Die motion control for die-quench forging process of AA6061 aluminum alloys

In die-quench forging of heat-treatable aluminum alloys, a billet is held at high temperature for solution-treatment, then compressed and rapidly cooled simultaneously between cold dies to form supersaturated solution. This process is similar to hot stamping of aluminum alloy sheets, however a workpiece billet is relatively thicker and thickness strain is larger. Although many applications of slide-motion control on a servo press were proposed, it has not been well discussed as a method to control microstructure and properties of the workpiece. In die-quench forging of AA6061 billet, effect of die speed is discussed to achieve higher hardness with uniform distribution.