CHAPTER VII COLD WORKING OF PLASTIC METALS Meraus must be more or less plastic to be able to undergo press- working operations. Zay Jeffries has defined plasticity as ‘“ the qual- ity by virtue of which a substance may undergo a permanent change in shape without rupture.” Plastic properties vary both with tempera- ture and with the particular metal. In cold-working, plasticity is reduced, by the operation, to an extent which depends both upon the severity of the operation or amount of cold-working, and upon the rate at which such cold-working strain-hardens the metal. The removal =~ @ee Fig. 117.—Marked blanks of steel, drawn to different depths to show the progress of the metal movement. of the resultant strain-hardening is, or may be, accomplished by anneal- ing or recrystallization. This restoration of the metal to its original state completes what might be referred to as “ the plastic cycle.” The strain-hardening properties of metals have been discussed to some extent in connection with shearing and bending operations. They are even more vital to a proper appreciation of the drawing and squeez- ing groups of operations which follow. Fig. 117 shows a group of shells drawn to different depths from marked blanks to illustrate the manner in which the metal is moved about and the extent of the movement in a single operation. Five of the blanks were ruled with squares. A sixth was marked with radial lines spreading from its center. When this blank is drawn 121122 COLD WORKING OF PLASTIC METALS up it may be seen that the lines have become parallel in the side-wall of the shell. On the squared blanks one series of squares have been marked off with two dark lines. These lines remain parallel on the flange but with less and less space between them as the shell becomes deeper. In the finished side-wall they taper gradually until the square at the top has been reduced perhaps 45 per cent in width to suit a simi- lar reduction in circumference from the original blank. As volume remains constant, the original square must increase in length and thickness to compensate for the decrease in its width. Such details of the metal movement will be diseussed more thoroughly in later chapters. Throughout the trade, many instances will be found in which the metal must traverse the plastic cycle several times during its fabrication. Thus, in producing an extruded cartridge case: cold rolling to final thickness strain-hardens the metal; recrystallization (annealing) renders it plastic again; blanking and drawing the cup causes strain-hardening; recrystallization restores plasticity, extrusion (and trimming) causes severe strain-hardening; recrystallization is limited to produce semi-hard wall structure; coining the primer recess and rim strain-hardens the bottom; local reerystallization may be required. The foregoing list of operations is not complete or universal, but illustrates different opera- tions producing essentially the same effect, and suggests the importance of strain-hardening concepts in the plastic working of metals. Experiments in Strain-Hardening—To demonstrate certain ideas regarding the changes in physical properties of plastie metals subjected to cold-working,! a series of experiments were performed upon a sample of Tobin bronze rod. The recorded test curves, such as one which was shown in Fig. 15, which was the original for Fig. 118, were drawn on an Olsen recording testing machine. Tensile specimens were turned up to standard speci- fications with 0.505-in. body diameter. Compression specimens began approximately 0.702 in. in diameter by 0.645 in. high. Annealing was performed in an electric furnace at 1100° F. for 14 hour with cooling in the furnace. Brinell hardness numbers ranged about 132 as received, 95 annealed and 185 maximum reached in tests. It was desired to demonstate that the same amount of cold-working would strain-harden the same metal to the same extent, whether the metal started out in an annealed state or not and whether the work performed was tensile or compressive in nature. In such a case a curve can be established for any given metal, at any given temperature (as normal room or shop temperature), to be known as its rate of strain-hardening curve. This curve must show 1E. V. Crane, “Metal Working in Power Presses,” A.I.M.M.E., Feb., 1931.EXPERIMENTS IN STRAIN HARDENING 123 the change in resistance offered by the metal to deformation, as com- pared with the amount of deformation. The coordinates used are laid out with pounds per square inch as a measure of resistance on one coor- dinate and per cent reduction in height or thickness or area on the other. For use in comparing tensile and compressive changes the scale in Fig. 18 was shown, with explanatory notes in the discus- sion of “Compressive ei and Tensile Move- Y oo ment,” in Chapter a i a Il. od Fig. 118 shows 120000, the first of the re- worked experimental wea curves. The orig- 129.000. inal curve, Fig. 15, ‘aie as recorded by the Sy testing machine, 7 N showed the total 7aace 4 pressure or resistance qo | : in pounds plotted against compression 54000, in inches. Change 4a000 of height in inches sa60.| was easily changed j to per cent reduc- 20000: tion from the original to,000 | height. But as the a | 30 slug or blank was 0 © 20 3 40 % 76 squeezed shorter its Per Cent Recoction In Height cross-section area in- p,4. 118 progressively inoronsing yield point ond rising creased, giving aN hardness as the metal (Tobin bronze) is cold-worked in unduly rapid rise to compression, then reannealed and cold-worked again (from the curve. Therefore Fig. 15). the approximate cross-section area was computed for each step by dividing the volume of the slug by its measured height. A similar process was applied to reworking or correcting the com- pression test curves in Fig. 119. Curves 3 and 5, as recorded, show pressures in pounds. Corrected, they show unit stress in pounds per square inch, Curve 3 was an annealed sample. Curve 5 was the