Control of thermal contraction of aluminum alloy for precision cold forging

Thermal contraction affects the final geometry of a cold forged product. Control of the thermal geometry changes of aluminum alloys is essential because aluminum alloys have higher thermal conductivity than other metals. Finite element analysis revealed that inhomogeneous temperature distributions cause local heat shrinkage, which lowers the accuracy of the final geometry. An optimal slide motion was proposed to ensure uniform temperature distribution. Simulation results indicated that oscillatory slide motion is superior at ensuring a uniform temperature distribution, and this was confirmed by experiments. Our study showed that process design with consideration for temperature distribution is advantageous. (C) 2014 CIRP.