The application of AI techniques in the optimal design of multi-pass cold drawing processes

In the paper the problem of optimal pass schedule design in multi-pass wire drawing process is investigated. An automatic design procedure based on an effective artificial intelligence (AI) technique, namely simulated annealing (SA), is proposed. The developed algorithm is aimed to achieve a satisfactory balance of the drawing stresses on the material along the reduction sequence, maintaining in the meantime the drawing stress at each pass below a safety value. In this way both the optimal number of passes and the optimal drawing sequence are determined. The effectiveness of the design procedure is tested through the comparison of the sequences suggested by the algorithm with a set of industrial sequences for wires of different materials.