Effect of forming parameters on sheet metal stability during a rotary forming process for rim thickening

A new rotary forming process for rim thickening was proposed in this paper, which can be applied on sheet metals to produce parts with thin web plates and thick rims integrally. Via FE simulation, an orthogonal test was conducted to investigate the effects of forming parameters on γmax, which is the ratio of maximum blank size to thickness and indexes the stability of sheet metals while during forming. It is found that the incline angle of the upper roller groove surface, and the friction condition between the sheet metal and roller groove are the dominant factors affecting the process, while the influence of the feeding velocity and the groove arc radius are relatively slight. It is also proved that interactions exist among these factors. Furthermore, an optimized parameters group is obtained, and a process window plot showing the limits of the forming process is achieved. The facticity of FE simulation is verified by technological experiments.