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What are the five major groups of metalworking processes?
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metallurgy
A zinc-lead blast furnace and lead-splash condenser. This technology is utilized mainly for producing zinc while managing both lead and zinc from raw materials, a technique that was highly influential in 20th-century smelting.
In the field of metallurgy and materials science, there are hundreds of specific techniques for shaping metals, but they are broadly categorized into five major groups of metalworking processes. These processes are:1
- Rolling: Passing metal through rollers to reduce thickness or change shape.12
- Extrusion: Forcing metal through a die to create long objects with a specific cross-section.12
- Drawing: Pulling metal through a die to reduce its diameter or change its cross-sectional shape.1
- Forging: Shaping metal through the application of compressive forces, often using hammers or presses.12
- Sheet-metal forming: Processes such as stretch forming, bending, and shearing used to shape thin metal sheets.13
These processes typically subject metal to significant strain. When performed above the metal's recrystallization temperature, they are referred to as hot working, which allows for extensive plastic deformation. Conversely, processes performed below this temperature are known as cold working, which increases the strength and hardness of the metal but limits the amount of strain that can be applied before cracking occurs.1