Flange Forming

By radial and axial feed to a tubular part, a flange is formed and thickened in one overflow. This occurs through a controlled volume displacement with thickening and an increase in diameter. The flange forming process has been specially developed for the production of one-piece rotor shafts with balancing ring or flange.

Flange forming in detail

The tubular blank is inductively preheated outside the machine to approx. 800-900 °C, depending on the material, and fed into the machine by an automatic loader or robot. The blank is then picked up in a clamping chuck of the machine, clamped and set in rotation. The forming is then carried out simultaneously by two opposing spinning rollers. The forming takes place by feeding the spinning rollers in axial and radial direction. The thickening and diameter increase of the material is achieved by the axial feed. The diameter growth is limited by a stop edge in the forming roller, so that the material is further thickened by the compressive forces that act afterwards. Depending on the material, this process can also be carried out cold.

Advantages of flange forming

Flange forming enables optimum utilisation of the material input through partial diameter enlargement. Low material usage, short forming times, low post-processing effort, high process reliability and consistent quality lead to cost-effective production.