Comparative Study Concerning the Generation of some Circular Grooves by Cold Rolling with Wedge Tools and Cutting

The economic context and the current guidelines of research and achievement of complex profiles are focussed on choosing that process which leads to obtaining high quality pieces with minimum costs. Circular grooves are complex surfaces often encountered on pieces in machine construction. They can be processed either by cutting or by cold plastic deformation. This paper presents by comparison a series of characteristics of a circular profile obtained by two different processes: profiled turning with radial feed and cold rolling with two wedge tools. The characteristics analysed refer to the roughness of the profile obtained, the microstructure and micro-hardness of the superficial layer generated. In the experiments two types of materials with different compositions and properties were used: cementing steel AISI 1015 and improving steel AISI 5140, usually used for the construction of pieces with circular grooves. Processing by rolling was performed with two types of wedges: with a long area of deformation and low slope angle and with a short area of deformation and high slope angle. The results of the study allow establishing the conditions to apply each one of the two processes analysed, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages, as it results from the comparison of the characteristics of the profile obtained.