The effect of the ECAP process on the copper micro gears produced by the forward micro-extrusion process

In this research, equal channel angular pressing was employed to improve the mechanical characteristics of initial billets of pure copper in the micro-extrusion process. The micro-extrusion was performed to manufacture the micro gears. Then, the effects of lubrication conditions and mechanical properties of the initial billets were investigated on the formability, microstructure, and microhardness of micro gears. The results declared that microhardness in micro gears manufactured from ECAPed copper was higher compared to annealed samples. The experiments substantiated that microstructural differences depended on the location within the micro gears and initial microstructure of the billets utilized in the micro-extrusion process. (c) 2021 CIRP.

Automated summary

Equal channel angular pressing was utilized to enhance the mechanical properties of pure copper initial billets for micro gear manufacturing. Microhardness in micro gears was found to be higher when using ECAPed copper compared to annealed samples. The microstructure differences within the micro gears were determined by the location and initial microstructure of the billets used in the micro-extrusion process.