Development of a Non-isothermal Forging Process for Hollow Axle Shafts

This paper presents a novel non-isothermal forging process for a hollow axle shaft. The process consists of three operations: i) partially heat the initial tubular stock via induction heating, ii) deform the heated section into a solid, rod-like structure by upsetting the workpiece, and iii) shape the new ‘solid’ section into a flange by further upsetting the workpiece. The commercial finite element software Deform 2D is used to simulate the process and evaluate its feasibility. It is determined that the non-isothermal forming process does not require excessive forming loads and can be completed using the presses that are currently employed for axle shaft forging. Furthermore, the strains encountered in the process are reasonable for a hot forming process and the dimensional accuracy of the final product is acceptable. Future optimization of this process may lead to improved strain distributions and forming loads.