Die Science: 6 questions to answer to achieve successful deep drawing

Part I: Material behavior, press selection

STAMPING Journal March 2009
July 4, 2017
By: Art Hedrick

Of all the metal forming process used today, deep drawing is certainly one of the most versatile. Products
such as oil filters, cigarette lighters, medical battery casings, and automotive parts are made using this
process, just to name a few.

1. What Is Deep Drawing? How is it Different From

Stretching?
Drawing is a process in which a metal product is shaped by controlled inward flow of the metal over a
punch an into a cavity. In deep drawing, the total height of the part exceeds its minimum part width. Long,
tubular parts often are made using this process.

Frequently deep drawing requires more than one operation. The secondary operation are referred to
as draw reductions or redraws (see Figure 1 ).

In deep drawing, the original blank must change its perimeter dimensions. As metal flows during
drawing, it may get thicker.

Note that stretching and drawing are not the same. While drawing displaces surface area through plastic
flow, stretching increases the surface area via tension. Although some stretching occurs during the drawing
process, the process should be engineered so that the amount of stretching is limited. Metal is at greater
risk of failing during stretching than during drawing.
2. How Well Do I Know My Material?
Thousands of different types of ferrous an nonferrous metals are available in sheet form today.
Although not all are suitable, many of them can be deep drawn (see Figure 2 ).

Each type of metal has its own special behavior characteristics, and to form a material successfully,
you need to take the time to determine its tensile and yield strength, elongation percentage, and
average n and r values. Find out if the metal is coated or pre-painted. If it is a nonferrous metal, find
out if it is full hard, dead soft, or half hard. What is it drawing quality? Is it a speciality advanced
high-strength steel such as dual-or trip-phase?

Knowing the material type will help you choose a suitable tool steel to cut and form it. Knowing
you metal’s characteristics also will help you to determine if you need to anneal the parts between
forming operations.

Annealing is a heat-treating process that returns the metal to it original properties after being cold-
worked. Superalloys often require annealing between drawing operations, which explains why
aircraft and medical parts typically are so expensive: They often are designed wit tight geometric
tolerances and require more steps, including annealing, to manufacture. In contrast, materials such
as low-carbon extra-deep-drawn-quality steel can be drawn up to 12 times before annealing
becomes necessary.

If your material is high strength, you might need to add extra stations to compensate for springback.
The material strength also affects your lubricant choice. Drawing high-strength steel into a given
geometry usually requires a different lubricant than drawing the same geometry out of low-strength
steel, because higher-strength steels require more force and energy to form. Higher forming forces
result in more friction between the tool steel and the metal being formed, which generates more
heat.

Most lubricants contain additives that react to heat and reduce the friction. If the heat being
generated is insufficient or excessive, the additive will likely fail to reduce the friction sufficiently.

Avoid building common tools that are designed to form a variety of different metals without
changing the die.
Figure 1
Deep-drawn parts require several draw reductions (top) as opposed to a single drawing die
(bottom). Top photo courtesy of Prospect Machine Products Inc., Prospect, Conn. Bottom photo
courtesy of Greenville Tool & Die, Greenville, Mich.

Also pay close attention to the material’s thickness. Thicker metal because there is more metal to
stretch. Nothing is more difficult to stretch or draw than thin, high-strength metal because of
buckling and wrinkling.

Whenever possible, avoid trying to draw materials that are extremely hard with poor stretchability.
They might require additional heat to be formed.

3. Am I Using the Right Press?

Keep in mind that the press you select for deep drawing not only use have the force necessary to
deform it too but it must not try to deform it too quickly. Think of your metal as being like Silly
Putty®— if you pull it apart very quickly, it will snap and break, but if you stretch it slowly, you
can stretch it a great deal without breaking it.
Hydraulic and servo-drive presses are suitable for deep drawing because they can be adjusted not to
exceed the maximum forming speed for the metal. In addition, hydraulic presses have their full
rated tonnage throughout the entire press stoke, whereas crank-drive presses often lose tonnage off
the bottom of the press stroke. Eyelet presses or special cam/shaft drive transfer presses also are
good for deep drawing.

Part II, which will discuss the limiting draw ratio, metal flow patterns, and draw radii.

Until next time… Best of Luck!

Figure 2
Many types of metal can be deep-drawn into parts. Photo courtesy of Trans-Matic, Holland, Mich.

4. What is the Limiting Draw Ratio? The limiting draw ratio (LDR) is the
relationship between the edge of the draw punch and the edge of the blank, or the ratio of the
maximum blank diameter that can safely be drawn into a cup.

To understand this concept better, consider how an axial symmetrical cup is drawn. A cylinder
starts out as a simple round blank. To transform the round blank into a small cylinder shape, you
must add radial compression. In other words, for the larger-diameter blank to become the smaller-
diameter cup, the metal must flow inward toward the centerline of the cup simultaneously as it
compresses together.

If the metal is not controlled, the flange will be severely wrinkled (see Figure 1 ). A great deal of
circumferential compression will cause the metal to get thicker at the open end of the cup or the
flange.
The key thing to remember is that metal in compression has a great resistance to flow. If too much
surface area is outside of the punch, the metal resists flows inwards. This results in excessive
stretching of the material and possibly splitting.

A general rule is to use a blank no larger than two times the punch diameter. If the blank to make
the parts needs to be bigger than that, you might have to use more than a single drawing station to
make the part. When more than one operation is necessary, the LDR percentage will change.

5. How Many Drawing Stations Are Required?

To calculate the approximate number of stations needed for drawing a round shell, you need to
know your metal’s thickness and the blank diameter required to make the part. You also need a
draw reduction chart for your process (see Figure 2 ). You can calculate the blank diameter by
determining the surface area of the part and mathematically converting it back into a round, plant
blank (see Figure 3 ). You also can determine the blank size based on the weight of your part.
Every metal has a certain weight. For example, steel weighs 0.283 pounds per cubic inch. In other
words, a 1-in. cube of steel weighs 0.283 lbs. If you know the metal’s thickness and weight, you
can calculate the surface area of the blank.

Don’t forget to add the necessary extra material for trim stock.

Take, for example, a part made from 0.05-in. draw-quality steel. It requires a blank that is 10 in. in
diameter. The final diameter of the part will be 2.5 in. By referencing a draw reduction chart, you
can determine that the first draw reduction percentage is 53, so the first drawing punch must be at
least 53 percent of the blank diameter, or at least 5. 3 in. in diameter.

Because the part is smaller in diameter than 5.3 in., it requires additional drawing operations. The
second draw reduction percentage for 0.05-in. -thick materials is 71. Multiplying 5.300 in. by 71
percent equals 3.763 in., which represents the maximum diameter of the second drawing punch.

The part is smaller in diameter than 3.763 in., though, so it requires another drawing operation. The
third draw reduction percentage for 0.050-in.-thick material is 74 percent. Multiplying 3.763 in. by
74 percent equals 2.785 in. by 74 percent equals 2.060 in. This is smaller than the finished part
diameter, so no more drawing operations are required.
Figure 1
When compression is controlled, the flange is flat. When compression is not controlled, the flange
is severely wrinkled.

Therefore, to make a part that is 2.5 in. in diameter with a blank that is 10 in. in diameter and made
of 0.05-in.- thick, low-carbon, draw-quality steel requires four drawings stations.

6. How are Drawing Radii Selected

Three crucial radii affect metal flow:

1. Die entry radius

2. Punch radius
3. Profile radius

The die entry radius is the most influential. It creates a restrictive force by causing the metal to
bend and unbend during the drawing process. If the die entry is too large, the metal is is in
compression, and very little restrictive force is keeping the metal from flowing in. Then the radial
area of the part may wrinkle (see Figure 4 ). The metal is being forced to unwrinkle in the walls of
the drawn shell, which creates a resistance flow, resulting in more stretch.

Different metals require different radii. For instance, drawing aluminum typically requires radii up
to one-third greater than the size of radii used when drawing soft steel. A good rule for drawing
steel is to use six to eight times the metal thickness.

The punch radius, located at the top of the punch, also is a critical radius. The size of the punch
radius often determines how much stretch will occur and how much metal will be pulled from the
blank holder.

Using a very large radius on the punch, along with a high blank holder force or draw beads, will
force a great deal of stretch and less drawing to occur. Using a large radius on the punch with a low
blank holder force will result in a combination of flow, and some stretch.

A small radius on the draw punch will force the metal to be pulled from the blank holder, and very
little stretch will occur in the product area. A small radius usually is acceptable only when the LDR
is not being defined.

A medium-size radius on the punch, combined with an acceptable LDR is optimum for stretch
distribution in the radial area. Although often viewed as poor practice, it is sometimes helpful to
retard metal from thinning out in this area.

The profile radius represents the outside profile of the drawn shell. Its size greatly affects the
amount of metal flow that takes place during the drawing process (see Figure 5 ). Larger-profile
radii allow more metal to flow inward than smaller radii.

Until next time, best of luck!

Slide Show | 6 Images

You May Also Like

Die Science: 6 questions to answer to achieve successful deep drawing

 Warm forming of stainless steels - Part II

Key design principles for successful deep drawing

Blanking questions have you on the edge?

Art Hedrick

Contributing Writer
Dieology LLC
8730 10 Mile Rd. SE.
Rockford, MI 49341

Phone: 616-894-6855

http://www.dieology.com
Contact via email

More Content by Art Hedrick

Author of the "Die Science" column in STAMPING Journal®, Art also has written technical
articles on stamping die design and build for a number of trade publications. A recipient of many
training awards, he is active in metal stamping training and consulting worldwide.

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