A Design Approach of Porthole Die for Flow Balance in Extrusion of Complex Solid Aluminum Heatsink Profile with Large Variable Wall Thickness

• Main Authors: Tat-Tai Truong, Quang-Cherng Hsu, Van-Canh Tong, Jinn-Jong Sheu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-04-01
• Series: Metals
• Subjects: metal flow balance; extrusion die design; aluminum heatsink; porthole die; complex aluminum profile
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/10/5/553

In this study, porthole die used for extrusion of a solid heatsink profile with wall thickness variation ratio up to 15.3 was designed using finite element (FE) simulations. To improve the flow balance in the die, a design approach was introduced to find the appropriate die structure, which includes the porthole and pocket geometry correction, the bearing length adjustment, and the port bridge structure modification. Using the proposed die, the predicted velocity relative difference (VRD) and the maximum velocity difference (ΔV) of extrudate were significantly lower than those of an initial die, which was preliminarily designed based on general design experiences. The required extrusion force and the residual stress in the product were also reduced significantly. Then, the effects of the port bridge structure and welding chamber height on the behavior of the metal flow in the die were investigated. To verify the proposed die design, experimental extrusions were conducted on a 930-ton extruder. The experiment results showed that the extruded product fulfilled the requirements for dimensional tolerances. The design approach presented in this paper can be useful for practical implementation of die design when extruding similar solid heatsink profiles with large wall thickness variation.