Application of a new procedure for the optimization of variable thickness drawing of aluminium tubes

The application of aluminium tubes, especially with variation of thickness, in the structures of various transportation devices like cars and bicycles makes it a point of interest for various designers. In this paper, the variable thickness tube drawing process was studied with a newly developed procedure to evaluate the effect of tools geometries on the maximum possible tube deformation. The procedure applies the desired variation in the design variables (die angle, mandrel angle, and die fillet radius) and the required adjustments and changes in the geometries with the aid of an in-house code automatically. Based on the optimized results, a die and a mandrel were built to verify numerical results in variable thickness tube drawing. The numerical results were compared with the experiments in the prototype machine, which was designed by this group, and acceptable agreements were observed.