Felss Rotary Swaging Machine

Rotary Swaging

Rotary swaging is a special kind of cold metal forming, which can be described as a high-speed multi-hammer process. The hammering process is especially applicable for the forming of hollow, thin-walled, and lightweight external and internal geometric parts with high strength arising from the work hardening of the part material. The inner geometry is obtained by inserting and positioning internal mandrills during the swaging process. When several tool segments strike the workpiece simultaneously with a speed of more than 1000 strokes per minute, the material starts to flow and is formed with a high level of precision. Rotary swaging is designed as a cost-efficient alternative to traditional metal forging and machining operations.

Two types of rotary swaging exist, namely in-feed swaging and recess swaging. High-precision swaging is achievable with the method of recess swaging with a mean value up to Ra 0,1 µm in surface roughness. For in-feed swaging, the surface roughness would be in the range of Ra 1,0 µm. Felss is offering rotary swaging machines with standard sizes covering a part range of Ø0,4 – Ø120 mm for hollow components, and Ø0,4 – Ø65 mm for solid (bar/wire) components.

The technology of rotary swaging offers a broader range of possibilities than most other cold forming processes because of the wide range of forms and different degrees of deformation. Rotary swaging is in particular used in the automotive industry for mass production of a broad variety of parts. Examples of such parts are steering upper and lower shafts, steering input shafts, drivetrain side- and intermediate shafts, transmission main-, input- and output shafts. The technology is also widely used in other industrial applications.

The swaging units are offered as stand-alone machines or as units for integration into a production line / cell, or the complete transfer line itself.