FUNDAMENTALS OF METAL

WORKING
 Manufacturing and Process.
• What is manufacturing?
• Manufacturing is the conversion of raw materials into a useful item called as Product.

• Product is the desired or wanted material which has shape, size, colour, and moreover has
Function to perform.

• What is a Process?
• Process is the step by operations involved in the conversion of raw material.

• Ex., Pen is a product, Shirt is a product .

• Now we shall try to understand what a product is. Let us take the Pen… It has shape, size,
colour and a function to perform i.e., writing on a paper leaving marks.

• Ex., Coffee is the product → it is used as a drink. It is to satisfy the customer. This is its
function.
• Manufacturing Processes can be classified as
• Casting
• Welding
• Machining
• Mechanical working
• Powder Metallurgy
• Plastic Technology etc.,

• Useful shapes may be generated in 2 basic ways:

1. By plastic deformation processes in which the volume and mass of metal are
conserved and the metal is displaced from one location to another.
2. By metal removal or machining process.
• Mechanical working Process.
• In this process the raw material is converted to a given shape by the
application of external force. The metal is subjected to stress.

• All metals which are ductile are mechanically worked.

• A Ductile metal is one which undergoes increase or decrease in length when

external force is applied without breaking.

• Sheet or wire which are obtained due to ductility property .ex., mild steel.

• There are brittle metals also. A brittle metal is one which will not undergo
extension or decrease in length under the influence of external force but
fracture or fail. ex., cast iron
Classification of Metal Working Processes
• 1. General classification
• Rolling
• Forging
• Extrusion
• Wire Drawing
• Sheet Metal Forming

• 2. Based on Temperature of Working

• Hot Working
• Cold Working
• Warm Working

• 3. Based on the applied stress

• Direct Compressive Stress
• Indirect Compressive Stress
• Tensile Stress
• Bending Stress
• Shear Stress
• Based on General Classification.
• The raw material is obtained by pouring molten metal into a metallic mould
and after solidification the solid metal is taken out. This will have a given cross
section such as square or rectangle or circular etc, and of a given length. This is
referred to as Ingot.

• Ingot is the starting raw metal for all metal working process.

• Molten metal from the furnace is taken and poured into metal moulds and
allowed to cool or solidify.

• The cooled solid metal mass is then taken out of the mould. This solid metal is
referred to as Ingot.

• This Ingot is later on converted to other forms by mechanical working.

Typical Ingot Mould
• Rolling:
• It is a process wherein the ingot is passed between the gaps of two rotating
rolls to get deformation.
• Forging:
• Here the metal is pressed between two hard surfaces to get a reduced section.
• Extrusion:
• Here a conical die is used for deforming the metal.
• The die is a converging one.
• In Extrusion the metal is pushed from one end towards the conical opening
and the cross section is reduced.
• Wire Drawing:
• In Wire drawing the metal is pulled from the front end of the conical end and
the cross section is reduced.
• In both cases the metal is subjected to indirect compressive stress.
• Classification of Metal Working Based on Temperature.

• Hot working: It is defined as the mechanical working of metal at an elevated (higher)

temperature. This temperature is referred to RCT (Re Crystallization Temperature).

• Cold Working: It is defined as the mechanical working of metal below RCT.

• Warm Working: It is defined as the mechanical working of metal at a temperature

between that of hot working and Cold Working.
• RCT: It is the temperature at which all metallic materials undergo fragmentation of
the grains followed by nucleation and growth, under the influence of the external
force.
• The value of RCT has been arrived at by conducting large number of studies. Its value
lies between 0.4-0.5 times the Melting point of the metal. It is a function of the
nature of the metal.
• Ex., For Aluminium the melting point is 660oC. Hence RCT is 330oC.
• Classification of Metal Working Process Based on Stresses
• 1. Direct Compressive Stress
• a) Rolling and b) Forging
• Rolling consists of two rotating rolls with a gap between which the metal is passed through and the metal gets
reduced in its cross section. During the process the metal experiences direct compression as shown in the figure.

• In Forging the metal is placed between the gaps of two hard surfaces called as dies and are made to come closer and
make contact with the metal. On applying the load the metal is compressed and it experiences direct compression.
• Indirect Compression
• a) Extrusion and b) Wire Drawing
• Extrusion consists of a cylindrical container in which the metal is kept and pushed out of a conical
end called as die. Reduction in the cross section takes place. The metal experiences indirect
compression near the die walls.

• Wire drawing also a cylindrical container with a conical end will be there and the metal is being
pulled out of the die. The metal cross section is smaller than in extrusion.
• Bending Stress
• Bending of plates and sheets
• Here two dies are used with a given contour as shown in the fig.
A sheet is placed on the bottom die and the upper die is made top
force against the sheet and the metal undergoes bending due to
tensile and compressive forces acting on it at top and bottom
surfaces. The metal takes the form of the contour and bends.
• Shear Stress
• Here a sheet is cut between two sharp edges called as shear blades.
The metal is placed on one of the blades and the other blade is made
to force against it. The metal undergoes shear as shown in the fig.
Pure shear stress will be acting on the metal.
• Tensile Stress
• A sheet metal is held between grippers and is pulled against a contoured die as
shown in the fig. The sheet takes the form of the die due to tensile forces acting
on it. The required contour is obtained.
• What is a Cast Product?
• It is a product obtained by just pouring molten metal into the mould and allowing it to solidify to
the room temperature. It will have the final size and shape.
• Ex: Engine block, Piston etc.

• What is a wrought Product?

• It is a product obtained by subjecting the hot ingot to mechanical working process and gets a variety
of products.
• Ex: spanner, screw driver, connecting rod, etc.

• Characteristics of a Wrought Product

• Grains are oriented in a particular direction.
• The metal will show flow lines which are due to the presence of inclusions present between the
metal layers.
• The Metal will show higher properties in the direction of metal flow.
• The defects get welded due to mechanical working.
 Cast Product Wrought Product

It is obtained by conversion of liquid metal to solid state to get the
required shape of the component in one step. The cast product
may undergo machining operation.
The cast product will have uniform properties. The product is
Isotropic in nature.
It is obtained by subjecting the metal to external load or mechanical
working to get the shape. It may be subjected to further operation.
The wrought product will have directional properties. Properties are
Enhanced. The Product is anisotropic in nature. ie., properties are
different in different directions.

The product will have uniform grain structure. The product will have directional properties and the grain structure
will be oriented. Grains get altered.

The product will have small amount of porosity which cannot be Due to mechanical working the porosity level is almost zero.
eliminated completely.

Cast product will have any shape size and complexity. Small to Wrought products can also be produced with large size and
very huge components can be produced easily. moderately complex shapes with difficulty.

Even brittle metals can be cast easily. Brittle metals cannot be mechanically worked.

The process does not need additional equipments. Only Regular Needs additional equipment's for mechanical working.
maintenance of the equipment is required.
• Advantages of Metal Working Process
• Product with consistent high quality can be manufactured.
• Defects such as porosity and discontinuities are minimized.
• Inclusions get distributed evenly throughout the product.
• Grains are oriented in a particular direction and directional properties are
obtained.
• In hot working the grains will be uniform and the properties are also uniform.
• In cold working the properties are enhanced due to strain hardening effect.
• Large tonnage can be easily produced.
• The process can be easily mechanized.
• Limitations of Mechanical working process
• The product becomes highly anisotropic in nature.
• Final product has to be obtained after machining of the wrought product
except in the case of structural components.
• Needs additional equipment and machinery for metal working process. Hence,
initial investment is high.
• Maintenance cost is high.
• More safety precautions are to be exercised as hot metal and additional
equipments are used.
• Temperature in Metal Working:
• All metals posses hardness and strength. As a result of this one has to apply sufficient load to deform the
metal.
• If the metal is heated to a higher temperature, the strength and hardness are reduced and the ductility is
enhanced.
• The metal can be deformed easily, as the temperature
of the metal is increased the metal can be deformed
more easily.
• As the temperature is increased the stress strain
curve shows reduced slope or it will have gentle slope.
• Variation of Stress-Strain w.r.t temperature
• It can be seen that T3 is higher than other two
temperatures.
• Thus it has decreased the yield strength of the material
and the slope of the curve is gentle.
• Hence, one can work the material at T3 temperature
easily.
• Forming processes are classified into hot working and cold working operations.

• Hot working is defined as deformation under conditions of temperature and strain rate such that recovery
processes take place simultaneously with the deformation.

• It occurs at an essentially constant flow stress, and because the flow stress decreases with increasing
temperature, the energy required for deformation is generally less.

• In cold working deformation is carried out under conditions where recovery processes are not effective.

• Since strain hardening is not relieved in cold working, the flow stress increases with deformation.

• There fore, the total deformation that is possible without causing fracture is less for cold working than for
hot working, unless the effect of cold working are relieved by annealing.
• For most commercial alloys the hot working operations must be carried out at a relatively high
temperature in order that a rapid rate of recrystallization be obtained.
• Hot Working.
• It refers to deformation carried out under conditions of temperature and strain rate such that recovery
processes occur substantially during the deformation process so that large strains can be achieved with
essentially no strain hardening.

• Hot working process such as rolling, extrusion and forging typically are used in the 1st step of converting a cast
ingot into a wrought product.

• The strain in hot working is large compared with tension or creep test.

• Hot working is carried out at temperatures above 0.5-0.6 Tm.

• Hot working results in a decrease in the energy required to deform the metal and an increased ability to flow
without cracking, but the rapid diffusion at hot working temperatures aids in decreasing the chemical in-
homogeneities of the cast ingot structure.

• Blowholes and porosity are eliminated by the welding together of these cavities, and the coarse columnar
grains of the casting are broken down and refined into smaller equi-axed recrystallized grains.
• Changes in structure from hot working result in an increase in ductility and toughness over the cast state.

• In hot working high temperatures are usually involved, surface reactions between the metal and the furnace
atmosphere become a problem.

• Hot working is done in air, oxidation results, and a considerable amount of metal may be lost.

• Reactive metals like Ti are severely em-brittled by the oxygen, there fore they must be worked in an inert
atmosphere.

• Rolled in oxide makes it difficult to produce good surface finish in hot rolled products.

• Allowance must be made for expansion and contraction, the dimensional tolerances for hot-worked mill
products are greater than for cold worked products.

• The structure and properties are generally not so uniform over the cross section.
• The interior will be at higher temperatures for longer times during cooling than will be the
external surfaces, grain growth can occur in the interior of large pieces, which cool slowly
from the working temperature.

• The lower temperature limit for the hot working of a metal is the lowest temperature at
which the rate of recrystallization is rapid enough to eliminate strain hardening in the time
when the metal is at temperature.

• Metal which is rapidly deformed and cooled rapidly from temperature will require a higher
hot working temperature for the same degree of deformation than will metal slowly
deformed and slowly cooled.

• The upper limit for hot working is determined by the temperature at which either melting or
excessive oxidation occurs.

• Generally the maximum working temperature is limited to 100°F below the melting point.
• Only a very small amount of a grain boundary film of a lower melting constituent is needed to
make a material crumble into pieces when it is deformed, such a condition is known as hot
shortness or burning.

• Most hot working operations are carried out in a number of multiple passes, or steps.
• Generally the working temperature for the intermediate passes is kept well above the
minimum working temperature in order to take advantage of the economies offered by the
lower flow stress.

• If a fine grain sized product is usually desired, common practice is to lower the working
temperature for the last pass to the point where grain growth during cooling from the
working temperature will be negligible, this finishing temperature is usually just above the
minimum recrystallization temperature.
• Cold Working:
• FLOW -STRESS DETERMINATION
• The various expressions developed will describe the forming stress, or pressure, in a
particular metalworking process invariably consist of three terms:

• where σo = the flow resistance of the material for the appropriate stress state, i.e., uniaxial,
plane strain, etc. It is a function of strain, temperature, and strain rate.
• g(f) = an expression for the friction at the tool-workpiece interface.
• h ( c) = a function of the geometry of the tooling and the geometry of the deformation. This
term may or may not include a contribution from redundant deformation.
• It is obvious from the above relationship that if we are to make accurate predictions of
forming loads and stresses, we need accurate values of flow resistance (flow stress).
• The experimental problems in measuring the flow curve under metalworking conditions are
more severe than in the usual stress-strain test determined for structural or mechanical
design applications.
• Since metalworking processes involve large plastic strains, it is desirable to measure the flow
curve out to a true strain of 2.0 to 4.0.
• In addition, many of these processes involve high strain rates which may not be obtained
easily with ordinary test facilities.
• Further, many metalworking processes are carried out at elevated temperatures where the
flow stress is strongly strain-rate sensitive but nearly independent of strain.
• Thus, tests for determining flow stress must be carried out under controlled conditions of
temperature and constant true-strain rate.
• As these cone-shaped zones approach and overlap, they cause an increase in force for a
given increment of deformation and the load-deformation curve bends upward.
• For a fixed diameter, a shorter specimen will require a greater axial force to produce the
same percentage reduction in height because of the relatively larger un-deformed region.
• RESIDUAL STRESSES
• Residual stresses are a system of stresses which can exist in a body when it is free from
external forces.
• Since residual stresses are generated by non-uniform plastic deformation, it is important to
consider the residual stresses developed in each metalworking process.
• The surface grains in the sheet are deformed and tend to elongate, while the grains in the center of
the sheet are unaffected.
• Since the sheet must remain a continuous whole, the surface and center regions of the sheet must
undergo a strain accommodation.
• The center fibers tend to restrain the surface fibers from elongating, while the surface fibers seek to
stretch the central fibers of the sheet.
• The result is a residual-stress pattern in the sheet which consists of a high compressive stress at the
surface and a tensile residual stress at the center of the sheet.
• For the case of the rolled sheet, the surface fibers which were elongated in the longitudinal direction
by rolling are left in a state of compressive residual stress when the external rolling load is removed.
• The residual-stress system existing in a body must be in static equilibrium.
• Thus, the total force acting on any plane through the body and the total moment of forces on any
plane must be zero.
• For the longitudinal residual-stress pattern the area under the curve subjected to compressive
residual stresses must balance the area subjected to tensile residual stresses.
• However, it should be kept in mind that the actual situation is made complex by the presence of a
three-dimensional state of residual stress.
• Residual stresses are only elastic stresses.
• The maximum value which a residual stress can reach is the yield stress of the material.
• For purposes of analysis, residual stresses can be considered the same as ordinary applied
stresses.
• Thus, a compressive residual stress effectively subtracts from the applied tensile stress, and
a tensile residual stress adds to an applied tensile stress.
• Metals containing residual stresses can be stress relieved by heating to a temperature where
the yield strength of the material is the same or less than the value of the residual stress.
• Thus, the material can deform and release the stress .
• Creep deformation is important in thermal stress relief.
• It is important to realize that non-uniform thermal expansion or contraction due to non-
uniform heating or cooling can produce residual stresses in the same way as non-uniform
plastic deformation.
• Therefore, slow cooling from the stress-relief temperature may be an important
consideration.
• Residual stresses are difficult to calculate with precision by analytical methods,
and therefore, they are usually determined by a variety of experimental
techniques.
• Most methods of measuring residual stresses are destructive because they
involve removing part of the stressed material to cause a redistribution of
stress in the remaining body.
• This may be done by machining layers from a cylinder or drilling a small hole
and measuring the redistribution of strain with suitably placed strain gages.
• The chief nondestructive method of measuring residual stresses is “x” ray
analysis.
• In this method x-rays are used to determine the interatomic spacing of a
particular set of lattice planes in the strained material.
• The residual stresses can be calculated by comparing the spacing measured on
the material with residual stress with the spacing in a stress-free sample .
• Figure shows the axial compressive stress from, the pressure distribution is
symmetrical about the centerline and rises to a sharp peak at the center of the
disk.
• This characteristic rise in deformation pressure with distance is often called a
friction hill.
• The average deformation pressure (mean height of the friction hill) is given by:
• Figure plots the ratio of p to the uniaxial compressive flow stress as a function of the length-
to-thickness ratio a/h of the disk and the coefficient of friction.
• For a given a/h increasing friction easily leads to more than a doubling of the deformation
pressure.
• The role of friction in raising deformation forces should be clear from this figure, note also
that the role of friction becomes particularly important at large values of a/h.
• The sticking friction condition often occurs in hot-working where lubrication may be
difficult.
• For sticking friction τi = τₒ the flow stress in shear (k), With a von Mises' yield criterion, the
coefficient of friction under sticking conditions is:

• Using the sticking condition τ = k = σₒ/ √ 3 in the analysis for the compression of a disk
results in:

• The analysis for the condition of sticking friction suggests an alternative to the concept of
Coulomb sliding friction as a way of looking at friction in metalworking processes.
• This approach considers that the workpiece in contact with the tools can be represented as
a material of constant shear strength τi.