Production planning for optimal mass pre-distribution for axial feed cross rolling

At present, the process selection, the selection of tools and tool materials are key functions for the economic efficiency of manufacturing lines. The continuous improvements in production technology, including the related machine and tooling technology, have made it possible to increase both economic efficiency and resource efficiency in production. As a result of the market demand for a high variety of products and the constant change in the demand structure, the requested volume of individual product types is reduced - the trend towards small-series production is constantly increasing. In hot bulk forming processes, it is usually not possible to produce the workpiece in just one forming step. As an alternative to the well-known machining processes for optimized preforms, the axial feed cross rolling process was developed from wedge cross rolling. Due to the all-purpose tools, the use of this process is already economical for very small batch sizes. In order to achieve optimum results with regard to optimized mass pre-distribution, the process parameters during rolling must be kept within close limits. If this is the case, axial feed cross rolling allows additional material savings of between 12% and 15% compared to other preforming processes. In order to achieve best results, the preform operation is designed by using FE simulation axial feed cross rolling.