Chapter 18:

Fundamentals of Metal
Forming

Rizwan M. Gul
NWFP UET

Page 1

FUNDAMENTALS OF METAL FORMING

Overview of Metal Forming

Material Behavior in Metal Forming
Temperature in Metal Forming
Strain Rate Sensitivity
Friction and Lubrication in Metal Forming

Page 2

Metal Forming
Metal Forming includes a large group of manufacturing
processes in which plastic deformation is used to
change the shape of metal workpieces
The tool, usually called a die, applies stresses that
exceed yield strength of metal The metal takes a
shape determined by the geometry of the die
Stresses to plastically deform the metal are usually
compressive
Examples: rolling, forging, extrusion
However, some forming processes
Stretch the metal (tensile stresses)
Others bend the metal (tensile and compressive)
Still others apply shear stresses
Page 3

Material Properties Required in Metal

Forming
Desirable material properties:
Low yield strength and high ductility
These properties are affected by temperature:
Ductility increases and yield strength decreases
when work temperature is raised
Effect of temperature gives rise to distinctions
between cold, warm and hot working
Other factors:
Strain rate and friction
Page 4

Bulk Deformation Processes

Metal Forming processes can be classified as (1)
bulk deformation processes and (2) sheet
metalworking processes
Bulk deformation processes are characterized by
significant deformations and massive shape changes
"Bulk" refers to workparts with relatively low surface
areatovolume ratios
Starting work shapes include cylindrical billets and
rectangular bars

Page 5

BASIC BULK DEFORMATION PROCESSES

(a) Rolling

(c) Extrusion

(b) Forging

(d) Drawing

Page 6

Sheet Metalworking
Sheet metalworking processes are forming and
related operations performed on metal sheets, strips,
and coils
High surface areatovolume ratio of starting metal,
which distinguishes these from bulk deformation
Often called pressworking because presses perform
these operations
Parts are called stampings
Usual tooling: punch and die

Page 7

BASIC SHEET METALWORKING OPERATIONS

(a) Bending

(b) Deep Drawing

(c) Shearing

Page 8

Material Behavior in Metal Forming

Typical stress-strain curve for most metals is divided
into an elastic region and a plastic region
Plastic region of stress-strain curve is primary interest
because material is plastically or permanently deformed
In plastic region, metal's behavior is expressed by the
flow curve:

where K = strength coefficient; and n = strain

hardening exponent
Stress and strain in flow curve are true stress and
true strain
Flow curve is a valid relationship for cold working
Page 9

Flow Stress
For most metals at room temperature, strength
increases when deformed due to strain hardening
Flow stress = instantaneous value of stress required
to continue deforming the material-to keep metal
flowing
Yf K n
where Yf = flow stress, that is, the yield strength as a
function of strain
The flow stress of the material is the strength
property that determines forces and power required
to accomplish a particular forming operation
Page 10

Average Flow Stress

In some processes, like extrusion, average flow
stress ( the average value of stress over the stress-strain
curve from the beginning of strain to the final maximum
value that occurs during deformation) is more useful

than the instantaneous flow stress

Determined by integrating the flow curve equation
between zero and the final strain value defining the
_
range of interest
K n
Yf
1 n
_

where Yf = average flow stress; and = maximum

strain during deformation process

Page 11

Material Behavior in Metal Forming

Y f K

K n
Yf
1 n
Yf Flow Stress

Maximum strain
for forming
process

K Strength coefficient

Yf

Average flow stress

Page 12

Temperature in Metal Forming

For any metal, K and n in the flow curve depend on
temperature
Both strength and strain hardening are reduced at
higher temperatures
In addition, ductility is increased at higher
temperatures
Any deformation operation can be accomplished with
lower forces and power at elevated temperature
Three temperature ranges in metal forming:
Cold working
Warm working
Hot working
Page 13

Cold Working
Performed at room temperature or slightly above
Many cold forming processes are important mass
production operations
Minimum or no machining usually required
These operations are near net shape or net shape
processes
Due to strain hardening the strength of the metal
increases and ductility decreases during cold working
Advantages Vs. Disadvantages

Page 14

Advantages of Cold Forming vs.

Hot Working
Better accuracy closer tolerances
Better surface finish
Strain hardening increases strength and hardness
Grain flow during deformation can cause desirable
directional properties in product
5. No heating of work required lower fuel cost and
higher production rates
1.
2.
3.
4.

Page 15

Disadvantages of Cold Forming

1. Higher forces and power required
2. Surfaces of starting workpiece must be free of scale
and dirt
3. Ductility and strain hardening limit the amount of
forming that can be done
In some operations, metal must be annealed to
allow further deformation
In other cases, metal is simply not ductile enough
to be cold worked

Page 16

Warm Working
Performed at temperatures above room temperature
but below recrystallization temperature
Dividing line between cold working and warm working
often expressed in terms of melting point:
0.3Tm, where Tm = melting point (absolute
temperature) for metal
Lower strength and strain hardening while higher
ductility

Page 17

Advantages of Warm Working

1. Lower forces and power than in cold working
2. More intricate work geometries possible
3. Need for annealing may be reduced or eliminated

Page 18

Hot Working
Deformation at temperatures above recrystallization
temperature
Recrystallization temperature = about one half of melting
point on absolute scale
In practice, hot working usually performed somewhat
above 0.5Tm
Metal continues to soften as temperature increases
above 0.5Tm, enhancing advantage of hot working
above this level
0.75 Tm is generally considered as upper limit as heat
generated due to deformation can lead to melting
above that temperature
Recrystallization may take place during or after the
deformation
Page 19

Why Hot Working?

Capability for substantial plastic deformation of the
metal far more than possible with cold working or
warm working
Why?
Strength coefficient is substantially less than at
room temperature
Strain hardening exponent is zero (theoretically)
Ductility is significantly increased
Advantages Vs. Disadvantages

Page 20

Advantages of Hot Working vs. Cold Working

1. Workpart shape can be significantly altered
2. Lower forces and power required
3. Metals that usually fracture in cold working can be
hot formed
4. Strength properties of product are generally isotropic
(no grain orientation)
5. No strengthening of part occurs from work hardening
Advantageous in cases when part is to be
subsequently processed by cold forming

Page 21

Disadvantages of Hot Working

1. Lower dimensional accuracy
2. Higher total energy required (due to the thermal
energy to heat the workpiece)
3. Work surface oxidation (scale), poorer surface finish
4. Shorter tool life

Page 22

Strain Rate Sensitivity

Theoretically, a metal in hot working behaves like a
perfectly plastic material, with strain hardening
exponent n = 0
The metal should continue to flow at the same
flow stress, once that stress is reached
However, an additional phenomenon occurs
during deformation, especially at elevated
temperatures: Strain rate sensitivity

Page 23

What is Strain Rate?

Strain rate in forming is directly related to speed of
deformation v
Deformation speed v = velocity of the ram or other
movement of the equipment
.
Strain rate is defined:
v

.
h
where = true strain rate; and h = instantaneous height
of workpiece being deformed
In most practical operations, valuation of strain rate is
complicated by
Workpart geometry
Variations in strain rate in different regions of the part
Strain rate can reach 1000 s-1 or more for some metal
forming operations
Page 24

Effect of Strain Rate on Flow Stress

Flow stress is a strong function of temperature
However, at hot working temperatures, flow stress also
depends on strain rate
As strain rate increases, resistance to deformation
increases
This effect is known as strainrate sensitivity
As strain rate is increased, resistance to deformation
increases. This usually plots as a straight line on a log-log
graph:
Strain Rate Sensitivity Equation:

Yf C m
where C = strength constant (similar but not equal to
strength coefficient in flow curve equation), and m =
strainrate sensitivity exponent
Page 25

Figure 18.5 (a) Effect of strain rate on flow stress at an

elevated work temperature. (b) Same relationship
plotted on loglog coordinates
Page 26

Observations about Strain Rate

Sensitivity
Increasing temperature decreases C, increases m
At room temperature, effect of strain rate is almost
negligible
Flow curve is a good representation of material
behavior
As temperature increases, strain rate becomes
increasingly important in determining flow stress
A more complete expression for flow stress as a
function of both strain and strain rate would be the
following:
Y A n m
f

Page 27

Figure 18.6 Effect of

temperature on flow stress
for a typical metal. The
constant C in Eq. (18.4),
indicated by the intersection
of each plot with the vertical
dashed line at strain rate =
1.0, decreases, and m
(slope of each plot)
increases with increasing
temperature

Page 28

Page 29

Friction in Metal Forming

Friction in metal forming arises because of the close
contact between the tool and work surfaces and the high
pressures that drive the surfaces together in these
operations
In most metal forming processes, friction is undesirable:
Metal flow is retarded
Forces and power are increased
Wears tooling faster
Friction and tool wear are more severe in hot working (see
table)
Friction in metal forming is more severe than machine parts
(gears, cams, bearings etc) where there is low contact
pressures, low to moderate temperatures, and ample
lubrication to avoid metal to metal contact
Page 30

Lubrication in Metal Forming

Metalworking lubricants are applied to toolwork
interface in many forming operations to reduce the
harmful effects of friction
Benefits:
Reduced sticking, forces, power, tool wear
Better surface finish
Removes heat from the tooling
Lubricants used for cold working operations include:
mineral oils, fats and fatty oils, water based
emulsions, soaps, and other coatings
Hot working is sometimes performed dry; the used
lubricants include minerals oils, graphite and glass
Page 31

Considerations in Choosing an
Appropriate Metalworking Lubricant
Type of forming process (rolling, forging, sheet metal
drawing, etc.)
Hot working or cold working
Work material
Chemical reactivity with tool and work metals
Ease of application
Toxicity, flammability and cost

Page 32

Home Work # 2 & 3 (Due Date

The following project is assigned to get practical know-how

of the deformation processes, and to be more familiar with
the local manufacturing industry of the region.
You will have to visit a local industry involved in deformation
processes and communicate with Technical Manager(s) or
General Manager to gain in-depth knowledge about the
industry. Select an industry that can be accessed easily,
visit the industry and get detail knowledge about its
processing methods, procedure used in the setup and the
types (and names) of the products produced.
A short report maximum four pages will have to be
submitted outlining in detail the name and location of the
industry visited, processing methods employed, and the
products produced by the industry. Any samples obtained
and photographs taken will also be useful in evaluating the
report.
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