Fourth Semester
ANSWER KEY
Heading:
Upsetting operation.
The ends of a rod are forged to produce a shape with larger cross section.
Examples: bolts, screws, nails.
The rod may buckle if its length- to- diameter ratio (> 3:1) is very high.
Heading is done in a machine called header.
Header is a highly automated horizontal machine (very noisy) with higher production
rates (100 pieces/ min).
The operation can be carried out cold, warm or hot.
2. What is extrusion? Explain the various extrusion defects. (2 marks)
Extrusion:
It is a process of forcing a metal (pushing) enclosed in a container to flow through
the opening of a die.
The metal is subjected to plastic deformation.
Metal undergoes reduction and elongation during extrusion.
Used to manufacture rods, tubes, variety of circular, rectangular, hexagonal and other
shape both in solid and hollow form, channel, I, Z, T and other sections.
Extrusion may be done hot as well as cold.
Defects:
The three principal extrusion defects are:
1. Surface Cracking
High extrusion temperature, friction and speed can cause surface
cracking and tearing.
These cracks are formed along the grain boundaries.
This defect mainly occur in Al, Mg and Zn alloys.
Can be avoided by lowering the billet temperature and the extrusion
speed.
Surface cracking also occurs at lower temperatures, in which the
extruded product sticks along the die.
When the extruded product sticks on to the die, the extrusion pressure
increases rapidly.
Thus, the product moves forward again and pressure is released.
This cycle is repeated continuously producing periodic
circumferential cracks on the surface known as bamboo defect.
2. Pipe defect
The type of metal-flow pattern in extrusion will draw surface oxides
& impurities toward the center of the billet.
Defect is known as pipe defect, tailpipe, or fishtailing.
Nearly 1/3 rd of the extruded product may contain this type of defect
and have to be cut off as scrap.
Pipe defect can be reduced by having more uniform flow pattern. i.e,
by controlling friction and temperature gradient.
3. Chevron or Internal Cracking
Center of the extruded product can develop cracks, called center
cracking, center-burst, arrowhead fracture, or chevron cracking.
Centre cracking
Increases with increasing die angle.
Increases with increasing amount of impurities.
Decreases with increasing extrusion ratio and friction.
Wire drawing:
Large coil of nearly 10 mm diameter is subjected to pre- treatment before the actual
drawing process.
Cleaning: This may be done by acid pickling, rinsing, and drying.
Neutralization: Any remaining acid on the raw material is neutralized by
immersing it in a lime bath.
The material is also given a thin layer of lubricant to protect it from corrosion and to
reduce the friction between wire and die.
4. What is clamping? Explain vacuum clamping and magnetic clamping. (2 marks)
Clamping:
A clamp is a device that holds the work piece firmly against the locators and
resists all the forces generated by the cutting action of the tool on the work piece.
The tool designer refers to this action as clamping and the mechanisms used for
this action are known as clamps.
Vacuum clamping:
It is mainly used for securing thin flat sheets which are vulnerable to distortion
under heavy clamping force.
Vacuum clamping provides light clamping.
The holding face is provided with 0.025 mm deep grooves which serves as
vacuum ducts.
The clamping face is circumscribed by rubber seal all around.
The seal segregates the clamping vacuum area from the space outside the seal.
The vacuum pressure used is generally 1 kg/cm2.
The vacuum fixtures are made of aluminium or cast iron.
Magnetic clamping:
Magnetic clamps utilize the attractive force of magnets for clamping purpose.
It is mainly used to hold ferrous metals.
The magnets can be either permanent or electromagnetic.
Electromagnetic clamps are electrically operated, while permanent magnetic
clamps does not require electricity, instead a mechanical lever, handle, or other
device is used to activate the magnet.
Both types of clamps are available in square, rectangular, or round shapes.
Magnetic clamping is mainly used in grinding, light duty milling and turning
operations.
5. What is isothermal forging? Explain the features of an impression die and closed
die forging processes. (6 marks)
Isothermal forging:
Also known as hot- die forging.
The dies are heated to the same temperature as the hot blank (work piece).
Thus, the faster cooling of the work piece at both the ends can be avoided.
The dies for isothermal forging are made up of nickel alloys.
Complex parts with good dimensional accuracy can be forged in one stroke.
These forging are economical for high quantity productions.
Impression die forging:
In impression die forging, the work piece acquires the shape of die cavities while
being forged between two dies.
It is usually carried out a elevated temperatures to lower the force required for
deformation.
The workpiece volume is kept slightly higher than the volume of die cavity.
This extra amount of material may flow outwards during forging and forms flash.
The thin flash cools rapidly and the material inside the die cavity will be
subjected to very high pressure, thereby filling the die cavity.
The quality, dimensional tolerances and surface finish of impression die forging
depends on blank preparation, die surface finish, die wear and effectiveness of
lubricants.
Forces in impression die forging are difficult to predict because of complex shape
of die and each portion of the work piece is subjected to different strains and
temperatures.
=
Where, F is forging force
A is area of forging including flash
is flow stress of material
is pressure multiplying factor
Closed die forging:
In closed die forging, no flash is formed and the work piece is completely
surrounded by the dies.
Correct volume of material and proper die design are essential in order to obtain
a closed die forging of the desired dimensions and tolerances.
Undersized blanks will prevent complete filling of the die cavity and oversized
blanks may cause premature die failure or jamming of the dies.
6. Explain the design features of a typical forging die. What is the importance of pre-
shaping in a forging operation? (6 marks)
The work piece should be shaped before the actual forging is carried out, so that
the material gets properly filled in the die cavities.
Consider the example of forging of a connecting rod.
A round bar stock is used.
The bar is first preformed into an intermediate shape by techniques such as
fullering and edging.
After preforming, the bar is forged into the final shape.
Flash formed on the final product is trimmed off.
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