Complete modeling and parameter optimization for virtual ring rolling

Virtual manufacturing, usually consisting of complete modeling and optimization, of a manufacturing process has recently become one of the research trends in the area of process designing and selection. With the aim to realize complete modeling of a ring rolling process, a complex actuation mechanism model of a heavy radial-axial ring rolling machine has been established in this study. Moreover, a self-modified computer program for controlling the real-time movements of two guide rollers and two conical rollers in a ring rolling process has been developed. An optimization objective function has been proposed for saving the rolling time, in which the slip rate is regarded as the state variable. With this function, the virtual ring rolling process for producing a titanium alloy ring with a rectangular section has been successfully conducted using the finite element method. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental findings. Thus, the feasibility of the proposed method has been demonstrated. The computational result also reveals that the proposed optimization method can reduce the rolling time by about 28%. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.