to grasp the fundamentals of the various processes,
typical questions and solutions relating to each aspect of the bulk deformation
process were also provided. Sheet-metalworking will be discussed in the next
unit.

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74
6 STUDY UNIT 6

6 SHEET METALWORKING

U N I T O U TCO M E

On completion of this unit, you should understand the sheet metalworking

processes.

6.1 INTRODUCTION
Cutting and forming operations are sheet metalworking processes performed
on thin metal sheets. The metal sheets usually have a thickness of between
0.4 mm and 6 mm. Sheet metals which have a thickness greater than 6 mm
are called plates, while sheet metals which have a thickness less than 6 mm
are called sheets. The method of rolling as described in Unit 5 is used to
produce plates/sheets that are used in sheet metalworking processes. Sheet
metalworking if of vital commercial value, considering the number of industrial
products that involve parts from sheet or plate metals. There are a number of
industrial products that make use of sheet and plate metals. These include,
among many others, truck and car bodies, locomotives, railway carriages,
aeroplanes, construction equipment, and appliances. Sheet-metal bending
also plays a very important role in the manufacturing industry. As the industry
develops, the size of the components being produced is getting smaller and
the tolerances required on them get tighter. The geometrical accuracy of a bent
part is crucial in determining the quality of the component. Sheet metalworking
can be divided into three significant groups, namely drawing, bending and
cutting. This unit will focus on bending and cutting.

In endeavouring to understand the sheet metalworking process, it is important

to be familiar with the characteristics of sheet metals. These characteristics are
discussed and explained below.

Characteristics of sheet metals:

(1) Elongation: Since the material is being stretched in sheet forming, high uni-
form elongation is desirable for good formability. The true strain at which
necking begins is numerically equal to the strain-hardening component.
(2) Yield-point elongation: Low-carbon steels exhibit behaviour called yield-
point elongation, with upper and lower yield points. This behaviour indi-
cates that, after the material yields, the sheet stretches further in certain

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75 M M E 26 01/1
 regions without any increase in the lower yield point, whereas other
regions in the sheet have not yet yielded.
(3) Anisotropy: Anisotropy is an important factor that influences sheet-metal
forming. It is required during the thermo-mechanical processing of the
sheet. There are two types of anisotropy: crystallographic anisotropy (be-
cause of the preferred orientation of the grains) and mechanical fibering
(because of the alignment of impurities, inclusions and voids throughout
the thickness of the sheet).
(4) Grain size: Sheet-metal grain size is important for two reasons: firstly,
grain size affects mechanical properties, and, secondly, it influences the
surface appearance of the formed part. The coarser the grain, the rougher
the surface appearance.

Assumptions in the analysis of metalworking processes:

• In all metalworking theory, it is assumed that yielding of an element occurs
sharply when the appropriate stress combination is reached.
• It is assumed that the material is isotropic (has the same properties in all
directions).
• It is also assumed that the material is homogenous (has the same structure
throughout its volume).

Factors to be considered in the determination of working loads in metal-

forming process:
In the theoretical determination of working loads, two factors are of primary
importance:
• The stress applied to a metal should be large enough to allow for yielding, that
is, the metal will begin to deform plastically in order to retain a permanent
deformation.
• Yield depends on the combination of all the stresses acting and can be
predicted only on the basis of some relationship between them.

6.2 CUTTING OPERATIONS

Cutting operations are used to separate bulky sheets into small pieces, to
make holes in a work part and to cut out part perimeters. In order to achieve
the required sheet-metal shape, drawing and bending operations are used
sometimes. Cutting of sheet metal is achieved by a shearing action. The shearing
action is shown in Figure 6.1.

FIGURE 6.1
The shearing action
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 S T U DY U N I T 6: Sh e e t m e t a l wo r k i n g

The upper cutting edge, that is, the punch, sweeps down past a stationary
lower cutting edge (the die). As the punch begins to push into the workpiece,
plastic deformation occurs in the surfaces of the sheet. As the punch moves
downward, penetration occurs in which the punch compresses the sheet and
cuts the metal. The characteristic features of a sheared edge are illustrated in
Figure 6.2.

FIGURE 6.2
Sheared edge

The top of the cut is called the rollover. This corresponds to the depression
made by the punch in the workpiece. Just below the rollover is a relatively
smooth surface referred to as the burnish, which results from the penetration
of the punch into the workpiece before fracture. Beneath the burnish is the
fracture zone, a relatively rough surface of the cut edge, depending on the
type of cutting operation employed. Finally, at the bottom of the edge is a burr,
which is a sharp corner on the edge caused by the elongation of the metal
during final separation of the two pieces. There are different types of cutting
operation, depending on the desired product or component. These are referred
to as shearing, blanking and punching, and are discussed and explained below.

6.2.1 Shearing, blanking and punching

The three most important operations in press working that result in shearing are
shearing, blanking and punching. Shearing is a sheet-metal cutting operation
along a straight line between two cutting edges. Shearing is used to cut large
sheets into smaller sections. This is illustrated in Figure 6.3.

FIGURE 6.3
Shearing

Blanking involves cutting of sheet metal along a closed outline in a single step
in order to separate the piece from the surrounding stock (see Figure 6.4 (a)).

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77 M M E 26 01/1
 The part that is cut out is the desired product in the operation and is called
the blank.

Punching is very similar to blanking, except that punching produces a hole, and
the separated piece is the scrap, called a slug. This is shown in Figure 6.4 (b).

FIGURE 6.4 (A) & (B)

Blanking and punching

6.2.2 Analysis of sheet-metal cutting

The common and significant process parameters in cutting operation are
clearance between the punch and die, the stock thickness, the type of metal
being cut and its strength, and, lastly, the length of cut. These parameters will
now be defined and the mathematical relationships that exist between them
indicated.

The clearance, c, in a shearing operation is the distance between the punch

and the die. The recommended clearance can be calculated as follows:

c = Act 6.1

Where c is the clearance in mm, Ac is the clearance allowance, and t is the

stock thickness in mm.

The clearance allowance is determined according to the type of metal. The

associated allowance value for each group of metals is given in Table 6.1.

TABLE 6.1
Clearance allowance value for three sheet-metal groups

Metal group Ac
1100s and 5052s aluminium alloys, all tempers 0.045
2024ST and 6061ST aluminium alloys; brass, all 0.060
tempers; soft cold-rolled steel; soft stainless steel
Cold-rolled steel, half-hard; stainless steel, half-hard 0.075
and full-hard

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 S T U DY U N I T 6: Sh e e t m e t a l wo r k i n g

The effect of clearance is indicated in Figure 6.5.

FIGURE 6.5
Effect of clearance

The punch and die sizes for a round blank of diameter, Db, are determined
as follows:

Blanking-punch diameter = Db − 2c 6.2

Where Db is the blanking-die diameter in mm.

The punch and die sizes for a round hole of diameter, Dh, are determined as
follows:

Hole-die diameter = Dh + 2c 6.3

Where Dh is the hole-punch diameter.

The punch and die sizes are indicated in Figure 6.6.

FIGURE 6.6
Punch and die sizes

The cutting force is estimated using:

F = StL 6.4

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79 M M E 26 01/1


Where S is the shear strength of the sheet metal in MPa, t is the stock thickness
in mm, and L is the length of the cut edge in mm (L = 𝛑Db).

If the shear strength of the material is unknown, an alternative is to use the

tensile strength based on the formula:

F = 0.7(TS)tL 6.5

Where TS is the tensile strength of the material in MPa.

Question 1:
A round disk of 120 mm diameter is to be blanked from a strip of 4.5 mm,
5000 series aluminium alloy whose shear strength is 250 MPa. Determine
the following:

(a) The appropriate punch and die diameter.

(b) The blanking force.

Memo:
Data obtained:
Diameter of the blank, Db = 120 mm
Thickness, t = 4.5 mm
Clearance allowance, Ac value of 5000 series aluminium from Table 6.1 = 0.045

(a) c = Act = 0.045 × 4.5 = 0.2025 mm

The die is to have a diameter = 120 mm and the die size determines the
blank size.

Die opening diameter = 120 mm

Punch diameter = Db − 2c = 120 − 2(0.2025) = 119.595 mm

(b) The blanking force, F = StL

But L = L = 𝛑Db = 𝛑 × 120 = 376.99 mm
Therefore, F = 250 × 4.5 × 376.99 = 424 115 N

25 Ac tivit y 6.1
•• What is the difference between sheets and plates?
•• What are the typical characteristics of sheet metals?
•• With the aid of sketches, differentiate between shearing, blanking and
punching.

6.3 BENDING OPERATIONS

In sheet metalworking, bending is defined as the straining of sheet metal around
a straight axis. Bending makes it possible to shape the sheet metal into various
shapes. Different bending methods are used to produce the various shapes.

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 S T U DY U N I T 6: Sh e e t m e t a l wo r k i n g

These operations have an assortment of advantages and disadvantages. One

advantage of the bending operation is an improvement in the stiffness of the
piece. This is attributed to the increase in the moment of area of the workpiece.

6.3.1 V-bending and edge bending

V-bending is used to produce V-shapes and is performed on a press brake with
a V-shaped punch and die. In V-bending, sheet metal is placed over the die and
a punch makes contact with the sheet, applying a downward punching force.
Both the punch and sheet continue on a downward movement toward the
bottom cavity of the die. In this process, the punch and the workpiece come
into contact with the bottom surface of the die.

After bottoming, the punch is retracted and the sheet metal springs back to a
larger radius of curvature. The bottoming involves squeezing the part at the end
of the stroke, thus plastically deforming it in the bend region. The bottoming
process ensures a more controlled bend angle and reduces springback. Edge
bending involves cantilever loading of the sheet metal. A pressure pad is used
to apply a force, Fh, to hold the base of the part against the die. A schematic
representation of V-bending and edge bending appears in Figure 6.7 (a) and
(b), respectively.

FIGURE 6.7 (A) & (B)

V-bending and edge bending

Mechanical bending of sheet metal is illustrated in Figure 6.8.

FIGURE 6.8
Mechanical bending of sheet metal

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81 M M E 26 01/1
 6.3.2 Analysis of the bending operation
The bend allowance is small compared with the stock thickness and the
metal tends to stretch during the forming process. The bend allowance can
be estimated by using the formula:

6.6

Where Ab is the bend allowance in mm, α is the bend angle in degrees, R is

the bend radius in mm, t is the stock thickness in mm, and Kba is a factor to
estimate stretching.

For the values of Kba, the following values are recommended:

if R<2t, Kba = 0.33 and if R≥2t, Kba = 0.50.

Springback
Non-permanent deformation that is recovered or regained on release of a
mechanical stress is termed elastic recovery or springback. In the case of
bending, the springback occurs after the unloading process of the bending
procedure. The elastic recovery is one of the common characteristic of metal
materials. The deformation of metals is divided into two stages, that is, the
elastic-deformation stage and the plastic-deformation stage as earlier indicated
in Unit 2. Springback is expressed as:

6.7

Where SB = springback; = included angle of the sheet metal; =

included angle of the bending tool in degrees. Compensation for springback
can be accomplished by either overbending or bottoming.

Springback in bending is illustrated diagrammatically in Figure 6.9.

FIGURE 6.9
Springback

The bending force can be estimated using:

6.8

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 S T U DY U N I T 6: Sh e e t m e t a l wo r k i n g

Where F is the bending force, N, TS is the tensile strength of the sheet metal
in MPa, w is the width of the part in the direction of the bend axis in mm, t is
the stock thickness in mm, and D is the die opening dimension in mm.

Kbf is a constant that accounts for differences encountered in an actual bending

process. Its value depends on the type of bending; for V-bending, Kbf = 1.33
and for edge bending, Kbf = 0.33.

Question 2:
A mild-steel metal is to be bent using a V-bending process.

Given: The tensile strength of the material is 310 MPa, the width is 230 mm,
the thickness of the material is 3 mm, and the die opening is 2.5 mm.

Determine the force required for this operation.

Memo:
Data obtained:
Tensile strength of the material = 310 MPa
Width = 230 mm
Thickness of the material = 3 mm
Die opening = 2.5 mm

Since it is a V-bending process, the value of Kbf = 1.33.

Force:

Substituting:

The force required, F = 341 384.4 N.

6.4 OTHER SHEET-METAL FORMING OPERATIONS

Other sheet-metal forming operations other than bending and drawing are
grouped into two categories, namely operations performed with metal tooling
and operations performed with flexible rubber tooling.

6.4.1 Operations performed with metal tooling

The operations performed with metal tooling include:
(1) Ironing.
(2) Coining and embossing.
(3) Lancing.
(4) Twisting.

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83 M M E 26 01/1
 Ironing is performed if the thickness of the stock is greater than the clearance
between the punch and the die. The stock is thus squeezed to the size of the
clearance.

Coining is a bulk deformation process discussed earlier in Unit 5. It is employed

to form indentations and raised sections in a work part. The indentations result
in thinning of the sheet metal and the raised sections result in thickening
of the metal. Embossing, on the other hand, is a forming operation used to
create indentations and raised lettering.

The ironing operation is illustrated in Figure 6.10 and embossing is shown in

Figure 6.11.

FIGURE 6.10
Ironing

FIGURE 6.11
Embossing

Lancing is a combined cutting and bending or cutting and forming operation

performed in one step to partially separate the metal from the sheet. Examples
of lancing include air vents. Typical forms of lancing are shown in Figure 6.12.

FIGURE 6.12
Lancing

Twisting subjects the sheet metal to a torsion loading rather than a bending
load, thus causing a twist in the sheet over its length. This is used to make fan
and propeller blades.

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6.4.2 Rubber forming processes

Flexible materials such as rubber are used to effect some forming operations.
These operations are referred to as the Guerin process and the hydroforming
process.

The Guerin process uses a rubber pad or other flexible materials to form sheet
metal over a positive form block. It is limited to relatively shallow forms. The
process is represented in Figure 6.13.

FIGURE 6.13
The Guerin process

The major advantage of this process is the relatively low cost of tooling required.

Hydroforming is similar to the Guerin process; the only difference is that it

substitutes a rubber diaphragm filled with hydraulic fluid for the thick rubber
pad. This is illustrated in Figure 6.14.

FIGURE 6.14
Hydroforming

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85 M M E 26 01/1
 6.5 DIES AND PRESSES FOR SHEET-METAL PROCESSES
This section deals with the dies and presses employed for sheet-metal processes.

6.5.1 Dies
The common tooling used for press working is referred to as a die. A Stamping
die is seldom used as a high-production die. Tool steels are usually used in
making dies due their good strength and formability qualities. Refer to page
456 of the recommended textbook for the component parts of a typical punch
and die for a blanking operation.

6.5.2 Presses
Presses are machine tools used for sheet metalworking. They consist of a
stationary bed and a powered ram that can be driven toward and away from
the work so as to perform various cutting and forming operations.

6.6 BENDING OF TUBE STOCK

The process of bending tube stock can be considered more one of tasking than
bending sheet metal, because a tube tends to collapse and fold when attempts
are made to bend it. Specially made flexible mandrels are usually inserted into
the tube prior to bending in order to support the walls during operation. A
typical method employed to bend tubes is indicated in Figure 6.15.

FIGURE 6.15
Bending of tube stock

Stretch bending is accomplished by pulling and bending the tube around a

fixed form block as in Figure 6.15. Draw bending is performed by clamping
the tube against a form block and then pulling the tube through the bend by
rotating the block. In compression bending, a wiper shoe is used to wrap
the tube around the contour of a fixed form block. Roll bending is generally
associated with the forming of sheet stock and is also employed for bending
tubes and some other cross sections as desired.

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 S T U DY U N I T 6: Sh e e t m e t a l wo r k i n g

26 Ac tivit y 6. 2
•• Differentiate between V-bending and edge-bending operations.
•• What do you understand by “springback” in metal forming?
•• Indicate the difference between coining and embossing.

27 Ac tivit y 6. 3
(a) Define the following terms:
(i) Cutting.
(ii) Bending.
(iii) Die.
(iv) Press.
(b) Differentiate between plates and sheets.
(c) Name and explain the characteristics of sheet metals.
(d) What are the assumptions made in the analysis of sheet metalwork-
ing processes?
(e) What are the factors that should be considered in the determination
of working loads in sheet-metal forming processes?
(f) With respect to cutting operations, define the following terms:
(i) Rollover.
(ii) Burnish.
(iii) Fracture zone.
(iv) Burr.
(g) Indicate the differences between shearing, blanking and punching
operations.
(h) Differentiate between V-bending and edge bending.
(i) What do you understand by “springback”?
(j) With respect to metal tooling in sheet metalworking processes, ex-
plain the differences between ironing, coining, embossing, lancing
and twisting operations.
(k) What do you understand by “hydroforming” in sheet-metal forming?

SUMMARY
An overview of the sheet metalworking process as a vital manufacturing
process has been provided in this unit. Common cutting operations such as
shearing, blanking and punching as these apply to sheet metalworking were
also discussed. Furthermore, the different types of bending operations and
other bending operations performed with metal and flexible rubber tooling
were dealt with. To enhance your understanding of the fundamentals of these
processes, some questions and solutions relating to typical problems were also
included in this unit.

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 REFERENCES

MP Groover. Principles of Modern Manufacturing. 5th edition, SI Version, 2013.

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Asia.

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 GLOSSARY OF TERMS

•• Alloying – mixing of two or more metals, or mixing of a metal with a non-

metallic material.
•• Amorphous – a material having a non-crystalline structure in its solid state.
•• Anisotropy – the characteristic whereby a metal sheet has different material
properties with respect to orientations and direction. (Anisotropy is an
important factor that influences sheet-metal forming. It is required during
the thermo-mechanical processing of the sheet. There are two types of
anisotropy: crystallographic anisotropy (due to the preferred orientation
of the grains) and mechanical fibering (due to the alignment of impurities,
inclusions and voids throughout the thickness of the sheet).)
•• Approach – applicable to drawing operations, this is where the drawing
process occurs. (It is cone-shaped with an angle (half-angle) ranging from
6o to 20o.)
•• Atom – the basic unit of a chemical element. (Atoms are held together in
molecules by different types of bonds, depending on the valence electrons
of the elements.)
•• Average flow stress (also referred to as the mean flow stress) – the average
value of stress on the stress–strain curve from the beginning of strain to the
final (maximum) value that occurs during deformation.
•• Back relief – in drawing operations, is the exit zone where the stock/final
product leaves the machine.
•• Bar drawing – the term used for large-diameter bar and rod stock.
•• Bearing surface – applicable in drawing operation, this determines the size
of the final stock from the shape and size of the die.
•• Bending – the straining of sheet metal around a straight axis. (Bending makes
it possible to form the sheet metal into various shapes.)
•• Billet – an intermediate slab of steel during the manufacture of steel. (A
billet is rolled from a bloom.)
•• Blanking – involves cutting sheet metal along a closed outline in a single
step to separate the piece from the surrounding stock. (The part that is cut
out is the desired product in the operation and it is called the blank.)
•• Bloom – an intermediate slab of steel during the manufacture of steel.
•• Bobbing – the process of passing a rolled sheet through a gap between a
series of rolls in order to straighten it.
•• Brittle – breaking easily, and does not deform plastically when subjected
to loads.
•• Burnish – the area just below the rollover in the edge of a sheared surface.
(It is a relatively smooth surface which results from the penetration of the
punch into the workpiece before fracture.)
•• Burr – a rough edge on material such as metal after it has been cut or
drilled. (It could also be a sharp corner on the edge of a sheared surface

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 caused by the elongation of the metal during final separation of the two
pieces in a cutting operation.)
•• Ceramic – a hard, brittle, heat-resistant material made by firing a mixture
of clay and chemicals at high temperature.
•• Chip – a small piece that has been broken, chopped or cut from something
hard or brittle.
•• Chip breaker – a design on a cutting tool for disposal of continuous-cutting
swarf.
•• Cluster rolling mill –a configuration allowing smaller working rolls against
the work.
•• Coarse grains –grains larger than normal for a particular wrought metal
or alloy.
•• Cogging operation – a sequence of forging compressions along the length
of a work part to reduce the cross section and increase the length. (This is
widely used in the steel industries.)
•• Coining – a bulk deformation process. (It is employed to form indentations
and raised sections in a work part.)
•• Cold rolling – rolling at room temperature. (It strengthens the metal and
permits a tighter tolerance on thickness.)
•• Cold-worked structure – a microstructure resulting from plastic deformation
of a metal or alloy below its recrystallisation temperature.
•• Component – a part or an element of a larger whole. (It could be a small
part of a machine.)
•• Composites – made up of different materials or parts.
•• Compressive stresses – stresses which tend to squeeze the material.
•• Covalent bond – a chemical bond formed by sharing of one or more
electron(s), especially pairs of electrons, between atoms.
•• Cross-sectional area – the two-dimensional size of a defined part of a
surface, typically a region bounded by a closed curve.
•• Crystal – a piece of a homogenous solid substance having a naturally
geometric and regular form with symmetrically arranged plane faces.
•• Crystalline – having the structure and form of a crystal. (A structure is said
to be crystalline when it is composed of crystals.)
•• Cutting – an operation used to separate bulky sheets into small pieces, to
make holes in a work part and to cut out part perimeters. (Cutting of sheet
metal is achieved by a shearing action.)
•• Defect – a shortcoming or an imperfection in a component part.
•• Deform – to distort (e.g. a material).
•• Deformation – the action or the process of changing a material’s shape,
especially through the application of a pressure or force.
•• Die – the common tooling used for press working. (A stamping die is seldom
used for-high production purposes.)
•• Dipole forces – the intermolecular forces that exist between polar molecules.
•• Dislocation – in materials science and engineering, a crystallographic defect
or an irregularity within a crystal structure.

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 G l o ss a r y o f te r ms

•• Draft – the amount of taper on the sides of the part required to remove it
from the die.
•• Draw bench – the equipment employed for bar drawing in a drawing
operation.
•• Drawing – a drawing process for a wire, tube or bar that involves plastic
deformation over a curved axis.
•• Ductile – the ability of a metal to be deformed without losing its toughness.
(It is the opposite of “brittle”.)
•• Ductility – a measure of the ability of a material to undergo plastic
deformation before facture, usually expressed as percentage elongation
(%EL).
•• Edge dislocation – a line defect. (It is the edge of an extra plane of atoms
that exists in the lattice structure.)
•• Edging – is similar to fullering (see fullering), except that the dies have
concave surfaces.
•• Elastic behaviour – behaviour whereby a sample returns to its original
length when an applied load is removed.
•• Elastic deformation – deformation that is recovered upon the release of
an applied load.
•• Elastomers – a natural or synthetic polymer having elastic properties (e.g.
rubber).
•• Electron cloud – a region of negative charge surrounding an atomic nucleus
that is associated with an atomic orbit.
•• Elongation –the degree of lengthening of a material.
•• Embossing – a forming operation used to create indentations and raised
lettering.
•• Entry region – in drawing operations, usually a bell-shaped mouth that does
not contact the work. (Its purpose is to funnel the lubricant into the die.)
•• Equiaxed grains – grains that are compacted and proportionally sized in a
microstructure; almost the same size.
•• Etching – applying a surface treatment using an appropriate chemical reagent
to reveal the microstructure of a material.
•• Extensometer – a device used to measure the elongation of a specimen
during a tensile test.
•• Extrusion – a compression process in which material is forced to flow
through a die orifice.
•• Failure – the loss of load-carrying capacity of a material.
•• Feed rate – the relative velocity at which a cutter is advanced along a
workpiece.
•• Flash- Is the unwanted excess material resulting from a forging operation.
•• Flow stress – the instantaneous value of stress required to continue deforming
the material, that is, to keep the metal “flowing”. (It is the yield strength of
the material as a function of the strain.)
•• Fluid – a substance that has no fixed shape and yields easily to external
pressure. (It can be a gas or liquid.)
•• Fluidity – the ease with which a fluid flows.

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 •• Force – the capacity to do work or cause a physical change in a material.
•• Forging – a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using
localised compressive forces.
•• Forming – a manufacturing process in which components are fabricated
into shape.
•• Fracture stress – the true or nominal stress on the minimum cross-sectional
area at the beginning of fracture.
•• Fracture zone –a sheared edge beneath the burnish. (It is a relatively
rough surface of the cut edge, depending on the type of cutting operation
employed.)
•• Fullering – a forging operation performed to reduce the cross section and
redistribute the metal in a work part in preparation for a subsequent shape-
forging operation. (This is achieved by using convex surfaces.)
•• Grain – an individual crystal in a polycrystalline material.
•• Grain boundary – the interface between two grains in a polycrystalline
material.
•• Grain size – the average grain diameter determined from a random cross
section.
•• Grooving – the cutting of a narrow slot in the surface of a workpiece.
•• Hardness – the measure of the ability of a material to resist deformation
by indentation.
•• Heat of fusion – the heat absorbed by a unit mass of a solid at its melting
point in order to convert the solid into a liquid at the same temperature.
•• Homogeneous – a material having the same structure throughout its volume.
•• Hot hardness – the ability of a material to retain its hardness at elevated
temperatures.
•• Hot rolling – the rolling of metal bars or sheets when hot. (It is usually done
at temperatures above the recrystallisation temperature.)
•• Hydrogen bonding – occurs mainly in molecules containing hydrogen
atoms that are covalently bonded to another atom.
•• Imperfections – defects in a crystal lattice.
•• Indenter – in hardness testing, a tool, usually made of diamond and having a
definite geometrical shape, which is forced into the surface of the specimen.
•• Inert gas (also called noble gases) – a type of gas that does not react with
other elements. (Usually used as a shielding gas during a welding or laser
forming process.)
•• Ingot – a mass of metal cast that results from casting molten steel into a
mould. (Usually rectangular in shape, it is subsequently rolled into blooms.)
•• Interstitialcy defect – a point defect that results when there is a lattice
distortion arising from the presence of an extra atom in the structure.
•• Ionic bond – a chemical bond in which one atom loses an electron to form
a positive ion and the other atom gains an electron to form a negative ion.
•• Ion-pair vacancy – a point defect occurring when a pair of ions of opposite
charge is missing in a compound.

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•• Ironing – operation that is performed if the thickness of the stock is greater

than the clearance between the punch and the die. (The stock is thus
squeezed to the size of the clearance.)
•• Isotropic – a material having the same properties in all directions (opposite
of anisotropy).
•• Lancing –a combined cutting and bending or cutting and forming operation
performed in one step to partially separate the metal from the sheet.
•• Laser beam forming – a flexible manufacturing process that changes the
shape of a metal sheet by means of thermal stresses induced by an external
heat source instead of an external force commonly used in the mechanical
forming process.)
•• Lathe – a machine for performing cutting or turning operations on wood
or metal in which the piece being worked on is held and rotated while a
cutting tool is applied to it.
•• Lattice – a structure or a framework consisting of strips of metals.
•• Linearly elastic – a force-displacement relationship which is both linear
and elastic.
•• London forces – attractive forces between non-polar molecules, that is, the
atoms in the molecules do not form dipoles (opposite of dipoles forces).
•• Machining – a manufacturing process in which a sharp cutting tool is used
to cut away material so as to leave the desired shaped part.
•• Manufacture – to make something into a finished product using raw
materials, especially on a large industrial scale.
•• Manufacturing lead time – the time from when an order is ready to start
on the production line to when it becomes a finished product.
•• Mechanical property – the property of a material that reveals its elastic
and inelastic behaviour when force is applied to it, thereby indicating its
suitability for an application.
•• Metal – a chemical element that is malleable and ductile, is usually solid,
has a characteristic lustre, and is a good conductor of heat and electricity
(e.g. copper or iron).
•• Metallic bond – a chemical bond in which electrons are shared over many
nuclei and electron conduction occurs.
•• Metalloid – an element whose properties are intermediate between those
of metals and solid non-metals (e.g. silicon).
•• Microstructure – the structural features of a metal such as grains and phase
structures that can be observed under a microscope.
•• Modulus of elasticity – a measure of a material’s stiffness which is defined
as the ratio of stress to strain when the deformation is elastic.
•• Near net shape processes – achieving the final product geometry with little
or no subsequent machining. (They generally produce little or no waste.)
•• Necking –a mode of tensile deformation where relatively large amounts
of strain is localised, causing significant reduction in the cross section of
the material.
•• Negative charge – having a surplus of electrons; having lower electric
potential.

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 •• Neutral point – in rolling, also called the no-slip point. (see no-slip point).
•• Non-crystalline –the state of a solid-state material in which there is no
long-range atomic order (opposite of crystalline).
•• Non-reversing rolls – rolls that always rotate in the same direction, with
the workpiece always passing through one side.
•• No-slip point – a point along the arc where work velocity equals the roll’s
velocity (also referred to as the neutral point).
•• Parting line –the plane that divides the upper die from the lower die.
•• Plastic – a synthetic material made from a wide range of organic polymers
such as polyethylene.
•• Plastic deformation – the deformation of a material undergoing a non-
reversible change in shape.
•• Plates – sheet metals having a thickness greater than 6 mm.
•• Polycrystalline – composed of aggregates of crystals.
•• Polymer – a natural or synthetic compound consisting of large molecules
made of many chemically bonded, smaller identical molecules (e.g. starch
and nylon).
•• Polymer melt – the liquid form of a polymer.
•• Positive charge – an atom having a deficiency of electrons; as such, they
have a higher electric potential.
•• Primary bonds –chemical bonds that require some changes in the structure
of matter.
•• Properties – the characteristics or functionality of a material.
•• Proportional limit – the point on the stress–strain curve where the straight
line proportionality between stress and strain ceases.
•• Punching – is very similar to blanking, except that punching produces a
hole, and the separated piece is the scrap, called a slug.
•• Recrystallisation – the formation of new, strain-free grains occurring in a
process (at recrystallisation temperature).
•• Recrystallisation temperature – the temperature at which recrystallisation
takes place.
•• Reversing mill – a mill allowing the direction of the roll rotation to be
reversed so that the workpiece can pass through in either direction.
•• Rollover –the top of the cut of a sheared edge of a workpiece in a cutting
operation. (This corresponds to the depression made by the punch in the
workpiece.)
•• Rubber – a tough, elastic polymeric substance made from the latex of a
tropical plant or synthetically.
•• Sample –a portion, piece or segment that is representative of a whole.
•• Screw dislocation – a line defect that is spiral within the lattice structure and
is wrapped around an imperfection line; similar to a screw, it is wrapped
around its axis.
•• Secondary bonds –bonds that involve attractions between molecules.
•• Shearing –a sheet-metal cutting operation along a straight line between two
cutting edges. (Shearing is used to cut large sheets into smaller sections.)

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•• Shear stress –stresses that tend to cause adjacent portions of the material
to slide against each other.
•• Sheets – sheet metals which have a thickness less than 6 mm.
•• Slab – rolled from an ingot or a bloom and having a rectangular cross section.
•• Slip –the relative movement of atoms on opposite sides of a plane in a lattice.
•• Soaking – the heating operation during the rolling of steel.
•• Soaking pits – the furnace in which a heating operation is carried out.
•• Space lattice –the three-dimensional network of imaginary lines connecting
atoms together.
•• Specimen – also referred to as a sample (see sample).
•• Spreading – a process during rolling which is used to increase the width
of a workpiece.
•• Springback – non-permanent deformation that is recovered or regained on
release of a mechanical stress (also termed elastic recovery).
•• Strain hardening – the phenomenon whereby metals exhibit an improvement
in strength and hardness as a result of undergoing plastic deformation during
a forming process.
•• Strength – the load that a material can support.
•• Stress – the force per unit area applied on an object expressed in megapascal
(MPa).
•• Stress–strain relationship – a relationship that shows that the stress imposed
on a solid material is directly proportional to the strain induced.
•• Structure –the components that make up a material.
•• Tandem rolling mill – consists mill consisting of a series of rolling stands.
•• Tensile stress – the stress that tends to stretch a material.
•• Tensile testing (also known as tension testing) –a fundamental test in which
a material is subjected to uniaxial loading.
•• Tensile-testing machine – the equipment on which a tensile test is conducted.
•• Thermal expansion – the tendency of a material to change in volume in
response to a change in temperature.
•• Transverse rupture strength – measured in megapascal (MPa), it is the
strength value derived from a bend/flexure test.
•• True strain – the natural logarithm of the ratio of instantaneous gauge length
to original gauge length of a specimen being subjected to a uniaxial load.
•• True stress – the instantaneous load divided by the instantaneous cross-
sectional area of a specimen.
•• Twining – a mechanism of plastic deformation in which atoms on one side
of a plane are shifted to form a mirror image of the other side of a plane.
•• Twisting – the subjecting of sheet metal to a torsion loading rather than a
bending load, thus causing a twist in the sheet over its length. (This is used
to make fan and propeller blades.)
•• Ultimate tensile stress – the maximum engineering stress, in tension, that
can be sustained in a material without fracture.
•• Unit cell – the basic geometric grouping of atoms that is repeated in a
material.

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 •• Workpiece – something that has been, or is in the process of being, worked
on.
•• Yielding –the lowest stress at which strain increases without an increase
in stress.
•• Yield stress – stress that marks the onset of plastic deformation.
•• Young’s modulus – a measure of the elasticity of a material. (It is equal to
the ratio of the linear stress to the linear strain.)
•• Vacancy – a point defect that occurs when there is a missing atom within
the lattice structure.
•• Valency – the number of electrons needed to fill the outermost shell of
an atom.
•• Van der Waals forces – a type of bond that occurs between neutral atoms,
such as inert gas. (Dipole and London forces are referred to as Van der Waals
forces, named after the scientist who first studied and quantified the forces.)
•• Velocity – the rate of change of position of a body.
•• Vickers hardness number (HV) – a number related to the applied force
and the surface area of the permanent impression made by a square-based
pyramidal diamond indenter having included face angles of 136°.
•• Viscoelastic – the property of a substance that exhibits both elastic and
viscous behaviour.
•• Viscosity – a measure of the internal friction that arises when velocity
gradients are present in a fluid.
•• Web and ribs in forging – a web is a thin portion of the forging that is
parallel to the parting line, while a rib is a thin portion that is perpendicular
to the parting line.
•• Wire drawing – the drawing of small-diameter stock.

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