Abstract
The paper presents a numerical analysis of a skew rolling process for producing axle shafts for a motor truck. In this process, three forming tools (disc or conical rolls) located every 120° on the circumference of the workpiece are set askew relative to the axis of the workpiece and they are rotated in the same direction at identical speed. The rollers can converge or diverge (relative to the axis of the workpiece) depending on the applied cross sectional reduction of a shaft step. In addition, the spacing of the rolls is synchronized with axial displacement of the workpiece-holding chuck. An advantage of this process is its universality, because the same rolls can be used to form different products depending on the motion of the rolls and chuck. Based on the numerical results, we compared two skew rolling techniques, each using differently shaped tools. The results of effective strain, temperature, damage function as well as loads and torques demonstrate that skew rolling is an effective method for producing elongated parts such as stepped axles and shafts.