INTRODUCTION TO METAL FORMING

• Oldest manufacturing process. • Back bone of modern manufacturing industry . • Its could be primary product used as raw materials or finished final product . • Best eg . smith in villages. • Wire drawing process started in 1400 B.C • Some of metal forming operations are forging , rolling , drawing ,extrusion, sheet metal forming. • Combination of above process have been developed in order to manufacture economically greater variety of product shapes with desired shape , surface quality , dimensional accuracy & mech properties . • Earlier days metal forming was regarded as primary process & components shaped by forming were finished by grinding & metal cutting. • Development of hard materials for tools , dies components can now be made to near exact size thus minimizing machining. Importance of Forming Processes. Ease with which large part can be formed into useful shapes such as tubes , rod , sheets. Useful shapes may be generated in two basic ways 1. Plastic Deformation process: Volume & mass of metal are conserved & the metal is displaced from one location to another. 2. Metal removal or Machining process: material is removed in order to give required shape. Importance of plastic deformation 1.The control of mechanical properties by the metal working process. 2. Blow holes & Porosity in a cast ingot may be eliminated by hot forging & hot rolling to the improvement of ductility & fracture toughness.