Numerical analysis of spiral roller of chain-die former

Chain-die Forming is a novel sheet metal forming technology developed recently. It effectively minimizes the redundant deformation during forming in order to reduce residual stresses to very small values even to zero in product, which is impossible to be achieved through conventional roll forming. Better quality of products therefore can be expected with the development of this new technology. This article is to use FEM to analyze the stresses developed in the spiral roller which is one of the key elements in a Chain-die former. In order to optimize the design of Chain-die former, the results of equivalent stress have been collected and analyzed to understand the capability of the spiral roller. Maximum working load as an important index therefore can be determined. The comparison between spiral roller and simple hollow roller is also discussed.