Production Process of Automobile Components

MODULE – II

STEEL:- DIFFERENT PROCESS OF STEEL MAKING

STEELS

Steel is fundamentally an alloy of iron and carbon. The carbon content varying up to 1.5%. The carbon is
distributed throughout the mass of the metal as a compound with iron. Besides carbon, there are other elements
present in steel. eg. Sulphur, Silicon, Phosphorous, Manganese etc. On the basis of the carbon content plain carbon
steels are commonly divided as:

1. Low carbon steel (Mild steel) : 0.05 to 0.30% carbon

2. Medium carbon steel : 0.30 to 0.60% carbon
3. High carbon steel : 0.60 to 1.50% carbon
4. Tool steel (high carbon) : 0.90 to 1.50% carbon

The main commercial processes for making steel are:

1. The Bessemer Process (Explain Bessemer process of steel making with neat sketch)

 The Bessemer process consists of blowing air through molten pig iron contained in a spherical furnace
known as converter. The converter is made of steel plates lined inside with refractory material. The type
of refractory lining used depends upon the character of steel making process. In the acidic process, the
converter is lined with silica brick. The acidic process does not eliminate phosphorous and sulphur from
the metal. In basic process, the converter is lined with dolomite. It removes phosphorous and to some
extend of sulphur.

 In the first stage, the blast is put on under a pressure of about 2 to 2.5 atm and the vessel turned upright.
The blast is introduced through the bottom. The oxygen in the blast oxidizes the iron to ferrous oxide. The
silicon and manganese separate as oxides and go into the slag. These reactions creates a large amount of
heat which rises the temperature from 12500C to 15250C. This stage is called silicon blow.

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Production Process of Automobile Components
 The second stage commences after the oxidation of iron, silicon and manganese. The high temperature
creates favorable conditions for intensive burning of carbon. The dissolved carbon is oxidized by the
ferrous oxide. The gas evolved in the stage is rich in carbon monoxide and which burns at the nose of the
converter with a dazzling white flame.
 The third stage begins when the flame drops- a sign that carbon is removed from the charge. The converter
is turned to the horizontal position. The addition of deoxidizers such as ferromanganese, ferrosilicon or
aluminium are made to the metal bath to eliminate the oxygen and to bring the manganese and silicon
content of the steel to the specific values.

2. The Open Hearth Process (Explain open hearth process of steel making )

 In the open hearth process for producing steel, pig iron, steel scrap and iron oxide are melted in a Siemens-
Martin open hearth furnace. The molten metal lies in a comparative shallow pool on the furnace bottom
or hearth. The hearth is surrounded by refractory bricks. In acid process, a lining of silica sand is used on
the hearth. In basic process, a lining of magnesite is used and limestone is charged with the raw material.

 The charge is fed through a charging door and heated to 16000C to 16500C mainly by the radiation of heat
from the burning of gaseous fuels above it. A considerable quantity of steel scrap is previously charged
and heated in the furnace and a partly purified molten iron known as “blown metal” from the Bessemer
converter is added to this. Thus the impurities in the pig iron are diluted. The process of making steel in
this way is known as the duplex process, because it has two stages.

1. Blowing molten pig iron in the Bessemer converter and

2. Further purification of the blown metal in the open hearth furnace.

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Production Process of Automobile Components
 At the end of this process when the impurities have been brought down to the required level, the metal is
tapped off through a tap hole in the furnace. Addition of ferromanganese and ferrosilicon are made to
bring the steel to the correct composition. Later a small amount of aluminium is added to deoxidize the
metal further.

3. The L-D Process (Explain L-D process of steel making with suitable sketch)

 The latest development in steel making process is the L-D process. The name comes from two plants in
Australia, at Linz and Donawitz.
 The L-D process consists of blowing a jet of almost pure oxygen (about 99.5% pure) at a high pressure.
The pressure varies from 9 to 11 atm.
 The jet, travelling at supersonic speed through a water cooled lance on to the surface of molten iron held
in a converter. The converter is lined with basic refractories such as dolomite or magnesite.
 The tip of the lance is within about 1200 mm from the surface of the bath. The blowing of oxygen at
supersonic speed produces intense heat about 25000C to 30000C and reduces blowing time.

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Production Process of Automobile Components
MECHANICAL WORKING OF MATERIALS
Mechanical working of materials is simply the plastic deformation performed to change the dimensions properties
and surface conditions by means of mechanical pressure. Non cutting shaping or non-chipping shaping such as
forging, rolling etc. are referred to as mechanical working process. Mechanical working may either hot working
or cold working depending on temperature. Plastic deformation above recrystallization temperature is hot
working. Plastic deformation below recrystallization temperature is known as cold working.

HOT WORKING

Plastic deformation above recrystallization temperature, but below the melting point or burning point, is hot
working. Hot working is the initial step in the working of most metals and alloys. The changes in structure from
hot working improve mechanical properties such as ductility, toughness, elongation percentage, resistance to
shock and vibration. The principal methods of hot working are as follows.

Hot Rolling
The process of plastic deformation of materials by
pressing it between rolls is known as rolling. In hot
rolling process, metal in a hot plastic state is passed
between two rolls revolving at the same speed but
opposite in direction. In this process the work is
subjected to a high compressive stress from the
squeezing action of rolls and to surface shear stresses a
result of the friction between the rolls and the metal. The
crystals are elongated in the direction of rolling and they
start to reform after leaving the stress zone. The
frictional forces are also responsible for drawing the
metal into the rolls. Purpose of rolls is to convert large
sections into smaller sections. The arrangements of rolls
for a rolling operation constitute a rolling mill. The
rolling mills are classified on the basis of number of
rolls and their arrangement.

The different types of rolling mills are:

1. Two high Mill

The two high mills consist of two heavy rolls placed exactly one over the other. Mostly the lower roll will
be fixed in position. Upper roll can be moved to adjust the space between the rolls. Both rolls rotate at same speed
but opposite in direction.

2. Three High Mill

It consists of three rolls positioned one over the other. The upper and lower rolls rotate in the same
direction, while the middle roll rotates in the opposite direction. The workpiece is made to pass in one direction
between the upper and middle rolls in the first pass and then between the middle and lower rolls in the opposite
direction during the second pass. In this, the middle roll is kept fixed and upper and lower rolls are moved to
adjust the gap.

3. Four High Mill

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Production Process of Automobile Components
It consists of four rolls, two of which are working rolls and the other two are backup rolls. The backup
rolls have lager diameter and are used for preventing the deflection of the working rolls.

4. Cluster Mill
For rolling very thin sheets or foils, an arrangement known as cluster mill is used. It consists of a pair of
working rolls of very small diameter supported by a number of backup rolls on either side.

Drawing

Drawing is pulling the metal through a die or a set of dies to achieve a reduction in diameter. The process
requires a very large force in order to pull the metal through the die. To reduce the frictional forces between the
die and the metal, the die is kept well lubricated.

1. Deep Drawing

Deep drawing is defined as a process for the making of

cup shaped parts from a flat sheet metal blank. The
heated blank is placed in position over a die or cavity.
The punch descends and pushes the metal through the
die to form a cup. So this process is also known as
cupping. The process may be continued through a series
of successively smaller dies and punches to obtain cup
shaped piece of the desired size and thickness.

Extrusion

Extrusion is a process in which a heated metal

billet or slug is forced by high pressure through an orifice that is shaped to provide the desired form to finished

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Production Process of Automobile Components
part. The reaction of the extrusion billet with the container and the die results in high compressive stresses which
are effective in reducing the cracking of the materials during primary breakdown from the ingot. This is an
important reason for great use of extrusion. Lubrication of the extrusion chamber die and ram is necessary and is
ordinarily achieved by mopping with oil supported graphite. Vegetable oils are better for this purpose.

1. Direct or Forward Extrusion

Direct extrusion employs a press operated ram and a

cylinder 66into which the workpiece is placed for
confinement. A dummy block is used in between the
ram and the hot metal. With application of ram
pressure the metal first plastically fills the cylinder
and it is then forced out through the die opening until
a small amount remains in the container. It is then
sawed off and the butt end is removed.

2. Indirect or Backward Extrusion

Indirect extrusion is similar to direct extrusion except

that the extruded part is forced through the hollow
ram. It involves no friction between the metal billet
and the container walls because the billet does not
move inside the container. Compared with direct
extrusion, less force is required. But, the equipment
used is mechanically more complicated in order to
accommodate the passage of the extruded shape
through the centre of the hollow ram.
3. Tube Extrusion

It is a form of direct extrusion, but uses a mandrel to

shape the inside of the tube. After the heated billet is
placed inside the container, the die containing the
mandrel is pushed through the billet. The ram, then
advances and extrude the metal through the die and
around the mandrel.

MERITS OF HOT WORKING

1. As the material is above the recrystallisation temperature, any amount of working can be imparted since
there is no strain hardening taking place.
2. At a high temperature, the material would have higher amount of ductility and therefore there is no limit
on the amount of hot working that can be done on a material. Even brittle materials can be hot worked.
3. In hot working process, the grain structure of the metal is refined and thus mechanical properties improved.
4. Porosity of the metal is considerably minimized.
5. If process is properly carried out, hot work does not affect tensile strength, hardness, corrosion resistance,
etc.
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Production Process of Automobile Components
6. Since the shear stress gets reduced at higher temperatures, this process requires much less force to achieve
the necessary deformation.
7. It is possible to continuously reform the grains in metal working and if the temperature and rate of working
are properly controlled, a very favorable grain size could be achieved giving rise to better mechanical
properties.
8. Larger deformation can be accomplished more rapidly as the metal is in plastic state.
9. No residual stresses are introduced in the metal due to hot working.
10. Concentrated impurities, if any in the metal are disintegrated and distributed throughout the metal.
11. Mechanical properties, especially elongation, reduction of area and izod values are improved, but fiber
and directional properties are produced.
12. Hot work promotes uniformity of material by facilitating diffusion of alloy constituents and breaks up
brittle films of hard constituents or impurity namely cementite in steel.

COLD WORKING

 The working of metals at a temperature below the re crystallization temperature is defined as cold working.
 Much greater pressure is needed for cold working than for hot working.
 The metal being in a more rigid state, is not permanently deformed until stress exceeding the elastic limit is
applied. So residual stress is setup inside the metal during cold working.
 Cold working is employed chiefly as a finishing operation after hot working.
 It increases the tensile strength, yield strength and hardness of steel, but lowers its ductility.

Different methods cold working are as follows:

Cold Drawing
Rods, tubes and extrusions are often given a cold finishing operation to reduce the size, increase the
strength, improve the finish and provide better accuracy. First step is removing all traces of scales from the hot
rolled metal. This is done by immersing them in a tank of dilute Sulfuric acid, removing and washing in fresh
water. After the scale is removed, the material is washed in lime to remove acid. The lime plus soap or oil acts as
a good lubricant.

1. Wire Drawing

All the wires that is available is produced by

cold drawing through dies. The raw material for
drawing is rolled bar from hot roll mill. Dies are made
of chilled cast iron, hardened alloy steel, cemented
tungsten carbide and diamonds. The selection of die
material depends upon the composition of the wire as
well as the size of the wire and the finish required. The
drawing operation is started by pointing the end of the
rod and pushing it through the tapered hole in the die.
The end is gripped by tongs and sufficient wire is
pulled through the die so that the wire can be attached
to a power operated reel. The reel is then rotated to
draw the wire through the die at the desired rate.

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Production Process of Automobile Components
Both single draft or continuous drawing process may be used. In single draft method, the wire is drawn several
times through a single die until the necessary reduction in diameter has been obtained. In continuous drawing, the
wire is fed through several dies and draw blocks are arranged in series to obtain the necessary reduction.

2. Tube Drawing (Seamless Tubing)

This method produces tubes having smaller diameter

or thinner walls. This is also used to get dimensional
accuracy, smooth surface and improved physical
properties of tubes already made by hot rolling
process. Hot rolled tube, first be treated by pickling
and washing to remove all scales and then covered
with a suitable lubricant. One end of the tube is
permitted to enter the die and a mandrel that has an
outside diameter smaller than the inside diameter of
the workpiece is passed through the tube. In drawing
the inside and outside diameters of the tube plastically
conform to the diameter of the mandrel and die respectively.

Cold Extrusion

The principle of cold extrusion is exactly similar to that of hot extrusion. Impact extrusion is a cold
extrusion method.

1. Impact Extrusion
Impact extrusion is primarily for making small
workpiece from the more ductile metals. The work
metal is placed in position into a die and a ram punch
with clearance is forced into the die, causing the metal
to flow plastically around the punch. The outside
diameter of the tube is same as the diameter of the die
and thickness is controlled by the clearance between
the punch and die. The extruding force is usually
supplied by a mechanical press.
Squeezing

Squeezing is a quick and widely used way of

forming ductile metals. Cold heading and rotary
swaging are very common squeezing process.

1. Cold heading

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Production Process of Automobile Components

Cold heading is a cold forging process used primarily for the

manufacture of bolts, screws, rivets, nails and other similar
items. Material in bar form is fed into the machine where it is
cut to length, held in a pair of jaws and subjected to two or
three blows to form the head. For complex shapes or greater
accuracy, the part is then repositioned in another die for final
shaping or sizing.

2. Rotary Swaging

Rotary Swaging is the process used to reduce the cross

sectional area of rods and tubes. The metal forming
takes place under the hammering blows of die sections.
The swaging machine consists mainly of a hollow
spindle which carries the die section and rollers. The
die is inserted in the slot in a spindle. When the spindle
rotates, the dies are forced together by the rollers
around the periphery. This repeats as much as several
thousand times a minute, forming taper on the work.

Shearing

Shearing is a cutting operation used to remove a blank of required dimensions from a large sheet. Shearing
starts as the punch press against the sheet metal. At first, cracks form in the sheet on both top and bottom edges.
As the punch descends further, the crack grows eventually and meet each other and the slug separate from the
sheet. A close look at the fractured surface will reveal that these are quite rough and shiny. Shiny because of the
contact and rubbing of separated edges against the
walls of the die and rough because of the crack
formed earlier.

The clearance between the punch and die plays an

important role in the determination of the shape and
quality of the sheared edge. The optimum range of
clearance is 2 to 10% of the sheet thickness. The
quality of sheared edge is also affected by the punch
speed; greater the punch speed better the edge
quality.

Punching and Blanking

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Production Process of Automobile Components

Punching or blanking is a process in which the punch removes a portion of the material from the larger
piece of a strip of sheet metal. If the small removed piece is discarded, the operation is called punching. If the
small removed piece is the useful part and the rest is discarded, the operation is called blanking.

(Comparison of the basic of stamping operation: In punching the metal inside the part is removed. In blanking
the metal around the part is removed.)

Cold Bending
Bending is the process by which a straight length is
transformed into a curved length. It is most widely used
in for changing the plates or sheets into curved channels.
Bars, rods, wires, tubings and sheet metal are bent to
many shapes in cold condition through dies. Rolls are
used for bending sheet and plate stock into cylindrical
shapes. A roll bending machine is made up of three rolls
of same diameter, two of them being held in a fixed
position and one being adjustable. As a metal plate
enters and goes through the rolls, its final diameter is
determined by the position of the adjustable rolls. There
are two main types of roll forming. One use continues
strip of material for high production work; the other uses
sheet and plate stocks. Continues roll forming uses a
series of rolls to gradually change the shape of the metal. The intricacy of the shape, the size of the section, the
thickness and type of material will determine the number of rolls required.

Hydroforming
Hydroforming uses fluid pressure applied to a tubular or sheet metal blank to form it into the desired component
shape. The most commonly used materials in hydroforming include the various grades of steel. Steels are used
extensively because they exhibit good fatigue properties, high energy absorption and reasonable resistance to

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Production Process of Automobile Components
corrosion. Other metals used for hydroforming include
stainless steel, aluminium, copper and copper alloys. All
hydroforming systems include tooling and dies, a hydraulic
press and a fluid pressure intensification system.
Hydroforming dies varies with regards to sheet metal
hydroforming and tubular hydroforming operations. Dies
may be single or multicavity. Hydroforming utilizes
hydraulic presses rather than mechanical. The forming fluid
is water based and contains additives such as lubricants,
drying agents, rust preventatives and bactericides.

In hydroforming operation, a blank is placed on the lower die

tooling and the press is closed. Fluid is then introduced to one
end in sheet metal blank and within the tubular blank. As fluid
pressure intensified, the blank deforms taking the shape of
tooling. Lubricants reduces the friction and stresses.

Shot Peening
 It is a process of increasing the hardness and fatigue strength
on the surfaces of parts.
 This is done by blasting a rain of small shot at high velocity
against the surface requiring shot peening.
 The shot peening is done by air blast or by some mechanical
means.
 As the shot strikes, small indentations are produced, causing
a slight plastic flow of the surface metal to depth of few
hundreds of a centimeter.
 Thus the surface is slightly hardened and strengthened by
this cold working operation.

COMPARISON OF HOT WORKING WITH COLD WORKING

Sl. No. Hot Working Cold Working

1. Hot working is carried out above the
recrystallisation temperature and below
the melting point.
2. Due to higher deformation temperatures,
the stress required for deformation is
much less.
3. In hot working process, No internal or
residual stresses are set-up in the metal. stresses are set-up in the metal.
4. Close tolerance cannot be maintained
5. Surface finish of this process
comparatively not good
Dept. of Automobile Engineering
Cold working is carried out below the
recrystallisation temperature.
The stress required to cause deformation
is much higher.
In this process internal or residual
Better tolerance can be easily
maintained.
is Surface finish of this process is better
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Production Process of Automobile Components
6. Due to re-crystallisation and recovery no Since this is done below re-
or very negligible hardening of metal crystallisation temperature the metal gets
takes place. work hardened.
7. Hot working refines metal grains resulting Most of the cold working processes lead
in improved mechanical properties. to distortion of grains.
8. If cracks and blow boles are present in the In cold working the existing cracks
metal, they are finished through hot propagate and new cracks may develop
working.
9. It does not improve Tensile Strength, It improves Ultimate Tensile Strength,
hardness, corrosion resistance, yield hardness, yield strength. But reduces the
strength and fatigue strength. corrosion resistance of strength of the
metal.

POWDER METALLURGY
Powder metallurgy is used for manufacturing products or articles from powdered metals by placing these powders
in molds and are compacting the same using heavy compressive force.

The powder metallurgy process consists of the following basic steps:

1. Formation of metallic powders.
2. Mixing or blending of the metallic powders in required proportions.
3. Compressing and compacting the powders into desired shapes and sizes in form of articles.
4. Sintering the compacted articles in a controlled furnace atmosphere.
5. Subjecting the sintered articles to secondary processing if needed so.

The compressed articles are then heated to temperatures much below their melting points to bind the particles
together and improve their strength and other properties.
The application of powder metallurgy process is economically feasible only for high mass production.

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Production Process of Automobile Components
1 Production of Metal Powders
The chemical and physical properties of metals depend upon the size and shape of the powder particles. There
are various methods of manufacturing powders which includes Atomisation, Chemical reduction, Electrolytic
process, Crushing, Milling, Condensation of metal vapors

2 Mixing or Blending of Metallic Powders

After the formation of metallic powders, proper mixing or blending of powders is the first step in the forming of
powder metal parts. The mixing is being carried out either wet or dry using an efficient mixer to produce a
homogeneous mixture.

3 Compacting of Powder
Compacting is the technique of converting loose powder in to compact accurately defined shape and size. This is
carried out at room temperature in a die on press machine. The press used for compacting may be either
mechanically or hydraulically operated. The die consists of a cavity of the shape of the desired part. Metal powder
is poured in the die cavity and pressure is applied using punches, which usually work from the top and bottom of
the die

4 Sintering
Sintering is the process of heating of compacted products in a furnace to below the melting point of at least one
of the major constituents under a controlled atmosphere.

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