The distribution of effective strain (PEEQ) at different time during
the cold rotary forging process is illustrated in Fig. 20. As described
above, the lower die contacts the workpiece on the
down-side surface near the lower surface firstly, so the metal in
this area is easier to satisfy the yield condition to arrive at the plastic
deformation state. Naturally, the plastic deformation zone is
firstly formed in this area (Fig. 20a). Under the action of axial feed
of the lower die and oscillation of the upper die, the plastic deformation
zone gradually expands along the circumferential direction
and along the gear tooth orientation (Fig. 20b). As the deformation
progresses, the plastic deformation zone has penetrated the whole
down-side surface of the workpiece (Fig. 20c). After the gear shape
emerges, the PEEQ accumulates rapidly in large-end dedendum
areas owing to the ‘‘mushroom shape” effect (Fig. 20d). The
large-end gear shape achieves filling prior to the small-end gear
shape, so the PEEQ value of the former is larger than that of the latter
(Fig. 20e). At the final forging stage, the total desired strain is
achieved in the gear shape area, accordingly the gear shape is completed
with the plastic deformation overspreading the gear shape
of the cold rotary forged gear (Fig. 20f). Moreover, it can also be
seen from Fig. 20f that the largest PEEQ value locates in the
large-end dedendum areas in the forged gear, which indicates
the metal of this area undergoes the highest degree of deformation.
By contrast, the PEEQ value is relatively lower in the central areas
of the forged gear close to the lower die since the metal in this area
is not pressed against the wall of the die cavities.