Advances in compact manufacturing for shape and performance controllability of large-scale components-a review

Research on compact manufacturing technology for shape and performance controllability of metallic components can realize the simplification and high-reliability of manufacturing process on the premise of satisfying the requirement of macro/micro-structure. It is not only the key paths in improving performance, saving material and energy, and green manufacturing of components used in major equipments, but also the challenging subjects in frontiers of advanced plastic forming. To provide a novel horizon for the manufacturing in the critical components is significant. Focused on the high-performance large-scale components such as bearing rings, flanges, railway wheels, thick-walled pipes, etc, the conventional processes and their developing situations are summarized. The existing problems including multi-pass heating, wasting material and energy, high cost and high-emission are discussed, and the present study unable to meet the manufacturing in high-quality components is also pointed out. Thus, the new techniques related to casting-rolling compound precise forming of rings, compact manufacturing for duplex-metal composite rings, compact manufacturing for railway wheels, and casting-extruding continuous forming of thick-walled pipes are introduced in detail, respectively. The corresponding research contents, such as casting ring blank, hot ring rolling, near solid-state pressure forming, hot extruding, are elaborated. Some findings in through-thickness microstructure evolution and mechanical properties are also presented. The components produced by the new techniques are mainly characterized by fine and homogeneous grains. Moreover, the possible directions for further development of those techniques are suggested. Finally, the key scientific problems are first proposed. All of these results and conclusions have reference value and guiding significance for the integrated control of shape and performance in advanced compact manufacturing.