Development of L-sectioned ring for construction machines by profile ring rolling process

Recently, there is an increasing commercial interest in manufacturing rings with a complicated cross-sectional shape directly by a metal forming process instead of by machining. Profile ring rolling is one of the advanced metal forming technologies to manufacture large or small seamless profile rings. Compared with plain ring rolling, profile ring rolling can yield considerable savings in material cost and a shorter cycle time for additional machining. In this study, a profile ring rolling process for producing large-scale profile rings with an L-section for construction machine parts is developed. The manufacturing process of large-scale profile rings with L-section consists of a forging stage and a profile ring rolling stage. In the forging stage, the raw material is formed to initial blanks for profile ring rolling. The forged initial blanks are then formed to the final product shape in the profile ring rolling process, which is designed to occur in a single pass to minimize the cycle time. The design of the blank shape is very important, to enable the design of a profile ring rolling process without forming defects, such as fishtails, underfilling, and distortion of the ring. A finite-element (FE) analysis was performed to optimize the blank ring shape, with the objective of minimizing forming defects. After determination of the initial blank shape, the effects of process variables such as feed conditions of mandrel and axial rolls on the final product shape was investigated to improve the dimensional accuracy. Also, forming experiments were conducted based on the results of the FE analysis. The experimental results were in good agreement with the results of the FE analysis.

[1]  Rajiv Shivpuri,et al.  Planning and simulation of the ring rolling process for improved productivity , 1993 .

[2]  Byung-Min Kim,et al.  Control method for centering rolls in radial-axial ring rolling process , 2014 .

[3]  Seung Sik Choi,et al.  Process Design of Profile Ring Rolling for Turbine Diaphragm Using FEM Simulation , 2007 .

[4]  J. B. Hawkyard,et al.  Investigation into the multi-stage ring rolling of aluminium bicycle wheel rims , 1986 .

[5]  Yu-Min Zhao,et al.  Effect of rolling ratio on groove-section profile ring rolling , 2010 .

[6]  W. Johnson,et al.  Cavity formation in rolling profiled rings , 1975 .

[7]  He Yang,et al.  Towards a steady forming condition for radial–axial ring rolling , 2011 .

[8]  Byung-Min Kim,et al.  Design method for intermediate roll in multi-stage profile ring rolling process: The case for excavator idler rim , 2014 .

[9]  I. Pillinger,et al.  A finite-element simulation of profile ring rolling using a hybrid mesh model , 1998 .

[10]  L. Hua,et al.  Deformation behaviors and conditions in L-section profile cold ring rolling , 2009 .

[11]  Byung-Min Kim,et al.  Advanced feasible forming condition for reducing ring spreads in radial–axial ring rolling , 2013 .

[12]  Keith Davey,et al.  An ALE approach for finite element ring-rolling simulation of profiled rings , 2003 .

[13]  Zhichao Sun,et al.  Research on interactive influences of parameters on T-shaped cold ring rolling by 3d-FE numerical simulation , 2007 .

[14]  Chun‐Sing Lee,et al.  Ring-rolling design for a large-scale ring product of Ti-6Al-4V alloy , 2007 .

[15]  Dongsheng Qian,et al.  Research on gripping conditions in profile ring rolling of raceway groove , 2009 .