Splined shafts are extensively used in the automobile industry for coupling and transmitting torque with or without slippage.
Forming of external splines on hollow shafts (especially thin wall shafts) presents special problems. In cases where the friction and forming forces are too great, hollow shafts are distorted due to excessive forming pressure load.
To enable teeth to be formed reliably in such cases, the actual axial and radial forces need to be reduced during the forming process. Depending on the spline profile, involute, basic rack or straight-sided, Axial Forming with Frequency Modulation reduces the axial forming forces by up to 50% compared to the same process without Frequency Modulation. This unique characteristic makes the forming of splines on thin wall hollow shafts possible without distortion. It is consequently implemented in areas where using a thin wall blank results in manufacturing and material cost savings as well as in weight reduction.
Following to the description of the functional concept, advantages and principal working method of the Axial Forming Process with Frequency Modulation, the paper will describe different manufacturing application. The paper will also present test results conducted to compare the axial forces with and without Frequency Modulation.