Finite element simulation and experimental investigation on the forming forces of 3D non-axisymmetrical tubes spinning

3D non-axisymmetrical tube (NAT) spinning is a kind of new spinning technology, which breaks through the restriction that only axisymmetrical hollow parts could be produced by traditional spinning technology. The research on the spinning force aims to optimize the machine design and the processing parameters selection. The neck-spinning process of the 3D NAT is simulated by 3D elastic-plastic finite element software, MARC. The characteristics of the neck-spinning force of 3D NAT are compared with that of the axisymmetrical tube (AT) spinning. The effect of the main forming parameters, such as offset amount, oblique angle, nominal reduction of blank radius, feed rate and path direction, on the spinning forces have been studied theoretically and experimentally. It shows that during 3D NAT spinning, the spinning forces varies periodically with the revolution angle of the roller around the blank; the spinning force during backward path spinning is greater than that of forward path spinning. The simulation results conform well to the experimental ones. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.