METAL FORMING

CHAPTER CONTENTS
2.1

2.2

2.1

Overview of Metal Forming

Definitions
Material Considerations
Temperature in Metal Forming
Friction Effects
Bulk deformation Processes
Classification of Bulk Deformation Processes
Rolling
Forging
Extrusion

2.3

Sheet Metalworking
Classification of Sheet Metalworking Processes
Cutting Operations
Bending Operations
Deep Drawing
Other Sheet Metalworking Operations
High-energy-rate Forming (HERF)

OVERVIEW OF METAL FORMING

Definitions
Plastic Deformation Processes
Operations that induce shape changes on the workpiece by plastic deformation under forces applied
by various tools and dies.
Bulk Deformation Processes
These processes involve large amount of plastic deformation. The cross-section of workpiece changes
without volume change. The ratio cross-section area/volume is small. For most operations, hot or warm
working conditions are preferred although some operations are carried out at room temperature.
Sheet-Forming Processes
In sheet metalworking operations, the cross-section of workpiece does not changethe material is only
subjected to shape changes. The ratio cross-section area/volume is very high.
Sheet metalworking operations are performed on thin (less than 6 mm) sheets, strips or coils of metal by
means of a set of tools called punch and die on machine tools called stamping presses. They are always
performed as cold working operations.

Material considerations
Material Behavior
In the plastic region, the metal behavior is expressed by the flow curve:
= n
where K is the strength coefficient and n is the strain-hardening (or work-hardening) exponent. K and n
are given in the tables of material properties or are calculated from the material testing curves.
Flow stress
For some metalworking calculations, the flow stress Yf of the work material (the instantaneous value of
stress required to continue deforming the metal) must be known:
Yf = n

Average (mean) flow stress

In some cases, analysis is based not on the instantaneous flow stress, but on an average value over
the strain-stress curve from the beginning of strain to the final (maximum) value that occurs during
deformation:
=K

Yf
Yf
Y
Specific energy u

Stress-strain curve indicating location of average flow

stress Yf in relation to yield strength Y and final flow
stress Yf

The mean flow stress is defined as

Yf

n
f

1 n

here f is the maximum strain value during deformation.

Work-hardening
It is an important material characteristic since it determines both the properties of the workpiece and
process power. It could be removed by annealing.

Temperature in metal forming

The flow curve is valid for an ambient work temperature. For any material, K and n depend on
temperature, and therefore material properties are changed with the work temperature:
log

Increase in the
work temperature

True stress-strain curve showing decrease in strength

coefficient K and strain-hardening exponent n with
work temperature

log

There are three temperature ranges-cold, warm, and hot working:

Cold
working

TA

Warm
working

0.3Tm

0.5Tm

Hot
working

0.75Tm

Tm

Temperature range for different metal forming

operations. TA is the ambient (room) temperature,
and Tm is the work metal melting temperature

Cold working is metal forming performed at room temperature.

Advantages:

better accuracy, better surface finish, high strength and hardness of the part, no
heating is required.
Disadvantages: higher forces and power, limitations to the amount of forming, additional
annealing for some material is required, and some material are not capable of
cold working.
Warm working is metal forming at temperatures above the room temperature but bel-low the
recrystallization one.
Advantages:
lower forces and power, more complex part shapes, no annealing is required.
Disadvantages: some investment in furnaces is needed.
Hot working involves deformation of preheated material at temperatures above the re-crystallization
temperature.
Advantages:

big amount of forming is possible, lower forces and power are required, forming
of materials with low ductility, no work hardening and therefore, no additional
annealing is required.
Disadvantages: lower accuracy and surface finish, higher production cost, and shorter tool life.

Friction effects
Homogeneous Deformation
If a solid cylindrical workpiece is placed between two flat platens and an applied load P is increased until
the stress reaches the flow stress of the material then its height will be reduced from initial value of ho
to h1. Under ideal homogeneous condition in absence of friction between platens and work, any height
reduction causes a uniform in-crease in diameter and area from original area of Ao to final area Af.
force
force

ho

Ao

work piece

hf

Af

do

df

force

force

Homogeneous deformation

The load required, i.e. the press capacity, is defined by

P = YfAf
Inhomogeneous deformation
In practice, the friction between platens and workpiece cannot be avoided and the latter develops a
barrel shape. This is called inhomogeneous deformation and changes the load estimation as follows
P Y f ks Af

Yf 1

do
Af
3ho

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Metal Forming

Valery Marinov, Manufacturing Technology

force
force

ho

work piece

do

force

friction forces

hf
df

force

Inhomogeneous deformation with

barreling of the workpiece

where is the frictional coefficient between workpiece and platen, and ks is the shape factor.

2.2

BULK DEFORMATION PROCESSES

Classification of Bulk Deformation Processes

Basic bulk deformation processes

(a) rolling, (b) forging, (c) extrusion, (d) drawing

Rolling:

Compressive deformation process in which the thickness of a plate is reduced by

squeezing it through two rotating cylindrical rolls.

Forging:

The workpiece is compressed between two opposing dies so that the die shapes are
imparted to the work.

Extrusion:

The work material is forced to flow through a die opening taking its shape

Drawing:

The diameter of a wire or bar is reduced by pulling it through a die opening (bar
drawing) or a series of die openings (wire drawing)

Forging
Definition
Forging is a Bulk Deformation Process in which the work is compressed between two dies. According to
the degree to which the flow of the metal is constrained by the dies there are three types of forging:

Open-die forging
Impression-die forging
Flashless forging

Three types of forging: (a) open-die forging, (b) impression die forging, and (c) flashless forging

Open-die forging
Known as upsetting, it involves compression of a work between two flat dies, or platens. Force calculations were discussed earlier.

Sequence in open-die forging illustrating the

unrestrained flow of material. Note the barrel shape
that forms due to friction and inhomogeneous
deformation in the work

Open-die forging of a multi diameter shaft

22

Metal Forming

Valery Marinov, Manufacturing Technology

Impression-die forging
In impression-die forging, some of the material flows radially outward to form a flash:

Schematics of the impression-die forging process showing

partial die filling at the beginning of flash formation in
the center sketch, and the final shape with flash in the
right-hand sketch

Stages (from bottom to top) in

the formation of a crankshaft by
hot impression-die forging

Estimation of the maximum force F can be approximately done by

F = KfYfA
where Kf is the shape factor ranging from 6 to 10, bigger for more complex shapes, Yf is the yield
strength of the material at work temperature, A is the projected area of the part, including flash.
Flashless forging
The work material is completely surrounded by the die cavity during compression and no flash is
formed:

Flashless forging: (1) just before initial contact with the workpiece,
(2) partial compression, and (3) final push and die closure. Symbol
v indicates motion, and F - applied force.

Most important requirement in flashless forging is that the work volume must equal the space in
the die cavity to a very close tolerance. For force estimation, the same equation as in impression-die
forging is applied.

Valery Marinov, Manufacturing Technology

Metal Forming

23

Coining
Special application of flashless forging in which fine detail in the die are impressed into the top and
bottom surfaces of the workpiece. There is a little flow of metal in coining.

Coining operation: (1) start of cycle,

(2) compression stroke, and (3) ejection
of finished part

Forging machines
The next figures show some examples of the common forging machines-hammers and presses:

Drop forging hammer, fed by conveyor and

heating unit at the right of the scene.

A 35 000-ton forging press.

In the foreground is a 120-kg,
3-m aluminum part that has
forged on this press.

Forging Defects
1. Burst: load-induced cracking due to exceeded forming stresses resulting to internal
and/or surface cracks.
2. Lap / fold: material laps over itself due to surface flow instability.
Seam: is a long straight lap.
3. Scale pits: pressing scale and debris left in forging dies into the surface of a component
4. Splits: parts separated into two
5. Micro-cracks: small and various pores due to residual stresses