Abstract
A new concept has been developed for the design of streamlined dies for the extrusion of “difficult-to-extrude” metal-matrix composite materials and P/M alloys. Based on this concept, CAD/CAM packages have been developed to facilitate the design and manufacture of these complex dies. The packages are interactive and user friendly and can help the user in arriving at an optimum design with relative ease within a short time. Use of 3- D graphics, hidden line removal, and shaded color aid the user in visualizing and understanding the complex die geometries. Two methods are presented for the manufacture of electrodes used for electro-discharge machining of dies. The first is by the use of a turnkey CAD/CAM system and the second is by the use of a special software known as CUTTER. Several electrodes (round to rounds, as well as round to shapes) have been machined using a three-axis vertical milling machine—the dies have been electrodischarge machined—and extrusion trials have been performed on several materials. The results have been very promising. It is concluded that streamlined dies have definite advantages over other dies when extruding difficult-to-extrude materials such as composites and P/M alloys.
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Gunasekera, J.S., Gegel, H.L., Malas, J.C. et al. CAD/CAM of streamlined extrusion dies. J. Applied Metalworking 4, 43–49 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02833676
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02833676