Optimization of the wire extrusion process from 52In-48Sn alloy by the generalized reduced gradient method

The main parameters in the extrusion of wire and bar products, which determine its efficiency, are the extrusion force and the flow rate of metal from the die. In this work, the generalized reduced gradient method is used to optimize the process of extrusion of wire from an alloy 52In-48Sn. It is shown that the main technological parameter that can significantly affect the efficiency of the extrusion process is the diameter of the container. To reduce the extrusion force, such process parameters as the billet length, the coefficient of friction should be at a minimum value, and the die half-angle and extrusion speed at the maximum value allowed by the process technology. For a wire with a diameter of 2.0 mm, the generalized reduced gradient method is used to solve the optimization problem concerning the dimensionless ratio Vext*/F* (Y1*/Y2*). The generalized reduced gradient method is used to solve the optimization problem concerning the dimensionless ratio Vext*/F* (Y1*/Y2*) for a wire of 2.0 mm in diameter. The obtained optimum (Vext = 2000 mm/s and F = 79140 N) corresponds to the following parameters of the technology for manufacturing a wire with a diameter of 2.0 mm (X1): billet length L = 80 mm (X2); container diameter Dсon = 24 (X3); pressing speed Vprmax = 6 mm/s (X4); die half-angle α = 75° (X5); friction coefficient f = 0.3 (X6). In the course of the research, it has been shown that it is possible to reduce the extrusion force from 161640 to 38001 N without changing the flow rate (Vext = 896 mm/s) by reducing the billet length from 120 to 80 mm, reducing the diameter of the container from 32 to 24 mm, increasing the speed pressing from 3.5 to 6 mm/s and half-angle of the die from 23 to 75° with constant finished wire diameter DBSX = 2 mm and friction coefficient f = 0.3. A nomogram has been built for choosing the optimal value of the container diameter depending on the diameter of the finished wire.