FE simulation and experiment study on flow forming of inner-splined flange

Abstract

Abstract Inner-splined flange (ISF) is a special component with multi-splines on the inner surface. This non-rotary feature is traditionally manufactured by machining which has disadvantages of material waste and insufficient material properties as compared to plastically formed parts. Flow forming is an innovative rotary incremental forming technique to manufacture hollow profile parts. During the forming process, a workpiece is positioned on a die with profile section which makes rotating motion. A roller tool with multi-rolling balls is pressed on the outer surface of the workpiece, which makes axial feed movement. This allows the workpiece to be formed gradually to the expected section shape by the radial pressure between the die and rolling balls. In this paper, flow forming was adopted to manufacture an ISF. To demonstrate the feasibility, FE simulations for the flow forming of ISF were tried including different process parameters. The metal flow law during the forming process was analyzed, which helps develop a better understanding of the deformation mechanism of this flow forming concept. The effects of different process parameters were discussed, which enables a design basis for this technique. Based on the simulation results, experiments for the flow forming of ISF were carried out. The results show that the ISF can be net-shaped by the flow forming potentially. This study offers an innovative potential method for manufacturing ISF with high precision and performance and it maybe spread for other hollow profile parts.