Effect of friction on combined radial and axial ring rolling process

Combined radial and axial ring rolling is a complicated incremental metal forming process used to manufacture the thin-walled cylindrical rings. During the process, the friction is a critical factor because it has a significant effect on the deformation characteristics of the process. This paper is aimed to reveal the effect of the friction coefficient on the combined radial and axial ring rolling process. For this purpose, a 3D elastic–plastic FE model of the process is first established and its validity is verified by the experiment. Based on this reliable 3D FE model, the effect of the friction coefficient on the geometry development, inhomogeneous deformation of the ring and the power parameters is then investigated numerically.