Investigation of the microscopic deformation behavior and surface quality of austenitic stainless steel plate during holes piercing process

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of different clearances on smoothsheared depth, burr height and surface quality. Austenitic stainless steel sheet metal of 316L with 3 mm thickness as used in this study. Experimental results showed that the burr, smooth sheared region and punch force greatly influenced by the clearance value between the die and punch. The results are in agreement with the previous theoretical and experimental works in the literature. The findings is expected to contribute to the process of developing medical implant device made from 316L stainless steel. The study involved design and fabrication of a medium precision piercing die set of single station with one hole. Most of the die components were fabricated using the various facilities at KKTM Balik Pulau, Pulau Pinang.The punch was made of SKC50 steel with hardness of 64 HRC with diameter of 5 mm. Four different clearances of 5% (0.15mm), 7% (0.21mm), 10% (0.3mm) and 13% (0.39mm). These die clearances variation were obtained by using circular button die of different die diameter.