Research on On-orbit Plastic Forming Technology and Equipment for Thin-walled Metal Pipe

On-orbit manufacturing is the future development trend of spacecraft. For on-orbit manufacturing thin-walled metal pipe with large aspect ratio, this paper proposes the bending and rolling compound forming method based on plastic precision forming. Further, Based on the forming method, the design of the forming prototype is completed, and the forming parameters are researched. The results shows that the angle of the ejector rod of the equipment is determined as 45deg~60deg and the actual processing angle between the strip and the die is 2deg~3deg larger than the theoretical values. Finally, based on the designed equipment, the thin-walled metal pipe is made and those properties are tested. The test results show that the method is feasible for on-orbit manufacturing. The application of this method will provide an effective solution for manufacturing metal rod on-orbit.