This paper presents selected numerical and experimental results of a skew rolling process for producing balls using helical tools. The study investigates the effect of the billet's initial temperature on the quality of produced balls and the rolling process itself. In addition, the effect of billet diameter on the quality of produced balls is investigated. Experimental tests were performed using a helical rolling mill available at the Lublin University of Technology. The experiments consisted of rolling 40 mm diameter balls with the use of two helical tools. To determine optimal rolling parameters ensuring the highest quality of produced balls, numerical modelling was performed using the finite element method in the Forge software. The numerical analysis involved the determination of metal flow kinematics, temperature and damage criterion distributions, as well as the measurement of variations in the force parameters. The results demonstrate that the highest quality balls are produced from billet preheated to approximately 1000 °C.
Keywords: balls; fem; grinding media; helical rolling.