Overview of adaptable die design for extrusions

The term “adaptable die design” is used for the methodology in which the tooling shape is determined or modified to produce some optimal property in either product or process. The adaptable die design method, used in conjunction with an upper bound model, allows the rapid evaluation of a large number of die shapes and the discovery of the one that produces the desired outcome. In order for the adaptable die design method to be successful, it is necessary to have a realistic velocity field for the deformation process through extrusion dies of any shape and the velocity field must allow flexibility in material movement to achieve the required material flow description. A variety of criteria can be used in the adaptable die design method. For example, dies which produce minimal distortion in the product. A double optimization process is used to determine the values for the flexible variables in the velocity field and secondly to determine the die shape that best meets the given criteria. The method has been extended to the design of dies for non-axisymmetric product shapes.