Drawing

In drawing, the cross-section of a long rod or wire is reduced or

changed by pulling (hence the term drawing) it through a die
called a draw die. Thus, the difference between drawing and
extrusion is that in extrusion the material is pushed through a
die, whereas in drawing it is pulled through it. Although the
presence of tensile stresses is obvious in drawing, compression
also plays a significant role because the metal is squeezed
down as it passes through the die opening. For this reason, the
deformation that occurs in drawing is sometimes referred to as
indirect compression. Drawing is a term also used in sheet
metalworking. The term wire, bar and tube drawing is used to
distinguish the drawing process discussed here from the sheet
metal process of the same name. Rod and wire products cover a
very wide range of applications, including shafts for power
transmission, machine and structural components, blanks for
bolts and rivets, electrical wiring, cables,..Etc.
 Tube Drawing:
Drawing 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 process such as extrusion. Tube
drawing can be carried out either with or without a mandrel. The
simplest method uses no mandrel and is used for diameter
reduction, as in Figure 2.1. The term tube sinking is sometimes
applied to this operation.

Figure 2.1

The problem with tube drawing in which no mandrel is used, as

in Figure 2.1, is that it lacks control over the inside diameter and
wall thickness of the tube. This is why mandrels of various types
are used, two of which are illustrated in Figure 2.2. The first, and
Figure 2.2 (a) uses a fixed mandrel attached to a long support
bar to establish inside diameter and wall thickness during the
operation. Practical limitations on the length of the support bar in
this method restrict the length of the tube that can be drawn. The
second type, shown in (b), uses 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.

Figure 2.2 (a) Fixed mandrel (b) Floating plug

ADVANTAGES OF DRAWING:
(1) Close dimensional control.
(2) Good surface finish
(3) Improved mechanical properties such as strength and
hardness.
(4) Adaptability to economical batch or mass production.
Drawing speeds are as high as 50 m/s for very fine wire. In
drawing, reductions in the cross-sectional area per pass
range up to about 45 %. Usually, the smaller the initial
cross section, the smaller the reduction per pass. Fine
wires usually are drawn at 15 to 25% reduction per pass
and larger sizes at 20 to 45%. A light reduction (sizing
pass) also may be taken on rods to improve their surface
finish and dimensional accuracy.

BUNDLE DRAWING:
Although very fine wire can be produced by drawing, the cost
can be high. One method employed to increase productivity is
to draw many wires (a hundred or more) simultaneously as a
bundle. Bundle drawing produces wires that are somewhat
polygonal, rather than round, in cross- section. The wires
produced can be as small as 4 µm in diameter and can be made
from such materials as stainless steels, titanium, and high-
temperature alloys.

DRAWING EQUIPMENT:
Bar drawing is accomplished on a machine called a draw
bench, consisting of an entry table, die stand (which contains
the draw die), carriage, and exit rack. The arrangement is
shown in Figure 2.3. The carriage is used to pull the stock
through the draw die. It is powered by hydraulic cylinders or
motor-driven chains. The die stand is often designed to hold
more than one die, so that several bars can be pulled
simultaneously through their respective dies.

Figure 2.3
Wire drawing is done on continuous drawing machines that
consist of multiple draw dies, separated by accumulating
drums between the dies, as in Figure 2.4. Each drum, called a
capstan, is motor driven to provide the proper pull force to
draw the wire stock through the upstream die. It also
maintains a modest tension on the wire as it proceeds to the
next draw die in the series. Each die provides a certain amount
of reduction in the wire, so that the desired total reduction is
achieved by the series. Depending on the metal to be
processed and the total reduction, annealing of the wire is
sometimes required between groups of dies in the series.

Figure 2.4 Continuous drawing of wire

DRAW DIES:
Figure 2.5 identifies the features of a typical draw die. Four
regions of the die can be distinguished: (1) entry, (2)
approach angle, (3) bearing surface (land), and (4) back
relief. 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 and prevent scoring of work and die
surfaces.The approach is where the drawing process occurs.
It is cone-shaped with an angle (half angle) normally ranging
from about 6◦ to 20◦. The proper angle varies according to
work material. The bearing surface, or land, determines the
size of the final drawn stock. Finally, the back relief is the
exit zone. It is provided with a back relief angle (half-angle)
of about 30◦. Draw dies are made of tool steels or cemented
carbides. Dies for high-speed wire drawing operations
frequently use inserts made of diamond (both synthetic and
natural) for the wear surfaces
Figure 2.5 Draw die for drawing of round rod or wire
PREPARATION OF THE WORK:

Prior to drawing, the beginning stock must be properly

prepared. This involves three steps: (1) annealing, (2) cleaning,
and (3) pointing. The purpose of annealing is to increase the
ductility of the stock to accept deformation during drawing. As
previously mentioned, annealing is sometimes needed between
steps in continuous drawing. Cleaning of the stock is required
to prevent damage of the work surface and draw die. It
involves removal of surface contaminants (e.g., scale and rust)
by means of chemical pickling or shot blasting. In some cases,
prelubrication of the work surface is accomplished subsequent
to cleaning.
Pointing involves the reduction in diameter of the starting
end of the stock so that it
can be inserted through the draw die to start the process. This
is usually accomplished by swaging, rolling, or turning. The
pointed end of the stock is then gripped by the carriage jaws or
other device to initiate the drawing process.
DIE MATERIAL:

Die materials for drawing typically are tool Steels and carbides.
For hot drawing, cast-steel dies are used because of their high
resistance to wear at elevated temperatures. Diamond dies are
used for drawing fine wire with diameters ranging from 2 µm to
1.5 mm. They may be made from a single-crystal diamond or in
polycrystalline form with diamond particles in a metal matrix
(compacts). Because of their very low tensile strength and
toughness, carbide and diamond dies typically are used as
inserts or nibs, which are supported in a steel casing. Figure
(2.6)

Figure (2.6) tungsten-carbide die

insert in a steel casting. Diamond
dies used in drawing thin wire are
encased in a similar manner
DRAWING DEFECTS AND RESIDUAL STRESSES:
Typical defects in a drawn rod or wire are similar to those
observed in extrusion especially center cracking another major
type of defect in drawing is seams, which are longitudinal
scratches or folds in the material. Seams may open up during
subsequent forming operations (such as upsetting, heading, thread
rolling, or bending of the rod or wire), and they can cause serious
quality-control problems. Various other surface defects (such as
scratches and die marks) also can result from improper selection
of the process parameters, poor lubrication, or poor die
condition.
Because they undergo nonuniform deformation during drawing,
cold-drawn products usually have residual stresses. Residual
stresses can be significant in causing stress- corrosion cracking of
the part over time.
Rods and tubes that are not sufficiently straight (or are supplied
as coil) can be straightened by passing them through an
arrangement of rolls placed at different axes.
PROCESS VARIABLES IN WIRE DRAWING:

The die angle, the reduction in cross-sectional area per pass,

the speed of drawing, the temperature and the lubrication all
affect the drawing force, F. The major processing variables in
drawing are similar to those in extrusion that is, reduction in
cross-sectional area, die angle, friction along the die-workpiece
interface, and drawing speed.

The die angle influences the drawing force and the quality of
the drawn product. The basic difference between bar drawing
and wire drawing is the stock size that is processed. 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 (0.001 in) are possible in wire drawing. Bar
drawing is generally accomplished as a single-draft operation—
the stock is pulled through one die opening. Because the
beginning stock has a large diameter, it is in the form of a
straight cylindrical piece rather than coiled. This limits the
length of the work that can be drawn.
By contrast, wire is drawn from coils consisting of several
hundred (or even several thousand) feet of wire and is passed
through a series of draw dies. The number of dies varies
typically between 4 and 12. In a drawing operation, the change
in the size of the work is usually given by the area reduction,
defined as follows:
r=(𝐴𝑜 – 𝐴𝑓)/𝐴𝑜
Where: -
r = area reduction in drawing;
Ao=original area of work, mm2 (in2); and
Af = final area, mm2 (in2).
Area reduction is often expressed as a percentage. In bar
drawing, rod drawing, and in drawing of large diameter wire for
upsetting and heading operations, the term draft is used to
denote the before and after difference in size of the processed
work. The draft is simply the difference between the original
and final stock diameters:
𝑑 = 𝐷𝑜 − 𝐷𝑓
Where d = draft, mm (in); D o = original diameter of work, mm
(in); and Df = final work diameter, mm (in).