Analysis and modelling of a rotary forming process for cast aluminium alloy A356

• Instrumented warm spinning trials of casting alloy A356 has been carried out.
• A companion coupled thermomechanical FEA process model has been developed.
• Process-imposed stresses, strains, strain-rates and temperature have been inferred.
• Model predicts a mechanical state which may explain defects found experimentally.

Spinning of a common aluminium automotive casting alloy A356 (Al–7Si–0.3Mg) at elevated temperatures has been investigated experimentally with a novel industrial-scale apparatus. This has permitted the implementation of a fully coupled thermomechanical finite element model aimed at quantifying the processing history (stress, strain, strain-rate and temperature) and predicting the final geometry. The geometric predictions of this model have been compared directly to the geometry of the workpieces obtained experimentally. This study is novel in regards to both the size and shape of the component as well as the constitutive material representation employed. The model predictions are in reasonable agreement with experimental results for small deformations, but errors increase for large deformation conditions. The model has also enabled the characterization of the mechanical state which leads to a common spinning defect. Suggestions for improving the accuracy and robustness of the model to provide a predictive tool for industry are discussed.