Abstract:In manufacturing 3003 small tubes, impact extrusion was applied in order to obtain seamless tubes with high accuracy and high surface finish. In impact extrusion of such tubes, die damages are often observed. These damages are related to process variables such as tools structure and temperature, extrusion ratio, initial billet temperature, characteristics of the extrusion speed and lubrication. It is economical and efficient to use FEM (finite element method) to simulate metal flow, stress, strain and temperature under different extrusion conditions. The simulation results are helpful to the investigation of die damages and the optimization of extrusion process parameters.

Key words: FEM; thermal coupling; impact extrusion; 3003 alloy; tubes