Abstract
At present, the design of extrusion dies and operation in extrusion companies are primarily based on trial and error. The experience of the die designer, the press operator and the die corrector determine the performance of the extrusion die and the efficiency of the process. In order to produce defect-free products of desirable quality in terms of strength, surface quality and geometrical dimensions, it is important to obtain more knowledge of the processes that occur during extrusion. Recently, to reduce the costs of designing and manufacturing of extrusion dies, and to ensure the quality of the extruded products, numerical simulation for extrusion processes such as FEM (finite element method) is applied increasingly and becomes a very important tool for the design and development of new products. However, most of the studies about FE simulation have been accomplished for simple geometry and low extrusion ratio in the filed of steady metal flow conditions. The extruded products of AI alloy in industrial practice involve complicated sectional geometry. This study was designed to reduce the time of die design and manufacturing in the extrusion process using FEM simulation. FEM simulations of extrusion process were performed in non-steady states conditions by changing weld plate included in extrusion die set. Product which was employed in this study is heat sink that has been used in the parts of heat exchanger of electric circuits. It is generally applied for aluminum or its alloys due to heat efficiency and easy production of complicated shapes, and manufactured by extrusion process. The simulated results showed that weld plate shape in extrusion dies influences meta] flow and dimensional accuracy of products.
