GB1380691A - Taper-rolling of metal - Google Patents

Abstract

1380691 Taper rolling HILLE ENG CO Ltd 15 Sept 1972 [24 Sept 1971] 44745/71 Heading B3M A method for taper rolling a blank 18, Fig. 1, (which may be formed into a tapered leaf spring) involves drawing the blank between a pair of rolls 14 and 16 in several passes, the width of the blank being reduced by a pair of auxiliary rolls before the final pass such that blank is rolled to its desired width during the final pass. The blank is supported by a drawbar 12 and is rolled as it is withdrawn from a position between the rolls. A template 22 is connected to the drawbar and controls the position of the lower roll 16 in dependence in the linear position of the blank. The roll may be positioned by a wedge actuator 34 controlled by a feed-back system, the system incorporating a follower 28 coupled to a transducer 26 and mounted on a support 26 which moves with the roll. The drawbar may be operated by an hydraulic ram, may incorporate hydraulically operated clamping jaws (Fig. 6, not shown) for the blank, and may be laterally movable (Fig. 5, not shown) relative to the rolls. The auxiliary rolls 84 (Fig. 8) are located between the drawbar and main rolls, and are carried on pivoted arms 86, a ram-operated pivoted wedge 104 determining the spacing of the rolls 84. The rolls can alternatively be arranged horizontally with their axes parallel to those of the main rolls, the blank then being turned through 90 degrees before the rolling. The rolls may be mounted in slidable brackets, and may be adjusted during rolling to compensate for changes in the thickness of the tapered blank. The drawbar and wedge actuator 34 may be operated electric motors rather than hydraulic rams, and the template may be of metal or plastics material.