Effect of Punch Surface Microtexture on the Microextrudability of AA6063 Micro Backward Extrusion

To apply conventional forming processes to microscale processing, the influence of size effects caused by material properties and friction effects must be considered. In this study, the ef-fects of tool surface properties, such as punch surface texture, on micro-extrusion properties, such as extrusion force, product shape, and product microstructure, were investigated using AA6063 billets as test pieces. Millimeter-scale, microscale, and nanoscale textures were fabricated on the punch surfaces. The extrusion force increased rapidly as the stroke progressed for all punch tex-tures. In comparing the product shapes, the smaller the texture size, the lower was the adhesion and the longer the backward extrusion length. The results of material analysis using electron backscatter diffraction show that material flowability is improved, and more strain is uniformly applied when a nanoscale-textured punch is used. By contrast, when a mirror punch was used, material flowability decreased, and strain was applied non-uniformly. Therefore, by changing the surface properties of the punch, the tribology between the tool and material can be controlled, and formability improved.