Cold extrusion deformation behavior of medium carbon steel after quenching and tempering

By taking 40Cr as a specific object, cold extrusion deformation behavior of medium carbon steel after quenching and tempering was studied by experimental works. The influence of deformation extent (10%-50%), cone angle of die (90 °-120 °), hardness after quenching and tempering (HRC21-29) and lubricated condition on the forming load was analyzed. The results show that there is no central bursting and micro crack in the inner of the extruded specimen, and the forming quality is good. The double-peak phenomenon takes place at the front-end of the specimen; the double-peak index increases with deformation extent, and larger deformation can avoid the double-peak phenomenon. The deformation extent is the most important influencing factor, and the lubricated condition almost has no influence, which means that the phosphate coating plus soap process is still a proper lubrication method for cold extrusion of medium carbon steel after quenching and tempering. By investigating the microscopic structure before and after deformation, the initial equiaxed grain is elongated in the extrusion direction, and this feature is more significant at the front-end of specimen.