Effect of Differential Treatment on Bending Forming Quality of 6061 Aluminum Alloy Tubes

ZHU Peng; CHEN Ming; XU Yong; XIE Wenlong; SONG Hongwu; ZHANG Chi; LI Liangyou; LI Lianghong; LI Lei

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-6457.2026.08.012

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Journal of Netshape Forming Engineering ›› 2026, Vol. 18 ›› Issue (8) : 135-144. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-6457.2026.08.012

Light Alloy Forming

Effect of Differential Treatment on Bending Forming Quality of 6061 Aluminum Alloy Tubes

ZHU Peng¹, CHEN Ming¹, XU Yong^2,*, XIE Wenlong², SONG Hongwu², ZHANG Chi², LI Liangyou³, LI Lianghong³, LI Lei³

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Abstract

Addressing the issue that rotary draw bending tends to cause poor forming quality of tube wall thickness and cross-sectional distortion, the work aims to propose a novel differential rotary draw bending method combining property-graded materials and differential lubrication based on conventional CNC rotary draw bending. Property-graded materials were prepared through localized laser heat treatment on the tube's outer side, while differential lubrication was implemented by applying specific lubrication conditions to different forming dies. A finite element model for bending 6061 aluminum alloy tubes was established to investigate the effect of these differentiated conditions on wall thickness and cross-sectional distortion. In the study of property-graded materials, varying laser power enabled localized heat treatment at different temperatures, altering the microstructure and properties of the outer tube material. Optimal forming quality was achieved at a laser heat treatment temperature of 450 ℃, which enhanced the deformation resistance of the outer side material. In the differential lubrication study, a friction coefficient of 0.15 was identified as optimal. Exceeding this value caused wrinkling on the inner side, while a lower value exacerbated wall thinning on the outer side. With the above-mentioned two sets of parameters, two differential treatment methods are combined with the property-graded materials and differential lubrication to obtain 6061 aluminum alloy tubes with a bending angle of 90°. The outer wall thinning ratio is 11.3%, the inner wall thickening ratio is 10.3%, and the cross-sectional distortion ratio is 3.6%. The proposed differentiated rotary draw bending method provides a new and viable reference for achieving reliable integral forming of bent tubes.

Key words

6061 aluminum alloy / NC rotary draw bending / differential treatment / property-graded material / differential lubrication

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ZHU Peng, CHEN Ming, XU Yong, XIE Wenlong, SONG Hongwu, ZHANG Chi, LI Liangyou, LI Lianghong, LI Lei. Effect of Differential Treatment on Bending Forming Quality of 6061 Aluminum Alloy Tubes[J]. Journal of Netshape Forming Engineering. 2026, 18(8): 135-144 https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1674-6457.2026.08.012

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Funding

Weiqiao GUOKE Advanced Research Institute-Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences R&D Project (GYY-JSBU-2022-003); National Natural Science Foundation of China (52405439)