A novel process for the production of tapered roller bearing rings via cold rolling forming

In modern industries, tapered roller bearings are critical heavy-duty rolling bearings, and their production efficiency and performance are directly related to the reliability of mechanical equipment. This study introduces a novel cold rolling process for the manufacture of tapered roller bearing rings featuring asymmetrical cross-sections. Compared to traditional processes, the cold rolling process extends the life of a bearing to over 8000 h, increases material utilization to 90%, and eliminates the need for metal heating, thus offering significant advantages in enhancing the life of a bearing, improving material utilization, and reducing energy consumption. Through process design and mechanical model analysis, the process flow and mold dimensions are determined, and the forming process is simulated using finite element analysis to deeply explore the impact of the process parameters on the forming quality. The results indicate that a stepped deceleration mandrel feed pattern can be used to effectively manage the roundness and taper errors. As the initial feed speed of the mandrel increases, the roundness error increases and the taper error decreases. When the driving roller speed increases, the roundness error decreases and the taper error increases. Microstructural analysis after cold rolling reveals material grain refinement and continuous metal streamlines, thereby enhancing the fatigue resistance and service life of the bearing rings. This study provides a new efficient, material-saving, and energy-saving manufacturing method for the production of tapered roller bearing rings, which may play a significant role in promoting the technological level of the bearing industry.