Analytical Solution for Tube Spinning Process of Metallic Cone: The Ideal Work and Upper Bound Method

The tube spinning process is one of the forming processes to fabricate conical seamless tubes. This process is done warm or cold, with or without mandrel. In this article, the possibility of forming of an Al-6061 conical tube by hot die-less spinning process has been investigated. An estimation of tangential force and required power can be obtained by analytical methods. So, the ideal work and upper bound methods have been utilized to derive equations for calculation of tangential force and required power of forming. An identical result was acquired for the two methods. The proposed equations can be used in design stage of the process. Furthermore, final thickness and initial length of the tube have been calculated by using of geometrical relations and constant volume law. The proposed formulation has been compared by experimental results. The final thickness and initial length of the tube are in good agreement with experimental results. An error of 0.5% and 5.5% were observed for final thickness and initial length, respectively. The obtained equation for the final thickness is a cosine function of the conical angle. Hence, it predicts higher final thickness in comparison with the sheet spinning process.