Experimental study on out of roundness of flow-formed AISI 321 steel tube by design of experiment

Flow forming of cylindrical tubes is an effective process for manufacturing thin-walled seamless tubes. In this study the out of roundness (OOR) of a flow-formed AISI 321 steel tubing pre-form was investigated for various levels of process parameters experimentally. Taguchi method was employed to plan of experiments. The parameters considered are the feed rate (mm/min), the depth of cut (mm) and the roller attack angle. The effects and contributions of these parameters on the out of roundness as response have been analyzed. It has been found that the depth of cut is the most important process parameter affecting out of roundness. The out of roundness was found to increase with increase in the depth of cut and roller attack angle.