Experiment and simulation of variable thickness rolling for 3D-profiled blank

Abstract

• A new method for rolling 3D-profiled blank is proposed. • Variable Thickness Rolling is modified for producing 3D-profiled blank. • 3D-profiled blank with thickness of 2.0 mm, 1.8 mm and 1.6 mm is obtained. A 3D profiled blank (3D-PB) is a variable thickness in both the rolling direction (RD) and transversal direction (TD). A novel method of manufacturing 3D-PB is proposed in this paper. The method combines two processes: first, the workpiece of a normal blank is rolled into a tailor rolled blank (TRB) through variable gauge rolling (VGR), then the TRB is rolled into a 3D-PB through variable thickness rolling (VTR). A significant modification was made to VGR as the original VTR could not be adapted to the production of 3D-PB. The metal flow of the thick and thin areas of the 3D-PB was investigated with finite element simulation. The metal in the thin area mainly flows in the TD. The deformation of the workpiece was studied during the process. The workpiece was first bent and then thinned, resulting in a different width between the thick and thin areas. The thickness difference between the thick and thin areas of the 3D-PB was explained through simulation and controlled rolling experiments. The final 3D-PB has a variable thickness in both the RD and TD with good shape.