REVERSE ENGINEERING OF LOW-CAPACITY NON-REVERSIBLE ROLLING MILLSUITABLE

ABSTRACT

Rolling is the process of reducing the thickness or changing the cross section of a long work piece by compressive force applied through set of rolls. Generally rolling mills are used to roll large ingots and the size of rolling mill is also huge. Rolling is a vital secondary manufacturing process that is applied in the metal working industry to produce varying shapes and strength of metallic materials. However, despite the great importance of rolling as a production process, there are virtually no rolling mills in our higher institutions of learning which is the right place for knowledge impartation to the students and this needs to be provided, this this research work. Feasibility study was carried out to determine the availability of roll mill in South-South region of the country. Institutions in the region was visited and questionnaires distributed to lecturers and technologies in the Faculty of Engineering. The population size was estimated based on staff records from universities in the study area and the study sample size was determined by statistical calculations. A reversed engineering design techniques was adopted in developing the machine. Availability and cost of the materials were major factors considered and this was also based on the fabrication requirements, and service requirements of the materials. The developed machine was evaluated for performance using Al-6061 Aluminum alloy. The results of the performance evaluation of the machine through assessment of metallurgical characteristics of rolled products from the machine and assessment of mechanical properties such tensile strength and hardness of rolled product from the machine showed an increased in the tensile strength from 96 MPa to 107 MPa, ultimate tensile strength from 110 MPa to 138 MPa, hardness from 60 HV to 98 HV and a decreased in the ductility of the alloy material from 7.04 to 5.03. Also, the optical micrograph of the cold rolled samples shows coarse microstructure of grain refinement of slipping and pilling of dislocations. Besides, the results of the feasibility study carried out to determine the necessity of the machine showed that 90 % called for an urgent need of the machine in their respective institution.