Design of Roll Profile in Shape Rolling by 3D-EFA

The design of roll profile in shape rolling is important as a key role in improving product quality, such as dimensional accuracy, ensuring defect-free property and good mechanical properties. In this study, the design method using three dimensional electric field analysis (3D-EFA) is proposed to design intermediate roll profiles for the shape rolling The shape of equi-potential lines as intermediate roll profiles could be generated between the initial shape and final shape by 3D-EFA. The intermediate roll profile for each pass is selected among a numerous equi-potential lines, and the effectiveness of the selected roll profiles is verified by FE-simulation. The over- or under-filling area is calculated from the result of FE-simulation, another equi-potential line is selected to compensate for the area of the error The proposed method is applied to a shape like rear door hinge that is generally designed by the trial and error method to show the applicability of this method for various shapes. The lab-scale experiment is carried out with plasticine, and the results are within the allowable tolerance of +/-0.5 mm. Therefore, the proposed method can be widely used to design roll profiles for complex shapes thereby reducing the design time.