Workability is the ability of the workpiece metal to undergo extrusion or drawing without fracture or defect development. This article describes the limits of workability in extrusion and drawing in terms of fracture and flaw development and presents some comments on fracture mechanisms. It discusses the empirical projections of absolute workability from various mechanical tests. The article concludes with a discussion on extrusion and drawing process design implications.

The drawing process, one of the oldest metal forming operations, allows excellent surface finishes and closely controlled dimensions to be obtained in long products that have constant cross sections. This article discusses the basic mechanics and preparation steps of drawing. It presents an overview of the processes, equipment, dies and die materials, and lubrication associated with drawing of rod, wire, bar, and tube. The article also provides a discussion on the design considerations and manufacturing of commercial superconducting multifilamentary conductors.

Drawing is a process by which a workpiece is pulled against a die to produce a wire, bar, or tube with smaller cross sectional area compared with the initial stock. This article discusses the variables that affect the drawing process and the parameters that influence friction, lubrication, and wear. These parameters include process, lubricant, workpiece, and tooling. The article provides information on dry and wet lubrication in wire drawing. The dry lubrication refers to use of solid lubricants while wet lubrication refers to the practice of providing a liquid lubricant to the workpiece-die interface. The article describes the most common types and causes of die wear: abrasive wear, adhesive wear, surface fatigue wear, thermal fatigue wear, and catastrophic failure. It concludes with a discussion on the surface treatment and texturing that are used to reduce die wear in drawing operations.

This article is a comprehensive collection of tables containing formulas for metals processing, namely, casting and solidification, flat (sheet) rolling, conical-die extrusion, wire drawing, bending, and deep drawing. Formulas for compression, tension, and torsion testing of isotropic materials are included. The article also lists the formulas for effective stress, strain, and strain rate (isotropic material) in arbitrary and principal coordinates; dimensionless groups in fluid mechanics; and anisotropic sheet materials at various loading conditions.

This article contains nine tables that present useful formulas for deformation analysis and workability testing. The tables present formulas for effective stress, strain, and strain rate in arbitrary coordinates, principal, compression and tension testing of isotropic material. The article also provides formulas for flat rolling, conical-die extrusion, wire drawing, deep drawing of cups from sheet metal, and bending, and formulas for anisotropic sheet materials.