swaging

Swaging is a metalworking process in which a workpiece is plastically deformed by pressure from dies or rollers to reduce its diameter or change its cross-section without removing material. The deformation is typically achieved by driving the workpiece through a set of opposed dies, or by a series of rollers around a mandrel that progressively compress the piece. The result is a tighter profile, a formed bead, or an end closure, often with minimal loss of material.

Two common families of swaging are press swaging and rotary (or radial) swaging. Press swaging uses stationary dies and a ram to compress the part, commonly for fittings, sleeves, or end-forms. Rotary swaging uses multiple rollers that converge around a rotating workpiece to form the desired shape, often producing smooth, concentric reductions on tubes or bars. Tube swaging is a specialized form used to form or join tubing, ferrules, end caps, or fittings.

Materials used are typically ductile metals such as steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass, and some titanium alloys. The tooling consists of swaging machines or rotary swagers, with dies or segmented rollers and mandrels that define the final profile.

Benefits include fast production, high dimensional accuracy, and little or no waste, yielding strong, closed joints. Limitations include a requirement for ductile materials, tooling costs, and geometry constraints on diameter reduction and wall thickness. Swaging is widely used in plumbing, aerospace and automotive tubing, electrical connectors, and ornamental hardware.