Process analysis and die design in 12 cells condenser tube extrusion of Al3003

Condenser tubes are mainly produced by precision extrusion with a porthole die and are used to allow flow in refrigerant cooling systems in automobiles. To produce condenser tubes, the recent goal has been to develop a tube that has high strength to allow for multi-cellizing and flattening, and to minimize the wall thickness, and to increase the heat transfer area and heat efficiency. This study was designed to produce Al3003 condenser tube for industrial production, including extrusion die design, inspection of die design through the results of FE simulation and performance of trial extrusion. Chamber shape dimension and initial temperatures of tool and die were variables and the possibility of extrusion was estimated from the forming load, welding pressure, and stress analysis of die in this paper. The validity of the simulated results was verified by extrusion experiments on the condenser tubes.