A STUDY ON NON-MANDREL DRAWING PROCESS OF A RECTANGULAR TUBE FROM CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTION

摘要

Non-mandrel drawing process is available for producing aluminum tube with rectangular cross-section. The corresponding dynamics and finite element models were developed based on FEM software during the investigation. The influence curve of different semi-die angle on drawing load was achieved, and a proper value a{sub}2 = 11° was found. When tube blank instability occurred during drawing, the stress along the section profile increased substantially. Thus the drawing die sizing section got optimized with β = 178° to prevent blank instability. Then the touch-stress distribution of three key points was evaluated for selecting proper lubricant. Finally, the tube drawing experiments were performed to verify the effectiveness of the appropriate die.