The plastic deformation of a metal at an intermediate temperature, typically between 30 and 60 percent of its absolute melting point. This lowers the yield strength and increases ductility compared to cold working, reducing the force needed by the presses. Because it stays below the recrystallization temperature, it still imparts some strain hardening and avoids the heavy scaling associated with hot working.
Heard on the job
We switched to warm working the high-carbon billets to save on die wear without dealing with oxidation scale.
Also heard as
- warm forging
Do not mix it up with
- Hot work: Hot working happens above the recrystallization temperature so the metal does not strain-harden, while warm working stays below it.