Metalworking

Metals are important in industry because they can be easily deformed into useful shapes. A lot of metalworking processes have been developed for certain applications. They can be divided into five broad groups:

1. rolling,

2. extrusion,

3. drawing,

4. forging,

5. sheet-metal forming.

During the first four processes metal is subjected to large amounts of strain (deformation). But if deformation goes at a high temperature, the metal will recrystallize — that is, new strain-free grains will grow instead of deformed grains. For this reason metals are usually rolled, extruded, drawn, or forged above their recrystallization temperature. This is called hot working. Under these conditions there is no limit to the compressive plastic strain to which the metal can be subjected.

Other processes are performed below the recrystalli-zation temperature. These are called cold working. Cold working hardens metal and makes the part stronger. However, there is a limit to the strain before a cold part cracks.