COMBINED FLOW AND STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF PLASTIC EXTRUSION DIE

The primary aim of this report is to establish a method to optimize the thickness of the metal plates in an extrusion die. For a given profile of an extrusion die, no procedure has yet been established to predict the optimum thickness of the metal plates in an extrusion die such that the deflection of the die plates does not affect the final extrudate profile. The optimization of the geometry can be done by “trial and error.” In this report a new method has been established which uses a combination of the “Flow Analysis” and “Structural Analysis” to determine the effect of die deflection on extrudates profile thickness. With the aid of this method it is possible to obtain an iterative optimization process to establish the required thickness of the extrusion die. This method is successfully used to study the deformation of the die due to pressure generated in the flow channel.