Extrusion and Drawing of

Processes and Equipment

Chapter 15

Dr Khaleel Abushgair
Topics

 Introduction
 The Extrusion Process
 Extrusion Practice
 Hot Extrusion
 Cold Extrusion
 Impact Extrusion
 Extrusion Defects
 Extrusion Equipment

Dr Khaleel Abushgair
Introduction
• Extrusion – It is a process where a
cylindrical billet is forced through a die.
• Extrusion from the Latin extrudere,
meaning “to force out”
• A characteristics of extrusion is that large
deformations can take place without
fracture.
• Since the die geometry remains unchanged
throughout the operation, extruded
products have constant cross-section.
• Typical Products of Extrusion – Sliding
doors, tubing having various cross-sections,
structural and architectural shapes and
door and window frames.
The material is under high axial compression
Drawing – It is a process where a cross-section of solid rod, wire, or
tubing is reduced or changed in shape by pulling it through a die.
Dr Khaleel Abushgair
Extrusions and Products Made from Extrusions

Figure 15.2 Extrusions and

examples of products made by
sectioning off extrusions. Source:
Courtesy of Kaiser Aluminum.

Dr Khaleel Abushgair
Extrusion
• Extrusion is a batch, or semi continuous process,
since each billet is extruded individually.
• Commonly extruded materials are aluminum,
copper, steel, magnesium, and lead.
• Depending on the ductility of the material,
extrusion is carried out at room or elevated
temperatures.
• Cold extrusion: carried out at room temperature,
often combined with forging operations.

Dr Khaleel Abushgair
 The Extrusion Process
Types of Extrusion :
Direct Extrusion or Forward Extrusion – Billet is placed in a chamber
(container) and then forced through a die opening by a hydraulically-driven
ram or pressing stem or punch.

Indirect Extrusion or Reverse, inverted or backward extrusion – Die

moves towards the billet.

Hydrostatic Extrusion – The billet is smaller in diameter than the chamber,

which is filled with a fluid, and the pressure is transmitted to the billet by a
ram. The pressure results in triaxial compressive stresses acting on the
workpiece and thus improved formability.
Lateral or side Extrusion
Impact Extrusion
Extrusion Ratio = R = Ao/Af
Ao – cross-sectional area of the billet
Af - cross-sectional area of extruded product
Extrusion variables are: geometric variables (i.e., the die angle, the extrusion
ratio), the temperature of the billet, the speed at which the arm travels, and
the type of the lubricant used.

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Direct Extrusion

Fig : Schematic illustration of direct extrusion process.

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 Types of Extrusion

Figure 15.3 Types of extrusion: (a) indirect; (b) hydrostatic; (c) lateral;

Dr Khaleel Abushgair
Process Variables in Direct Extrusion
to decrease friction

Figure 15.4 Process variables in direct extrusion. The die angle, reduction in cross-section,
extrusion speed, billet temperature, and lubrication all affect the extrusion pressure.

Dr Khaleel Abushgair
Extrusion Force
The force required for extrusion
depends on:
(a) The strength of the billet material.
(b) The extrusion ratio.
(c) The friction between the billet and
the chamber and the die surfaces.
(d) Process variables, i.e., the
temperature of the billet and the
speed of the extrusion.

Extrusion Force, F
 Ao 
F = Ao k ln 
A 
 f 
K is extrusion constant, determined
experimentally.
The value of k is a measure of the
Figure 15.5 Extrusion constant k for various metals strength of the material being
at different temperatures. Source: After P. extruded and the frictional conditions.
Loewenstein Ao and Af are the billet and extruded
products areas.
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Metal Flow Pattern
• The metal flow pattern is important because its
influence on the quality and the mechanical
properties of the extruded product.
• A common technique for investigating the flow
pattern involves the following steps:
– Cut the round billet in half lengthwise.
– Mark one face with a square grid pattern.
– Braze the two halves together, and extrude them.
– The two pieces are taken apart (by melting the braze)
and studied.

Dr Khaleel Abushgair
 Types of Metal Flow in Extrusion with Square Dies

Figure 15.6 Types of metal flow in extruding with square dies. (a) Flow pattern obtained at low
friction or in indirect extrusion. (b) Pattern obtained with high friction at the billet-chamber
interfaces. (c) Pattern obtained at high friction or with coiling of the outer regions of the billet in the
chamber. This type of pattern, observed in metals whose strength increases rapidly with decreasing
temperature, leads to a defect known as pipe (or extrusion) defect.
Dead zone : the areas where the metal at the
Dr Khaleel corners essentially is stationary.
Abushgair
Process Parameters
• Extrusion ratios, R: 10-100 (they may be higher
for special applications (400 for softer non
ferrous metals) or lower for less ductile materials.
• Extruded product length: < 7.5 m long, but hey
can be as long as 30 m.
• Ram speeds: up to 0.5 m/s (generally lower
speeds are preferred for Al, Mg, Cu, high speed
for steels, Ti, and refractory alloys.
• Dimensional tolerances: ± 0.25 to 2.5 mm and
increase with increasing the cross section.
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Hot Extrusion
• Extrusion is carried out at elevated temperatures – for metals
and alloys that do not have sufficient ductility at room
temperature, or in order to reduce the forces required.

Typical extrusion die configurations : (a) die for nonferrous metals, (b) die for ferrous metals, (c) die for a T-
shaped extrusion made of hot work die steel and used with molten glass as a lubricant. Source: (c) Courtesy of
LTV Steel Company.
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 Hot Extrusion Points to be Considered
• Die wear can be excessive.
• Cooling of the surfaces of the hot billet (in the cooler chamber) and
the die can result in highly non uniform deformation.
• To reduce cooling of the billet and to prolong die life, extrusion dies
may be preheated.
• An oxide film may develop on the hot billet, unless it is heated in
an inert a atmosphere furnace.
• Oxide films may be abrasive and can affect flow pattern of the
material. They may result in non acceptable products.
• Dummy block placed ahead of the ram is used to avoid the
formation of the oxide films.
• A thin shell (skull) consisting mainly of the outer oxidized layer of
the billet is left in the container. The skull is removed later from the
chamber.
Dr Khaleel Abushgair
 Cold Extrusion
• Cold extrusion is a general term that often denotes a
combination of operations, such as direct and indirect
extrusion and forging.
• Cold extrusion is used widely for components in automobiles,
motorcycles, bicycles, and appliances and in transportation
and farm equipment.
• Starting material: slugs cut from cold finished or hot rolled
bars, wires, or plates.
• Cold extruded parts weighing as much as 45 kg and having
length to of up to 2 m can be made, although most parts
weigh much less.
• Powder metal slug also can be cold extruded.

Dr Khaleel Abushgair
 Cold Extrusion
Advantages :
– Improved mechanical properties, resulting from work hardening, provided that the heat
generated by plastic deformation and friction does not recrystallize the extruded metal.
– Good control of dimensional tolerances, reducing the need for subsequent machining.
– Improved surface finish, due partly to the absence of an oxide film and provided that
lubrication is effective.
– Elimination of the need for billet heating;
– Production rates and costs that are competitive with those of other methods of producing the
same part, such as machining.

Fig : Two examples of cold extrusion. Thin arrows indicate the direction of metal flow during extrusion.
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 Cold Extrusion, Force
• The force, F, in cold extrusion may be estimated
from the formula:
F= 1100 Ao Yavgɛ, where
– Ao is the cross sectional area of the blank.
– Yavg is the average flow stress of the metal.
– Ɛ is the true strain that the piece undergoes based on its
original and final cross sectional area.

The magnitude of the stresses on the tooling is very high

(especially with steel), being on the order of hardness of
the material.

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Cold Extrusion
• The punch hardness usually ranges between 60 and 65
HRC.
• The die hardness usually ranges between 58 and 62
HRC.
• Punches are critical component, as they must posses
not only sufficient strength, but also sufficient
toughness and resistance to wear and fatigue failure.
• Lubrication is critical especially with steels because of
sticking between the workpiece and the tooling.
• The most effective means of lubrication is the
application of a phosphate conversion coating on the
workpiece followed by a coating of soap or wax.

Dr Khaleel Abushgair
Surface cracking: Extrusion Defects
• If the extrusion temperature, friction, or speed is too high,
surface temperature can rise significantly, which may cause
surface cracking and tearing (speed cracking).
• These cracks are intergranular (i.e., along grain boundaries).
• These defects occur especially in aluminum, magnesium, and
zinc alloys. Also, they may occur in high temperature alloys.
• This situation can be avoided by lowering the billet
temperature and the extrusion speed.

Dr Khaleel Abushgair
Surface cracking: Extrusion Defects
• Surface cracking may also occur at lower temperature.
• This is attributed to periodic sticking of the extruded product along
the die land.
• Because it is similarity to the surface of a bamboo stem, it is known
as bamboo defect.
• When the product being extruded temporarily stick to the die land,
the extrusion pressure increases rapidly. Shortly, thereafter, the
product moves forward again, and the pressure is released. The
cycle is repeated continually, producing circumferential cracks on
the surface.

Dr Khaleel Abushgair
Extrusion Defects: Pipe
• The type of metal flow pattern in extrusion tends to draw surface
oxides and impurities toward the center of the billet-much like a
funnel.
• This defect is known as pipe defect, tailpipe, or fishtailing.
• As much as one third of the length of the extruded product may
contain this type of defect and thus has to be cut as a scrap.
• Piping can be minimized by modifying the flow pattern to be more
uniform, such as (1) controlling friction, (2) minimizing the
temperature gradients, (3) machine the billet’s surface prior to
extrusion, so that scale and surface impurities are removed, (4) use
chemical etching to remove surface oxides..

Dr Khaleel Abushgair
Extrusion Defects: Internal Cracking
• The center of the extruded product can develop cracks, called
center cracking, center-burst, arrowhead fracture, or chevron
cracking.
• These cracks are a attributed to a state of hydrostatic tensile stress
at the center line of the deformation zone in the die.
• These cracks have been observed in tube extrusion and in tube
spinning, they appear on the inner surfaces of the tubes.
• The tendency for center cracking (a) increases with increasing die
angles (b) increases with increasing amount of impurities (c)
decreases with increasing extrusion ratio and friction.

Dr Khaleel Abushgair
 Extrusion Defects
1. Surface cracking.
2. Pipe.
3. Internal Cracking

Fig : (a) Chevron cracking (central burst) in extruded round steel bars. Unless the products are inspected, such internal
defects may remain undetected, and later cause failure of the part in service. This defect can also develop in the
drawing of rod, of wire, and of tubes. (b) Schematic illustration of rigid and plastic zones in extrusion. The
tendency toward chevron cracking increases if the two plastic zones do not meet. Note that the plastic zone can
be made larger either by decreasing the die angel or byAbushgair
Dr Khaleel increasing the reduction in cross-section (or both).
 Extrusion equipment

• Horizontal hydraulic.
• High power, slow speed, constant force.
• Why horizontal?
• Capacity is about120 MN --- 14000 tons.
• Vertical may used?

Dr Khaleel Abushgair
 Die Design and Die Materials

Fig : (a) An extruded 6063-T6 aluminum ladder lock for aluminum extension ladders. This parts is 8mm thick and
is sawed from the extrusion, (b)-(d) Components of various dies for extruding intricate hollow shapes.

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 Cross-sections to be extruded

Fig : Poor and good examples of cross-sections to be extruded. Note the importance of eliminating
sharp corners and of keeping section thickness uniform.
Dr Khaleel Abushgair
THE END

Dr Khaleel Abushgair