Study on forming sequences of the auxiliary roll height in flexible asymmetric rolling process

Abstract

Flexible asymmetric rolling process has been conceived to manufacture sheet metal parts with high efficiency. In the asymmetric rolling process, the metal plate is fed into the roll gap at a tilted angle. The nip angles of the top and bottom rolls are not equal, and inconsistent thickness thinning occurs on the two surfaces of the metal plate. It is easy to bend the metal plate during the asymmetric rolling process. Then, desired metal parts with three-dimensional deformation are generated though non-uniformly rolling in the thickness direction. Compared with the 3D rolling technology, shape precision of the metal part with desired configuration is significantly improved. In this paper, the forming sequences of the auxiliary roll height are investigated for forming surface parts. A series of auxiliary roll heights are selected for the metal plate in condition of same roll gap distribution. Numerical simulations and experiments for typically surface parts have been performed. Deformation degree and shape accuracy of the surfaces parts formed in different auxiliary roll heights have been respectively compared and analyzed. Through analyzing deformation degree and shape accuracy of the surfaces parts, it is beneficial for parameters optimization of the flexible asymmetric rolling process.