Draft:Flowforming
Submission declined on 24 October 2025 by Carolina2k22 (talk).
Where to get help
How to improve a draft
You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Editor resources
|  |
| Submission declined on 20 August 2025 by Haj (talk). The content of this submission includes material that does not meet Wikipedia's minimum standard for inline citations. Please cite your sources using footnotes. For instructions on how to do this, please see Referencing for beginners. Thank you. Declined by Haj 2 months ago. | |
| Submission declined on 23 July 2025 by Theroadislong (talk). This draft's references do not show that the subject qualifies for a Wikipedia article. In summary, the draft needs multiple published sources that are: Declined by Theroadislong 3 months ago.
| |
| Submission declined on 15 July 2025 by RangersRus (talk). This submission is not adequately supported by reliable sources. Reliable sources are required so that information can be verified. If you need help with referencing, please see Referencing for beginners and Citing sources. Declined by RangersRus 3 months ago. | |
| Submission declined on 9 June 2025 by S0091 (talk). Your draft shows signs of having been generated by a large language model, such as ChatGPT. Their outputs usually have multiple issues that prevent them from meeting our guidelines on writing articles. These include: Declined by S0091 4 months ago.
| |
Comment: No inline citations, which are required for articles. Please see referencing for beginners. More formatting which meets the manual of style (appropriate headers, etc.) will be needed. Haj (talk) 23:15, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
Flow forming (also written flow-forming or flow turning) is a cold, rotary metal forming process used to manufacture thin-walled, high-strength axisymmetric components such as tubes, liners, pressure vessels, and wheel rims. During forming, one or more rollers locally deform a rotating preform over a mandrel, reducing wall thickness and elongating the part while reproducing the mandrel profile. The process is related to metal spinning and shear forming but is distinguished by substantial axial material flow and controlled wall-thickness reduction.[1][2][3]
History
[edit]Modern flow forming matured in the mid-to-late twentieth century as spinning technologies and dedicated machine tools evolved; adoption accelerated with CNC control and improved process modeling. Industrial applications in aerospace and defense (e.g., rocket motor cases and liners) were established by the latter half of the twentieth century. [2] [4][3]
Process
[edit]Flow forming typically starts with a thick-walled tube or cup-shaped preform mounted on a rotating mandrel. Rollers traverse axially while applying radial pressure, forcing plastic flow along the mandrel and producing near‑net‑shape parts with tight dimensional tolerances. Key variables—including reduction per pass, roller geometry, rotational speed, feed rate, and lubrication—govern thickness, elongation, residual stress, and surface finish. [1][3]
Variants
[edit]Commonly cited variants include:
- Forward flow forming: material flows in the direction of roller travel.
- Reverse (backward) flow forming: material flows opposite to roller travel.
- Shear forming (closely related): primarily reduces wall thickness while maintaining or only slightly changing the starting diameter.[2][1]
Applications
[edit]Flow forming is used in aerospace and defense for cases and liners of rocket motors, pressure vessels, and engine components, where high specific strength and tight tolerances are required; and in the automotive sector for wheel rims and other lightweight structures.[3][5][6]
Advantages and limitations
[edit]Reported advantages include:
- Improved mechanical properties from cold work and favorable grain flow.
- Reduced weight via controlled thinning.
- High dimensional accuracy and repeatability.
- Lower material waste compared with machining or forging.
Limitations include:
- Best suited to axisymmetric geometries.
Relation to metal spinning
[edit]Trade literature and technical reviews distinguish flow forming from conventional metal spinning: spinning generally maintains wall thickness while forming sheet over a mandrel, whereas flow forming reduces wall thickness and induces substantial axial flow, often using dedicated equipment.[2][8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Ray, G. (2005). "Flow Forming". Metalworking: Bulk Forming. pp. 516–521. doi:10.31399/asm.hb.v14a.a0004014. ISBN 978-1-62708-185-6.
- ^ a b c d Wong, C.C. (2003). "A review of spinning, shear forming and flow forming processes". International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 43, No. 14 (2003). 43 (14).
- ^ a b c d e Podder, B (2018). "Flow forming of thin-walled precision shells" (PDF).
- ^ Marini, Daniele; Cunningham, David; Corney, Jonathan (2015-07-10). "A Review of Flow Forming Processes and Mechanisms". Key Engineering Materials. 651–653: 750–758. doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.651-653.750. ISSN 1662-9795.
- ^ Hwang, S.Y.K. (2015). "Numerical Investigation of the Effect of Process Parameters on Flow-Formed Aluminium Wheels". International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing. 16 (10): 2153–2161.
- ^ Altmann, Peter; Herrmann, Stefan; Heinle, Konstantin; Ross, Frederick; Maihöfer, Martin; Waeschle, Alexander; Jehle-Graf, Erich; Schwarz, Volker (2022-03-29). Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Rim Aerodynamics (Report). Warrendale, PA: SAE Technical Paper.
- ^ Hosford, W.F. (207). "Metal Forming: Mechanics and Metallurgy". Metal Forming: Mechanics and Metallurgy. 3rd ed. Cambridge University Press. pp. 230–233.
- ^ "Metal spinning 101". 2009.
- in-depth (not just passing mentions about the subject)
- reliable
- secondary
- independent of the subject
Make sure you add references that meet these criteria before resubmitting. Learn about mistakes to avoid when addressing this issue. If no additional references exist, the subject is not suitable for Wikipedia.