Infeed rotary swaging is a cold forming production technique to reduce the diameter of axisymmetric components. The forming is achieved discontinuously by a series of radial strokes that are spread over the shell of the part. Due to tolerances within the rotary swaging machine, these strokes perform individually and the resulting stroke pattern is not homogeneous with regards to circumferential and longitudinal distribution. Nevertheless, in combination with the high number of performed strokes and the large contact area between the dies and the part, the external part properties, such as diameter, roundness and surface roughness, show even values along the finished part. In contrast, strength-defining internal part properties, like microstructure and residual stress components, are more sensitive to the actual pattern and temporal sequence of the individual strokes, which is investigated in this study. The impact of process fluctuations during the conventional process, which are induced by the tolerances of machine tool components, was verified by numerical simulations, physical tests and measurements of residual stress distributions at the surface and at depth. Furthermore, a method is introduced to maintain the stroke following angle ∆φ at zero by flat dies, and thus the actual pattern and temporal sequence of the strokes was homogenized. The results show that the residual stress fluctuations at the surface could be controlled and reduced. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the depth profile of the residual stresses at a distance of 300 µm from the surface developed independently from the process fluctuations.

Rotary swaging is an incremental metal forming process widely used to reduce the cross–section of parts. For tubular parts, the final wall thickness also changes during the process. The lubricant condition is a factor, which affects these geometry changes. Beneath the change of the geometry, the complex material flow during the process determines the final geometry and the mechanical properties. Therefore, with a thorough insight into the material flow, it could be understood how to control it in order to achieve desired properties. Producing tubes with uniform outer diameter and changing inner profiles is an application of this method. Furthermore, applying this method, different local cold hardening could be achieved by different total strain. In this study, the dependency of the material flow on the lubrication conditions was investigated. Simulations with combined hardening material models were verified by the change of the wall thickness of tubes. It was found that friction condition significantly influences the back shifting of the workpiece and the elongation caused by each stroke. Results from simulations and experiments showed that a certain lubricant condition leads to the highest axial elongation of the workpiece.

In bulk forming processes, the net shape of a final product is achieved by plastic deformation as the material flows from the initial shape to the final shape of the workpiece. The material flow during the process is an important issue for its relationship with forging force, heat generation, microstructure transformation and energy consumption. Hence, the final properties of the product are directly influenced. Former researches showed that the material flow in the rotary swaging process is affected by different processing parameters like die angle, feeding velocity and friction condition. Thus, a profound knowledge of detailed material flow during the process is essential for a better understanding of the process. By using FEM, the material flow was investigated by the history of the plastic strain (PEEQ) development. In this study a 2D-axisymmetric model was built by using ABAQUS explicit. Both aluminum alloy (3.3206) and steel (1.0308) are studied with different feeding velocities and coefficients of friction. To achieve the development of PEEQ in different areas, the workpiece was divided into radial layers. The PEEQ history of each layer was tracked during the quasi-static forming process. Based on that, the plastic strain rate (PSR) was calculated and examined in a single stroke of the process. In that way, the material flow in different layers is presented and the material flow on the surface differs from that in the center, just the first 1/4 radial area from the surface is sensitive to different friction conditions.

Additionally to the achievable tight geometrical tolerances, rotary swaging can influence intrinsic material properties by work hardening and residual stresses generation. Although residual stresses should be usually avoided, they can be used on purpose to improve the performance properties of a produced part. To find prospective process settings, 2D FEM simulation of the rotary swaging process was developed and revealed the development of residual stresses distributions in E355 steel tubes in the whole longitudinal section. Besides the closing time, also geometric features of the dies were varied. It was found that the closing time affects the residual stresses significantly at the surface, but not in the depth of the part. By shortening the calibration zone, the axial tensile residual stresses near the outer surface could be lowered, while compressive residual stresses near the inner surface remained almost unaffected. By applying a higher die angle, the tensile axial residual stresses were increased while reducing the compressive axial residual stresses. Experimental investigations of residual stresses were performed by X-ray diffraction which revealed a good agreement between simulation results and physical measurements. With these findings, the rotary swaging process can be optimized for shaping residual stresses profiles to improve the performance properties of the produced parts.

In electromagnetic forming of thin sheet metal, the die is located within the effective range of the electromagnetic wave. Correspondingly, a current is induced not only in the sheet metal, but also in the die. Like the current in the workpiece, also the current in the die interacts with the electromagnetic wave, resulting in Lorentz forces and changes of the electromagnetic field. With the aim to study the influence of different electromagnetic die properties in terms of specific electric resistance and relative magnetic permeability, electromagnetic simulations were carried out. A change in the resulting forming forces in the sheet metals was determined. To confirm the simulation results, electromagnetic forming and embossing tests were carried out with the corresponding die materials. The results from simulation and experiment were in good agreement.

Rotary swaging is an incremental cold forming process to produce axisymmetric workpieces from rods and tubes. The process also induces changes of the microstructure of the material depending on the process parameters. This in turn influences the mechanical properties like hardness as well as the electrochemical properties. As a result of changed electrochemical properties, the passivity of the material and thus the corrosion behavior changes. In order to investigate the influence of rotary swaging on the corrosion behavior of the stainless steel AISI304, deformed micro parts are electrochemically analyzed. The measurements reveal a dependency of corrosion rate and impedance on both feed velocity and final diameter of the rotary swaging process. A higher feed velocity decreases the corrosion rate and increases the impedance indicating a better resistance against corrosion as a side effect of rotary swaging.