Research on Transition Zones of Spherical Surface Parts in 3D Rolling Process

3D rolling is a novel technology for three-dimensional surface parts. In this process, by controlling the gap between the upper and lower forming rolls, the sheet metal is non-uniformly thinned in thickness direction, and the longitudinal elongation of the sheet metal is different along the transverse direction, which makes the sheet metal generate three-dimensional deformation. In this paper, the transition zones of spherical surface parts in 3D rolling process are investigated. Spherical surface parts with the same widths but different lengths are simulated in condition of the same roll gap, and their experimental results are presented. The forming precision of forming parts and the causes of transition zones in the head and tail regions are analyzed through simulated results. The simulated and experimental results show that the lengths of transition zones of spherical surfaces in the head and tail regions are fixed values in condition of the same sheet width and roll gap.