ROLLING OF U-SHAPED AND H-SHAPED WIRES BY THE SATELLITE MILL

The round circular wires are mainly nei-shaped into various profiled w ins by rolling or drawing, to be further worked for electronic parts, springs, piston rings and rails. These processes require a large numbe r of mill stands, roll passes or dies. Authors have developed a new ty pe of compact continuous mill named the satellite mill. In this satell ite mill rolling, longitudinal compressive stress significantly decrea ses the ejongation and promotes transverse metal flow. This elongation -constrained effect of the satellite mill was confirmed in the previou s study for rolling of flat and T-shaped profiled wires using open pas ses. In this study, the satellite mill with closed passes is applied t o production of U-shaped and H-shaped profiled wires. The obtained rol ling characteristics and hardness are compared with those by a convent ional railing method. It is shown that the satellite-mill rolling is a ble to form much higher ribs in products than a conventional rolling m ethod and has advantage in the ability to fill the metal into the roll grooves. The elongation constrained effect is more enhanced in using closed passes than open passes. This type of mill is considered to be suitable for production of profiled wires with complex cross sections.