Determination of the Optimal Reduction Ratio for Least Springback during Cold Drawing of Seamless Tubes

Cold drawing process is one of the most used metals forming processes in industries for forming seamless tubes. This process of plastic deformation of metals occurs below the recrystallization temperature and is generally performed at room temperature. When metal is cold worked, upon the release of forming force, the springback occurs. In this paper, the springback effect of the seamless tube that has undergone cold drawing is studied for three different reduction ratios viz.10-15 %,15-20 %, and 20-25 % having the aim to reduce it. Experiments are conducted under different reduction ratios with working conditions of die semi angles of 10 and 15 degrees, die land width of 5 mm and 10 mm as well as drawing speed of 4, 6, and 8 m/min for C-45 tube material. Optimum reduction ratio is finalized using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software of data analysis using statistical tests like Kruskal-Wallis, ANOVA, Post-hoc, etc. Metallurgical analysis through microstructural investigation, XRD and mechanical testing via cold draw load, and hardness testing for different reduction ratios are also studied for validation purposes. The results of this research show that 10-15 % reduction ratio yields the minimum springback. This can be used to help designing tools in the metal forming industry to minimize springback and improve the quality of the product.

Keywords:

Cold drawing , Seamless tubes , Springback , Optimization , Statistical Package for social sciences