E L S E V I E R Journal of Materials Processing Technology 54 (1995) 186-192

J~lrmlhff
Mat eri al s
Proces s i ng
Technol ogy
Shear spinning technol ogy for manufacture
tubes of small bore
Rajnish Prakash a'*, R.P. Singhal b
"Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, India
b National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, India
Received 1 April 1994
of l ong thin wall
Industrial s ummar y
Metal spinning is a process in which the deformation stresses are localized to a small region. The material is made to flow and move
over the rotating mandrel with the help of a spinning tool mounted on a saddle and moving along the profile of the mandrel. The
process has been in use for a long time to produce axi-symmetric shapes and tubular products with small L/D ratio. However, the
conventional process fails to produce long, thin-wall, small-bore tubes. The process has been modified to spin long, small-bore,
thin-tubes in hard-to-work materials such as CP titanium, Incoloy 825, Inconel 600 and Stainless steel AISI-304. The technology of
making tubes in the above materials has been developed. The effect of feed, roller profile, percentage reduction and lubricants used on
the surface finish and the power consumption when working with AISI-304 is reported. It is observed that the mechanical properties
of the product improve considerably, close dimensional tolerances are obtained on outside and inside diameters and the wall
thickness, and high reductions are possible without intermediate annealing. The new process is economically viable for producing
tubes in high-strength materials,-particularly when the volume of production is not high. The special features of the modified machine
are given also.
I . I n t r o d uc t i o n
The phi l os ophy of movi ng the met al r at her t han re-
movi ng it and si mul t aneousl y reduci ng t he f or mi ng
forces and t hus press capaci t y led the met al - wor ki ng
i ndust r y to localize t he def or mat i on zone t o a smal l
vol ume of the wor kpi ece, t her eby effecting savi ngs in
mat er i al s and ener gy for securi ng t he requi red final
shape.
Spi nni ng is one such process, in whi ch t he stresses are
l ocal i zed t o a smal l regi on and t he mat er i al is made to
flow and move over t he mandr el wi t h t he hel p of a spin-
ni ng t ool i.e. roller.
The process has been in use for a l ong t i me for pr odu-
ci ng coni cal and axy- symmet r i cal shapes and t ubul ar
pr oduct s wi t h a l arge di amet er - t o- l engt h r at i o [ 1- 5] . I n
t he case of cone spi nni ng t he axi al t hi ckness of t he pr od-
uct changes as per t he Sine law, whi ch states:
t = t os i n~, (1)
where t is the spun t hi ckness, to is t he t hi ckness of the
bl ank and a is the semi - cone angl e of t he mandr el . How-
* Cor r espondi ng aut hor.
ever, this law does not appl y in the case of t ubul ar
pr oduct s, as t he semi - cone angl e of the mandr el is zero,
and t he per cent age r educt i on in the wall t hi ckness bei ng
gi ven by
t o - - t
- - x 1 0 0 %. (2)
t o
2. Co n v e n t i o n a l t ube s pi nni ng
Two processes in the shear spi nni ng of t ubes are
recogni zed, these being: (i) the For wa r d or Dr awi ng
type; and (ii) the Backwar d or Ext r udi ng type;
of t ube spinning, bot h bei ng well descri bed, wi t h
f or war d spi nni ng usual l y bei ng preferred E6 10].
The mai n feat ures of the process are shown in Figs. l(a)
and (b).
However , this convent i onal t ube spi nni ng process is
not sui t abl e for the shear spi nni ng of l ong thin-wall,
smal l - bor e tubes, as t he mandr el in this case has to be
l ong and thin, and will t herefore t end to sag when hel d
bet ween the head- st ock and the t ai l -st ock. Due to sag-
ging it will not be possi bl e t o r ot at e t he wor kpi ece al on-
gwi t h t he mandr el , maki ng the convent i onal spi nni ng
process unwor kabl e.
0924-0136/95/$09.50 1995 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved
SSDI 0 9 2 4 - 0 1 3 6 ( 9 5 ) 0 1 9 4 0 - G
R. Prakash, R.P. Singhal / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 54 (1995) 186-192 187
(a)
r -
ER TRAVE
2
(b)
= 2
: ~. ' . . _ . 1 " ~
. . . ~
Fig. 1. Spinning of tubular products: (a) forward tube spinning;
(b) backward tube spinning (1, mandrel; 2, workpiece; 3, follower block;
4, antifriction centre; 5, forming rollers).
3. Modi fi ed shear spinning
To bring the long, thin-wall and small-bore tubings
within the capabi l i t y of the shear spinning process, the
existing process has been modified and a new machi ne
developed (courtesy UNDP) . This is capable of shear
spinning thin-wall (0. 75-1. 00mm), small-bore (25-
30 mm) tubes in long lengths (10 m) with high dimen-
sional tolerances. Since the mandrel hugs the workpiece
duri ng spinning, normal l y it cannot be removed from the
t ube manual l y. Therefore, a mandrel remover similar to
the low-power hydraulic draw-bench has been developed
also. The modified version of the machine has the following
basic features, and is shown in Figs. 2 and 3. (i) The tube
(12) with the mandrel (13) (composite) moves linearly and
the spinning tools, i.e. the rollers (4), rotate. (ii) The rollers
(4) are mount ed on a hydraulically actuated three-jaw
chuck (3) replacing its original three jaws. (iii) The work-
piece (12) is slid and clamped over the well-lubricated
mandrel (13). (iv) The machine is adequately instrumented
so that the various parameters can be recorded and opti-
mized. (v) Tubes in the size range of 15-32 mm outside
diameter, and of 0.75-1.00 mm wall thickness and 7000 mm
length can be produced on the machine. (vi) A three-roller
system instead of the usual two-roller system has been used
to ensure self-alignment of the assembly and good concen-
tricity in the spun product. (vii) A hydraulically actuated
6
Fig. 2. Schematic view of the shear spinning machine (1, gripper 3-jaw chuck; 2, slides; 3, hydraulic chuck; 4, spinning rollers; 5, ball screw;
6, ball screw nut; 7, rotating cylinder; 8, control panel; 9, instrument panel; 10, load cell; 11, cover guard (splash guard)).
188 R. Prakash, R.P. Singhal / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 54 (1995) 186-192
chuck (3) is used so t hat the rollers are cl osed on the
compos i t e (workpi ece) aft er the chuck has at t ai ned full
speed. Thi s reduces t he i nst ant pul l i ng l oad i.e. t he axial
force, at the st ar t and makes the spi nni ng oper at i on
smoot h.
3.1. Technical specifications of the machine
Size r ange OD
I D
Wal l t hi ckness WT :
Lengt h
Speed of t he chuck :
Pul l i ng speed (feed)
(80-200 r pm vari abl e)
Reverse speed
Chuck di amet er
Cl ampi ng force
Hydr aul i c power pack
Pressure
4 0 mm max. ( 1 5 mm to
32 mm)
12 mm min.
25.5 mm max.
10.5 mm
0.75 mm
10000 mm max.
1528 r pm max. (1500 r pm
nor mal )
508 r pm min.
750 mm per mi nut e max.
28 mm per 28 rain max.
(0.25-2 mm per revol ut i on)
5 m/ mi n fixed (200 r pm)
400 mm (16 in)
1000 kgf
4 0 HP , 1800r pm, mot or
sui t abl e for 440 V, 3 phase,
50 c/s AC suppl y
2.05 MPa (3000 psi) max.
1.5 MPa (2200 psi)
Reversi ng mot or
Lubr i cant mot or
Mandr el r emover
: 2 HP geared mot or sui t abl e
for 440 V, 3 phase, 50 c/s AC
suppl y
: 2 HP, 3000 r pm sui t abl e for
440V, 3 phase, 50c/ s AC
suppl y
: Dr i ven by the same hydr au-
lic power pack as mai n ma-
chine
A schemat i c view of t he machi ne is shown in Fig. 2, the
spi nni ng ar r angement is shown in Fig. 3 and the roller
assembl y wi t h feed screw is shown in Fig. 4.
4 . E x p e r i me n t a l s e t - u p
Wi t h the present set -up it is possi bl e to shear spin an
initial wall t hi ckness of 4 mm satisfactorily, the t ube
bei ng in the anneal ed condi t i on at the commencement of
the oper at i on. An ar ea r educt i on of 70 80% was pl an-
ned, testpieces at r educt i ons of about 40, 60 and 80%
bei ng cut and eval uat ed for mechani cal propert i es, sur-
face finish and act ual di mensi ons. The wor k was conduc-
ted on stainless steel AISI-304 using different l ubri cant s,
the l at t er bei ng used so as to be abl e to opt i mi ze the
l ubr i cant wi t h respect to the surface finish and power
consumpt i on.
C-
C h u c k r o t a f e $ a b o u t
i t s axi s- Z
I I - - I'/ / 15 .~ "-L,.~--)---~.
II ROLLE
) -
"D)
Fig. 3. Tube-spinning arrangement (1, gripper chuck; 4, roller; 10, load cell; 12, workpiece; 13, mandrel; 14, key; 15, clamping ring).
R. Prakash, R.P. Singhal / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 54 (1995) 186-192 189
4.
[ - - '
/ ( ~ 4.1. Set-up for spinning
/ @ (i) Preform
(t ; i
ii q
',I ~ [',
~ J / / / / " ~ (ii) Peripheral speed
of rollers
] i I ; ' , , , , ' - ~5 2 f f (iii) Feed (Pulling speed)
L_.'-- (iv) Lubricant
I
Fig. 4. Roller assembly with the feed screw. (2, fixed slide; 2a, moveable
slide; 4, roller with brg; 12, workpiece; 13, screw for feed).
(vi) Mandrel
Length
Inside diameter
Wall thickness
Surface finish
Concentricity
Mandrel
Tube
Material
Hardness
Diameter
Number
Diameter
Length
Hardness
Surface finish
800 mm
18 mm
4 mm
as machi ned (3 to
5 gin)
within 0.2 mm
130 m/min.
750 mm/min, max.
"Never seize"
(commercial name)
Silicon grease with
graphite powder
admixed 10% soluble
oil in water
AISI D2
58 Rc
80 mm
three at 120 interval
17.8 mm
10000 mm
55 Rc (by cold working)
0.5 gm
The following lubricants, in addi t i on to the "Never
seize" on the mandrel and the 10% soluble oil on rollers,
were identified.
(1) Lubkot e (propri et ary item, graphite powder in
mineral oil).
Table 1
Lubricant: Lubkot e (graphite admixed with mineral oil) (1 kgf/mm 2 = 0.1 MPa)
Reduction Hardness UTS 0.2% Elongation Surface
(%) (mVPN) (kgf/mm 2) proof stress (%) finish
(kgf/mm 2) (gin)
Dimensions
(mm)
60 413 120.6 not recorded 12.3 0.8 OD 20.90
(42Rc) ID 17.78
75 440 138.9 9.4 0.6 OD 19.82
(44.5Rc) ID 17.85
90 460 64.0 4.3 0.6 OD 18.63
(46Rc) I D 17.93
Table 2
Lubricant: Gr aphi t e powder" in castor oil (1 kgf/mm 2 = 0.1 MPa)
Reduction Hardness UTS 0.2% Elongation Surface
(%) (mVPN) (kgf/mm 2) proof stress (%) finish
(kgf/mm e) (gm)
Dimensions
(mm)
44 378.4 113.6 102.0 12 0.65
(38.5Rc)
50 395.2 118.4 104.6 12 0.80
(40.5Rc)
60 407 121.3 105.0 12 0.65
(41.5Rc)
70 438 132.9 110.0 11 0.80
(44.5Rc)
80 452 143.8 119.8 10 0.65
(45Rc)
OD 22.00
ID 18.10
OD 21.55
ID 18.12
OD 21.04
ID 18.14
OD 20.33
ID 18.22
OD 19.50
ID 18.30
190 R. Prakash, R.P. Singhal / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 54 (1995) 186-192
(2) Gr aphi t e po wde r (325 mes h) cas t or oi l admi xe d t o
prepare a mi xt ure i n t he form of a paste.
(3) Oxal at e c o a t i ng achi eved by a chemi cal react i on at
90 100C wi t h k n o wn chemi cal s ( bo ug ht from M/ s
Pyr e ne Rai , Bo mba y ) ha v i ng l ubri ci t y.
( 4 ) M o S 2 po wde r (325 ) admi xe d i n c as t or oi l t o pre-
pare a mi xt ure i n t he form of a paste.
(5) Co ppe r c o a t i ng by t he e l e c t r o- de pos i t i on me t hod.
The resul ts are gi ven i n Tabl es 1- 5 . The mi c r ohar dne s s
readi ngs were t aken at 1 0 0 g m l oad and t he surface
fi ni shes are all speci fi ed as 'Ra' val ues, t he surface r ough-
ness be i ng meas ured o n pi eces cut from s pun s ampl es
wi t h different r e duc t i ons us i ng 2 Pert homet er, a s t yl us -
t ype o f s urface- roughnes s me as ur i ng i ns t rument . The i n-
si de di amet er was me as ur e d wi t h a t hree- anvi l i nt rami k
( i nsi de mi cromet er) , l east c o un t o f 0.01 mm, and t he out -
si de di amet er was meas ured wi t h ext ernal mi cromet er,
al s o of l east c o un t of 0.01 mm. The di amet ers were meas -
ured at bot h ends and t he average di amet er pres ent ed
i ndi cat ed i n t he results.
5 . Obs ervat i ons
Based on t he o bs e r v a t i o ns it can be sai d t hat t he
mi c r ohar dne s s doe s n o t c ha ng e appreci abl y after a re-
duc t i o n of a bo ut 60%. Wi t h t he use o f different l ubri -
cant s t he surface fi ni sh o n O D of t he t ube i mpr ove d but
di d no t s h o w a ny real l y si gni fi cant c hange , remai ni ng
be t we e n 0. 5 and 0. 8 lam ( Ra val ues). It is c o nc l ude d there-
fore, t hat a l ubri cant is desi rabl e t o carry away t he heat
generat ed dur i ng s pi nni ng and t o i mpr ove t he surface
Ta bl e 3
Lubri cant : Ox a l a t e c o a t i ng (1 kg f / mm 2 = 0.1 M Pa)
Re duc t i o n Ha r dne s s UTS 0. 2%
(%) ( mVPN) ( kgf /mm 2) pr o o f s t res s
( kgf /mm 2)
El o ng a t i o n Surface Di me n s i o n s
{%) finish (mm)
(p.m)
49 373 116.0 105.8 12.5 0.65 OD 21.72
(38.5Rc) 1D 18.15
68 401 127.2 109.4 12.0 0.60 OD 20.44
(41Rc) I D 18.16
83 432 136.7 116.0 11.0 0.50 OD 19.35
(43.5Rc) ID 18.30
Ta bl e 4
Lubri cant : Mo S 2 a dmi x e d wi t h c as t or oi l (50:50) (1 kgf / mm 2 = 0.1 MPa)
Re duc t i on Ha r dne s s UTS 0. 2% El o ng a t i o n Surface
(%) ( mVPN) ( kgf /mm z) pr o o f s t res s (%) fi ni sh
( kgf /mm 2) (pm)
40 356 110.6 97.0 13 0.75 OD
(36.5Rc) ID
50 378.3 113.0 97.8 12 0.65 OD
(38.5Rc) ID
61 408.0 122.4 98.7 12 0.70 OD
(41.5Rc) ID
73 438.0 133.3 100.9 Sampl e 0.75 OD
(44.5 Rc) t ear ed ID
Di me n s i o n s
(mm)
22.30
18.10
21.67
18.16
20.90
18.16
20.06
18.25
Ta bl e 5
Lubri cant : Co ppe r c o a t i ng ~ ( t hi c kne s s 0.01 mm) (1 kg f / mm 2 = 0.1 MPa)
Re duc t i o n Ha r dne s s UTS 0. 2% El o ng a t i o n Surface
(%) ( mVPN) ( kgf /mm z) pr o o f s t res s (%) fi ni sh
( kgf /mm z) (p.m)
53 378.4 108.9 95.0 12 0.85
(38.5Rc)
68 425.6 123.2 107.0 Co ul d not 0.95
( 4 2. 5 Rc) be me a s ur e d
81 438.0 137.5 116.9 11 0.95
(44.5Rc)
OD
ID
OD
I D
OD
I D
Di me n s i o n s
(mm)
21.41
18.12
20.37
18.15
19. 4 2
18.36
R. Prakash, R.P. Singhal / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 54 (1995) 186-192 191
finish. Di fferent l ubri cant s do not show any change in t he
results and so any good grease can be used as l ubri cant
on t he out si de di amet er of t he tube. Ten percent soluble
oil is adequat e on t he rollers t o cool t hem dur i ng the
process.
The surface finish is of the or der of 0.95 gm, whi ch
is commer ci al l y accept abl e and can be obt ai ned easily.
The concent r i ci t y was f ound t o be 8% of t he wall thick-
ness of t he spun tube. The out si de di amet er can be
cont r ol l ed t o within 0.05 t o 0.08 mm with t he help of
t he mi cr omet er screws used for dri vi ng t he rollers. The
pr eci si on- gr ound mandr el ensures t hat t he inside dia-
met er can be mai nt ai ned within t he limits of commer ci al
t ol erances.
The mechani cal pr oper t i es were i mpr oved consi der-
ably, as expected. The tensile st rengt h of t he stainless
steel AISI-304 i ncreased from 65 kgf/mm 2 t o about
145kgf / mm 2 at about 80% r educt i on and the
yield st rengt h (0.2% pr oof stress) form 44kgf / mm 2
to about 135kgf / mm 2. The duct i l i t y decreased t o
bel ow 10%.
A maxi mum r educt i on of 80% may be pl anned
safely and may be achi eved wi t hout i nt ermedi at e anneal -
ing. An 83% reduct i on sampl e of stainless steel
devel oped cracks in one of t he experi ment s. If the
finished size of t he t ube can not be achi eved with up t o
80% reduct i on, t he t ube shoul d be r emoved f r om t he
mandr el and anneal ed before cont i nui ng with the process
further.
The speed, t he feed and t he rol l er profile are ot her
fact ors which, apar t f r om affecting the surface finish on
t he spun tube, affect t he pr oduct i on capabi l i t y of the
machi ne. The maxi mum speeds are not critical in the
shear spi nni ng process, but feed has a mar ked effect on
t he surface finish of t he spun tube. If t he feed rat e is
i ncreased the surface finish becomes coarser. Therefore,
a compr omi se has t o be established bet ween t he feed, the
speed and t he roller profiles keepi ng the pr oduct i on
capabi l i t y, the surface finish on the spun pr oduct and t he
pr oduct mi x in view.
The t echnol ogy is economi cal l y viable, especially when
t he vol ume of pr oduct i on is low, because of the flow cost
of equi pment as agai nst t he cost of convent i onal t ube-
maki ng processes, viz. hot ext rusi on or piercing fol l owed
by drawi ng or pilgering, which are highly capi t al inten-
sive. Fur t her t he yield of t he finished pr oduct in the case
of t he convent i onal processes especially whilst wor ki ng
with har d- t o- wor k materials, is very low, resulting in
hi gher cost of conversi on. Thi s is subst ant i at ed f ur t her
due to: (i) t he r educt i on per pass in the case of spi nni ng
bei ng as high as 40% agai nst a r educt i on of 10- 15% in
convent i onal processes, (ii) the maxi mum r educt i on be-
fore i nt er medi at e anneal i ng bei ng about 80% agai nst
4 0 - 5 0 % in t he convent i onal process, resulting in an
hi gher di scard of t ube at t he l eadi ng end due to successive
poi nt i ng; and (iii) the number of drawi ng passes to ob-
tain final di mensi ons bei ng great er in t he case of conven-
t i onal processes t han in spi nni ng resulting in hi gher costs
of t he convert i on.
6. Conclusions
Wi t h t he foregoi ng discussion of t he results, it is con-
cl uded t hat t he t echnol ogy of manuf act ur i ng seamless,
long, thin-wall t ubes has been devel oped for specific
usage. The mai n feat ure of t he t echnol ogy are as follows.
(1) The mechani cal propert i es of the shear spun t ube
i mpr ove consi derabl y.
(2) A t ot al r educt i on of 80% can be achi eved wi t hout
i nt ermedi at e annealing. The r educt i on is, however, ach-
ieved in several passes.
(3) Cool ant and l ubri cant s are necessary for i mpr ov-
ing t he finish, and to car r y away t he heat generat ed
duri ng the process. Di fferent l ubri cant s do not have sig-
nificant effects on t he power consumpt i on, t hus any
good- qual i t y grease can be used in addi t i on t o t he cool-
ant.
(4) The di mensi onal t ol erances bot h on t he out si de
and t he inside di amet er of the spun t ube are bet t er t han
t hose achi eved by any ot her t ube- maki ng process, and
t he concent ri ci t y is within commer ci al l y- accept abl e
limits.
Acknowledgements
The second aut hor is grateful t o the Di rect or, NPL, for
permi ssi on t o present this paper. He is grateful t o the late
Dr. B.K. Aggarwala, Ex- deput y Di rect or, NPL, New
Del hi for his guidance. He woul d also like t o place on
r ecor d t he help r ender ed by several colleagues wor ki ng in
the wor kshop, design office and met al formi ng sections of
NPL. The aut hor s are t hankful to UNDP for pr ovi di ng
the spi nni ng machi ne for NPL, wi t hout which this wor k
woul d not have been possible.
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