Selected Aspects of a Cold Forging Process for Hollow Balls

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a study investigating a cold forging process for producing hollow balls with different wall thicknesses. The study was performed by FEM numerical modelling, which made it possible to obtain a wide spectrum of results. For the analysis of FEM results obtained for problematic cases (shape defects in forged balls), novel hypotheses for results interpretation are proposed. The FEM numerical model and hypotheses are then verified via experimental testing, and selected theoretical results are compared with experimental findings. Finally, obtained results are discussed (e.g. the effect of billet dimensions on forging conditions, wall thickness and hole size), a method for FEM results interpretation is presented, and design-related solutions ensuring the production of defect-free hollow balls are proposed.