The forming characteristics of radial–forward extrusion

In this paper, the forming of a central hub by radial–forward extrusion is analyzed quantitatively by the rigid–plastic finite element method. Design factors such as mandrel diameter, die corner radius and friction factor are applied in the simulation. The influence of these design factors on the maximum load during the forming operation and the pressure exerted on the tooling such as the punch and the mandrel is investigated and summarized in terms of the maximum forming force. The simulation results are compared with experimental data from a reference to verify the usefulness of the simulation. Based on the simulation results, it is concluded that the maximum forming load increases as the tube diameter and/or die corner radius increase. Furthermore, the mandrel diameter among the design factors has the greatest effect on the forming load during the radial–forward extrusion process. However, the die corner radius has a slight influence on the punch load as is easily expected. The work presented in this paper might be used for basic data in the design of the radial–forward extrusion process.