Research on extrusion forming rule of a self-bending die of distorted channel

This paper introduces a new type of die, a self-bending die of distorted channels. It can directly form curved profiles from billets in a single extrusion operation. A series of experiments were undertaken with plasticine instead of AA6063 aluminum alloy as the model workpiece material. The stability of the bending arc curvature of the profile, the influence of the process parameters, and the die structure parameters on the curvature radius of the extruded profile were studied by a combination of experiment and simulation during extrusion. The results have shown that the speed distribution of the metal at the exit of the die is linear, and the curvature radius of the extruded profile is stable. The radius of curvature of the profile is affected by the extrusion speed and friction factor, and it decreases with the increase in extrusion speed and friction factor. The radius of curvature also depends on the preheating temperature of the billet, and the increase in the preheating temperature leads to the increase in the curvature radius, although the radius of curvature is less sensitive to it than to extrusion speed and friction factor. The influence of the extrusion ratio on the radius of curvature of the profile is related to the width of the inlet die hole and the width of the outlet die hole. The radius of curvature increases with the width of the inlet die hole and the width of the outlet die hole.