Thickness Increasing Characteristics of Steel Pipe during Die Forming

Relationships among the forming conditions (such as shapes of dies, lubrication conditions, and slide motion of the press machine) and the thickening ratio (thickness after forming / thickness before forming) has been clarified in uniaxial press forming by experiments and a three dimensional finite element simulation. Steel pipes with 39.0mm and 7.6mm thickness were used in the experiment. The relationship between thickening ratio and the forming load that depends on the die shape, lubrication, and slide motion of the press machine was investigated. It has also been found that an eight percent increase of the wall thickness of the pipes could be possible without buckling. It has been clarified that thickening ratio during die forming could be predictable by using a finite element simulation.