A notch-induced high-speed splitting method was developed for high-quality cropping of metal bars using a new type of electric-pneumatic counter hammer. Theoretical equations and FE models were established to reveal the crack initiation and fracture mode. Comparative tests were conducted for notched and unnotched bars of four types of steels, i.e., AISI 1020, 1045, 52100, and 304, and the section quality and microfracture mechanism were further investigated. The results show that damage initiates at the bilateral notch tips with peak equivalent plastic strain, and propagates through the plane induced by the notch tip; the stress triaxiality varies as a quasi-sine curve, revealing that the material is subjected to pure shearing at the notch tip, and under compression at the adjacent region. High precision chamfered billets were obtained with roundness errors of 1.1–2.8%, bending deflections of 0.5–1.5mm, and angles of inclination of 0.7°–3.4°. Additionally, the notch effectively reduced the maximum impact force by 21.6–23.9%, splitting displacement by 7.6–18.6%, and impact energy by 27.8–39.1%. The crack initiation zone displayed quasi-parabolic shallow dimples due to shear stress, and the pinning effect was larger in AISI 52100 and 1045 steel; the final rupture zone was characterized by less elongated and quasi-equiaxial deeper dimples due to the combination of shear and normal stress.

In the forming process of long threads by axial self-infeed rolling process, the protrusion generates on the top of the tooth profile, which affects the strength and precision of the formed threads. In this article, the principle of the axial self-infeed rolling process was described, and the finite element model was established to simulate the forming process of threads. The formation mechanism of protrusion was analyzed through material flow, which was verified by experiments. The pre-rolling angle and material’s influence on the protrusion size was also investigated. The results showed that the axial motion of the rollers squeezed one flank of the tooth, leading to higher protrusion on the face side as compared to the other side. During the rolling process, the height of the protrusion increased first and then decreased, reaching the maximum value when the height of the formed tooth was 73% of the whole tooth. In order to reduce the protrusion height, the pre-rolling angle should be 2°.

The axial self-infeed rolling process is an advanced and efficient process to form long threads such as lead screw and thread shaft. The experiments of axial self-infeed rolling process for the stainless steel were conducted with three blank diameters, forming speeds and two lubrication conditions. The effects of forming speed, blank diameter and lubrication condition on forming torque, microhardness and tooth height of forming threads were analyzed by the design of experiment and analysis of variance. And the characteristics of forming torque, microhardness distribution and tooth height were investigated. The results revealed the forming torque was more influenced by the blank diameter and the forming speed than the lubrication condition. The tooth height was sensitive to all these factors and the microhardness only was affected by the blank diameter.

Compared with the conventional single-roller spinning process, the double-roller clamping spinning(DRCS) process can effectively prevent the sheet metal surface wrinkling and improve the the production efficiency and the shape precision of final spun part. Based on ABAQUS/Explicit nonlinear finite element software, the finite element model of the multi-pass DRCS for the sheet metal is established, and the material model, the contact definition, the mesh generation, the loading trajectory and other key technical problems are solved. The simulations on the multi-pass DRCS of the ordinary Q235A steel cylindrical part with the arc-shaped surface flange are carried out. The effects of number of spinning passes on the production efficiency, the spinning moment, the shape error of the workpiece, and the wall thickness distribution of the final part are obtained. It is indicated definitely that with the increase of the number of spinning passes the geometrical precision of the spun part increases while the production efficiency reduces. Moreover, the variations of the spinning forces and the distributions of the stresses, strains, wall thickness during the multi-pass DRCS process are revealed. It is indicated that during the DRCS process the radical force is the largest, and the whole deformation area shows the tangential tensile strain and the radial compressive strain, while the thickness strain changes along the generatrix directions from the compressive strain on the outer edge of the flange to the tensile strain on the inner edge of the flange. Based on the G-CNC6135 NC lathe, the three-axis linkage computer-controlled experimental device for DRCS which is driven by the AC servo motor is developed. And then using the experimental device, the Q235A cylindrical parts with the arc-shape surface flange are formed by the DRCS. The simulation results of spun parts have good consistency with the experimental results, which verifies the feasibility of DRCS process and the reliability of the finite element model for DRCS.

The 7075 aluminum alloy semi-solid billet is prepared using the extrusion alloy semi-solid isothermal treatment (EASSIT) process. These findings indicate that as the isothermal time increases, there is a noticeable increase in both the average grain size (AGS) and shape factor (SF). The relationship between the AGS, SF, and isothermal temperature is complex due to the influence of grain refinement mechanisms. The HV0.2 of isothermal samples decreased with the increase in isothermal temperature, which may be related to the increase in liquid-phase composition and AGS; Cu and Si show obvious segregation at grain boundaries and within intracrystalline droplets. The segregation of Cu and Si in the initially melted solid grains leads to the creation of intracrystalline droplets. The diffraction peaks of Al₇Cu₂Fe, Al₆(Cu, Fe), Al₂CuMg, and MgZn₂ gradually decrease as the isothermal temperature increases. Due to the influence of the grain refinement mechanism and melting mechanism, the coarsening behavior of grains at high isothermal temperatures is more complicated, and the coarsening rate constant shows an increment followed by a subsequent decrease as the isothermal temperature rises. The coarsening kinetics of 7075 aluminum alloy in a semi-solid state can be described using the LSW equation of n = 3.