Observation of Material Flow in Friction Stir Forming for A5083 Aluminum Alloy Gear-Rack

Abstract:

This paper reports observation of material flow in friction-stir forming of aluminum alloy gear racks. Friction-stir forming was newly developed by Nishihara and is dedicated for material forming. In the process, a material plate is placed on the die and friction stirring is conducted on its back surface. The material deforms due to high pressure and heat caused by the friction-stir process and deforms precisely to the shape of the die. The process has mainly been studied for microforming and mechanical jointing; however it was successfully utilized for net-shape forming of A5083 aluminum alloy gear racks. The authors observed the appearance of products, change of mark-off lines on its surface, and deformation of its longitudinal cross section by photo-processing. In addition, we evaluated the distribution of hardness in transverse cross sections of a product tooth. As a result, it was observed that the material did not flow in the transverse direction of the cavity of the gear-rack die, though more material filled at the retreating side than at the advancing side. The material filled the tooth-cavity mostly before passage of the tool probe over the tooth.

• Periodical: Materials Science Forum (Volume 889)
• Pages: 113-118
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.889.113
• Online since: March 2017
• Authors: Takahiro Ohashi*, Hamed Mofidi Tabatabaei, Tadashi Nishihara
• Keywords: Friction Stir Forming, FSP, FSW, Gear Rack, Materials Forming, Net-Shape Forming

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