1

FORGING
This is mechanical working of a metal/alloy into a desired and useful shape done by
hammering or pressing. The process of forgiving is general a Hot working process, even
though done metals can be cold worked, the forging temperature is in the range of 700
o
c
1300
o
C. Two major classes of equipment are used for forging operations; the forging
hammer or drop hammer, delivers rapid impact blows to surface of the metal, while the
forging press subject the metal to a show - speed compressive force.

TYPES OF FORGING
The three basic types of forging are open die, closed die and impression forging; open die
forging id carried out on flat dies or dies of simple shape, one die is fixed (anvil) and the
other is retractable and delivers the blows to the work piece. The method employed to
move the hammer distinguishes the type of equipment. The hammer can be moved up
and down mechanically and hydraulically. Open dies is less suitable for the production
of complex finished. Shapes closed die or impression forging. Open die forging is used
to perform the work piece for close die forging.

OPEN DIE - FORGING
Open die forging involves a number of operations such as upsetting, edging , fullering
and drawing down.

UPSETTING Refers to forging of cylindrical billets between two flat dies e.g
compression test. Fig. 1 shows compression of a cylindrical billet.


Fig. 1 Compression of a cylindrical billet
2

In this operation the metal flows laterally between the die surface so that deformation is
less at the die interfaces because of friction forces than at the mid height plane. Thus the
sides of the upset cylinder becomes barrelled, as the metal will flow most easily towards
the nearest free surface because this represents the lowest frictional path.

EDGING is an operation in which dies are used to shape the ends of the bars and to
gather metal.

Fig. 2 Edging process

In the Fig. 2, the metal is confined by the die from flowing in the horizontal direction but
it is free to flow laterally to fill the die.
FULLERING is used to reduce the cross sectional area of a portion of the work piece.
The metal flows is outward and away from centre of the fullering as shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 Fullering process
DRAWING IN AND DRAWING OUT
Is the reduction in cross section of the work piece with concurrent increase in length. If
the drawing down operation is carried out with concave dies, so as to produce a bar of
3

smaller diameter, it is also called swagging.


Fig. 4 Drawing/ Swagging

CLOSED DIE FORGING

Is appropriate for manufacturing complex shapes. It does demand closed attention to die
design and work piece volume as it is necessary to achieve complete filing of the forging
cavity without generating excessive pressures against the die that may cause it to fracture,
Fig. 5. It use carefully machined matching die blocks to produce forgings to close
dimensional tolerances.

Fig. 5 Closed-Die Forging process

In close-die forging the forging billet is usually first fullered and edged to place the metal
in the correct places for subsequent forging. The pre-shaped billet is then place in the
cavity of the blocking die and rough-forged to close to final shape. It is then transferred
to the finishing die, where it is forged to final shape and dimensions

4

IMPRESION-DIE FORGING
Because it is difficult to put just the right amount of metal in the correct places during
fullering and edging. It is customary to use a slight excess of metal. In closed-die
forging, this may lead to generating excessive pressure against the die and may cause it
fracture. To alleviate this advantage, impression forging incorporates flash gutters in the
die design to accommodate extra metal, or flash, not required for the forged part, see Fig
6. When the dies come together for the finishing seep, the excess metal squirts out of the
cavity as a thin ribbon of metal called flash and the flash gutter prevent the formation of a
very wide flash. The flash regulates the escape of metal and this the thin flash greatly
increases the flow resistance of the system so that the pressure builds up to high values to
ensure that metal fills all recess of the die cavity.

Fig. 6 Showing a flash gutter used in Impression Die Forging.

PROPERTIES OF FORGED PARTS

Typically, the mechanical properties of forged parts are better than those of cast or
machined parts. This is due to the formation of a grain structure which is elongated in the
direction of deformation, causing the macro structure with less defects pr with low
dislocation density.
This forging builds in a natural advantages anisotropy with high mechanical properties in
the plane of maximum strain, but perhaps inferior properties across the thickness.
Therefore the anisotropic properties of a forging are coordinated with the service load
5

requirements. Furthermore during the forging deformation the work piece will open
undergo recrysallization thus developing a fine-gained micro structure and eliminating
the cast dendritic structure that has inherently poor properties. If the work piece is hot
forged, the n some of the segregations resulting from solidification will be eliminated and
this results in improved mechanical properties for forged parts as compared to casting or
machined components.

FORGING IN PLAIN STRAIN




Fig. 7 Stress acting on a plate forged in plane strain

Fig. 7 above shows the stresses in the forging of a plate of constant thickness under
conditions of plain strain. The analogous problem of compressing a metal slab was
covered in the consideration of effects of friction in metal working processes. Lateral
flow perpendicular to the ram travel leads to frictional shear stresses at the die contact
surfaces. The surface shear is directed towards the center line, opposing the metal flow.
Taking the equilibrium of forces in the x direction;


( ) 2 0
2
x x x xy
xy
x
h d h dx
d
dx h
o o o t
t
o
+ =
=
--------- 1


The Von mises yield criterion for a condition of plane strain is given by;

'
1 3 0 0
2
3
o o o o = =

6

If p and
x
o are defined as positive compressive principal stresses, then p =
z
o and,

'
1 3 0 x
p o o o o = = --------- 2

Since
'
0
o does not change with x, / /
x
dp dx d dx o = and on substituting into eqn. 1, the
differential equation of equilibrium becomes;

2
xy
dp
dx h
t
= ---------- 3

If the shearing stress is related to the normal pressure by Coulombs law of sliding
friction, then
xy
p t = , then eqn. 3 becomes,

2 dp
dx
p h

= --------- 4

Integrating both sides gives,

2
ln ln
x
p C
h

= +

Evaluating the constant of integration using the boundary condition that, for a free
surface x a = , and the lateral stress
'
0
0 .
x
and p o o = = Therefore,

'
0
ln ln 2
a
C
h

o = + and

( )
'
0
2
exp p a x
h

o
(
=
(

------- 5

Since is usually a very small number, we can use the expansion below

( )
2 3
1 ......
2! 3!
y
y y
e y = + + + +

to simplify eqn. 5, above.

( )
'
0
2
1
a x
p
h

o
(
= +
(

----- 6

The mean forging pressure is;

7

0
a
pdx
p
a
=
}


( ) 2
'
0
1
2
a h
e
p
a h

= ------- 7

Therefore, the total forging load P can now be established, since ( ) 2 P p a w = , where w is
the width in the direction normal to the plane of the paper. The variation of p and
x
o
against the length of the metal slab, 2a, builds up to the maximum at the center of the
plate, giving the frictional hill shown Fig. 8.


Fig. 8 Normal pressure distribution profile across the diameter of a cylinder end under
axial compression showing the Friction Hill caused by friction.

Note that Sticking friction condition can also be applied to calculate the total forging load
P.
Friction increases the pressures and forces between the work-piece and the tool and may
limit the attainable reduction.
The effects of friction can be visualized from the axial upsetting of a cylinder which has
been considered above.
If there were no friction between the circular ends and the platens of the press then the
cylinder would reduce in height and remain cylindrical in shape. The normal pressure
would be constant over the contact circles.
Cylinder
Height, h0
Length, x
8

When friction is present, the outward movement of the material in contact with the
platens is restricted, hence the cylinder bulges (and if excessive bulging is allowed to
occur, the periphery may start to crack). The friction force opposes the outward flow of
the material, meaning that a higher stress must be generated near the centre of the contact
zone to move the material outwards. This gives rise to the so called 'friction hill', the term
'hill' describing the profile of the flow stress across a diameter of the cylinder, as shown
in the diagram above.
Analysis of Open Die Forging

Open die forging typically deals with large, relatively simple shapes that are formed
between simple dies in a large hydraulic press or power hammer, e.g in cogging a billet
between flat tools. The main objectives of bar forging or cogging are to reduce the cross
section area to refine the grain structures. Compressive forces are employed to produce
the shape change. The work piece is usually larger than the bite, b, in the Fig. 9. The bite
is the area over which the tool is in contact with the work piece.


Fig. 9 Bites in Open Die Forging

Forging is performed in a number of steps called passes. Each pass is the area bw. During
forging, the length of the work piece increases while the height or thickness decreases.
There is an increase in width, w0, which is called spread. Maximum elongation is
obtained when there is no increase in width, w0. Tomlinson and Stringer evaluated spread
in terms of the coefficient of spread S.

1
0
0
1
ln
ln
w
w
width elongation
S
h thickness elongation
h
| |
|
\ .
= =
| |
|
\ .
------- 8

Because of barreling of the bar, it is difficult to measure the width natural strain, but the
increase in length can be measured accurately. Using the constancy-of-volume
relationship, this can be written as,

9

1 1 1
0 0 0
1 1 1
0 0 0
1
ln ln ln 0
h wl
h w l
or
h w l
h w l
=
| | | | | |
+ + =
| | |
\ . \ . \ .
---- 9

i.e 0
0
1
0
1
0
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
|
|
.
|

\
|
l
l
In
w
w
In
h
h
In
i

0 1 1
1 0 0
h w l
In In In
h w l
| | | | | |
+ +
| | |
\ . \ . \ .
= 0
|
|
.
|

\
|

|
|
.
|

\
|
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
0
1
1
0
0
1
l
l
In
h
h
In
w
w
In
Substituting in equation (8) gives the coefficient of elongation
S =
|
|
.
|

\
|

|
|
.
|

\
|
0
1 0
l
l
In
h
h
In
i

|
|
.
|

\
|
i
h
h
In
0

1
0
0
1
ln
1
ln
l
l
length elongation
S
h thichness contraction
h
| |
|
\ .
= =
| |
|
\ .
------------- 10

This can also be expressed as
1-S =
(
(
(

i
h
h
l
l
In
0
0
1




If S = 1, the all the deformation could manifest itself as spread, while if S = 0, all the
deformation would go into elongation.

S depends on the bite ratio
0
b
w
according to;

10

0
0
1
b
w
s
b
w
=
| |
+
|
\ .
----- 11

Eqn. 8 is often expressed in terms of the spread law

1
S
|

| |
=
|
\ .
---- 12

Where = spread ratio =
1
0
w
w

= squeeze ratio =
1
0
h
h


The relationship between bite ratio and spread resulting into extension is determined as
follows;

Extension per pass =
1 0
l l

Extansion per bite =
1 0
l l
N

N = number of strokes per pass; N =
0
l
b


Therefore, extension per bite =
1 0
0
l l
b
l
| |
|
\ .
------ 13

There are certain limiting ranges of these variables which must be considered. Since only
that part of the surface under the bite is being deformed at any one time, there is danger
of causing surface laps at the step separating the forged from the unforged portion of the
workpiece.


Cold Upsetting a Cylinder

Upsetting of a cylinder is the most basic process: assuming that the metal is cold formed
(therefore is strain rate insensitive) and that the platen work piece interface is frictionless.
As the deformation proceeds the cylinder becomes shorter and the diameter increases as
illustrated in Fig. 10;

11



Fig. 10 Upsetting forging of cylindrical billets between two flat dies e.g. Compression
test.

As the volume constant is applied;

0 0 1 1
0 0
1 1
sec
.
A h Ah
A h initial cross tion area and height respectively
Ah final area and height of a cylinder
=

The true strain associated to with the Upsetting operations;

0
1
ln
A
A
c
| |
=
|
\ .
--------- 14
From this the true stress required for Upsetting (or the flow stress in forming situations)
can be calculated using the Hollomon equation as;

n
f l
K o c =
Where; n = the strain hardening exponent
K = the strength constant.

Both n and K are material properties. The strain hardening exponent n physically reflects
the rate at which the material strain hardens. And the above equation can also be
expressed as;

0
1
ln
n
A
K
A
o
( | |
=
( |
\ .
--------- 15


Consequently, the forming force (F) is given by;

12

0
1
ln
n
A
F K A
A
( | |
=
( |
\ .
-------- 16

The ideal work for deformation is given as;

1
1
1
n
i
KV
W
n
c
+
=
+
--------- 17

Where; V = volume of the cylinder
1
c = total true strain due to Upsetting.

Power is the rate of doing work, and therefore, the above equation can be used to
calculate the average power consumed per cycle as;

1
1
1
1
n
i
av
av
W KV
P
t t n
c
+
| |
= =
|
+
\ .
--------- 18

Where
av
P = average power per cycle
av
t = average time per cycle.


Hot Upsetting a Cylinder

In contrast to cold Upsetting, if a cylinder is hot Upset, then strain hardening effects are
minimized but strain rate effects become important. Assuming the deformation to be
homogeneous, uniaxial and frictionless, the following simple analysis is possible;
When the deformation is homogeneous, the strain rate is defined as;

1 dh
h dt
c =
v
h
c = -------- 19

Where:
c = strain rate
v = platen velocity
h = instantaneous height of the cylinder.

The true stress during hot working as a function of strain rate is given as;

m
f
C o c = --------- 20

Where C is the strain rate strength constant, and m is the strain rate sensitity exponent.

13

From,
1 f
F A o =

The deformation rate can be calculated as follows;

1
1
1
m
m
F C A
v
F C A
h
c =
| |
=
|
\ .

------ 21

The work done can be defined as;

1
0
h
h
W Fdh =
}
------ 22

To obtain an estimate of the magnitude of the work and power, most hot forging
operations can be approximated as constant strain rate process, thus work done will be
given as;

1
0
1
h
m
h
m
dh
W CV
h
W CV
c
c c
=
=
}

------ 23

The average power necessary to upset a cylinder is given as;

1
1
m
av
av
P CV
t
c c = ------- 24

UPSETTING A CYLINDER WITH FRICTION
During forging, the horizontal platen friction causes the cylinder to assume the barrelled
shape. As discussed earlier, at the interface, the friction forces will be so high that the
material adjacent to the tools cannot slide along the tool-work piece interface-sticking
friction. The barrelling causes secondary horizontal stresses and the associated redundant
work increases the vertical stresses required for deformation. The amount of barrelling
and the consequent redundant work, depends upon the friction coefficient which, can be
estimated from the data of Table 1 using the friction coefficient, the average vertical flow
stress is estimated with the aid of Fig 1 which gives a friction multiply factor Qa. This
factor is combined with the true stress for deformation (the flow stress) to give an
estimate for the actual stress required for deformation (forging);
a a f
Q o o = 25
14

Where;
a
o is actual the stress required for deformation 1 including friction

f
o Is the uniaxial flow stress in the absence of friction
Qa is the multiplying factor
The deformation force in this case is then;
F=Qa
m f
A o .. 26
Where Am is the mean cross-sectional area of the work piece

CLOSSED-DIE AND IMPRESSION FORGING
The earlier description of the closed-die and impression forging process emphasise the
important role of the flash in controlling die fill and in creating high forging loads.
Usually the deformation in closed-die and impression forging is very complex and the
design of the intermediate steps to make a final precision part requires considerable
experience and skill. Overall success of the forging operations requires an understanding
of the flow stress of the material, the frictional conditions and the flow of the material in
order to develop the optimum geometry for the dies. A special problem in closed-die and
impression forging is preventing rapid cooling of the work piece by the colder dies
The design of a part production by closed-die forging involves the prediction of
1. Work piece volume and weight
2. Number of performing steps and their configuration
3. Flash dimensions in performing and finishing dies
4. The load and energy requirements for each forging operation.

Performing design is the most difficult and critical step in forging design and involves
edging, fullering, upsetting, drawing down and finishing operations proper perform
design assures defect-free flow, complete die fill and minimum flash loss. Success
here depends on the thorough understanding of the metal flow during forging.
Although metal flow consists only of two basic types, execration (flow parallel to the
direction of die motion) and upsetting (flow perpendicular to the direction of the die
motion). In most forgings, both types of flow occur simultaneously. An important
step in understanding metal flow is to identify the neutral surfaces. Metal flows away
from the neutral surface in a direction perpendicular to the die motion.
15

In designing a performance it is usual practice to take key cross -section through the
forging and design the perform on the basis of the metal flow general considerations;
1. The area at each cross-section along the length must equal the area in the finished
cross section plus the flash
2. All conceive radial on the perform should be larger than the radial on the final
forged part
3. The cross -section of the perform should be higher and narrow than the final
cross-section so as to accentuate upsetting flow minimize exercusion flow.

CALCULATION OF FORGING LOADS IN CLOSED-DIE FORGING

The most difficult part of the analysis is often to calculate of the strain. Although the
equations for uniaxial strain are straight forward closed-die and impression forging
are clearly not uniaxial deformation problem, with different strain applied to different
parts of the work piece. However, the approximate average strain can be estimated
according to;
v
A h
in
h
h
in
m
av
0 0
= = c ..27
where: ho is the average initial height hm is the average final height V is the work
piece volume Ap is the projected area of the deformed work piece.

The projected area is the planar area between the die and the deformed work piece,
including flash using the average strain of Eqn 27 the true flow stress can be
calculated using the Hollomon equation and the actual estimated stress can be
obtained according to;

d c f
Q o o = 28

where
d
o the estimate of the stress for closed die forging
f
o -is the true (flow) stress according to Hollomon equation
16

c
o -is determined form the Table 2 below multiplying factors for closed die
impression forging

Table 2.
Forging shape Q
c
(cold) Q
u
(hot)
Simple shape, no flash 3-5 2.0-2.5
Simple shape, with flash 5-8 3
Complex shape 8-12 4

Equation 27 and Eqn. 28 are only applicable for closed-die and impression forging
operations at temperatures below the re-crystallization, temperature. However, most
closed-die forging operations are performed at temperatures above re-crystallization
temperature so that strain rate effects become important. The average strain rare can be
estimated from
p
A
v
h V
v
c = = 29
where, v is the die velocity
V is the projected area
Ap is the projected Area
The average flow stress is calculated using the strain rate of Eqn. 29 from the equation
below;
m
f
C
-
= c o
and the actual stress estimated, utilizing the multiplying factor Qh from Table 2 is given
as follows;
h f h
Q o o = 30

From the estimated stress of Eqn. 28 and Eqn. 30 (for cold or hot forging, respectively)
the forging force can be estimated by multiplying
d
o or
h
o , as appropriate, by the
projected area, Ap.
Fd =
d
o Ap
17

p h h
A F o =

FORGING DEFECTS
Upon manufacturing large forged products are subjected to a standard quality control
procedures or examinations of a deep etch disk for segregation, dendritic structure and
cracks.
Typical forging defects
Surface cracking can occur as a result of excessive working of the surface at too
low a temperature or as a result of hot shortness.
Cracking at the flash of closed-die or impression forgings. Generally when the
flash is trimmed off, flash cracks penetrates into the body of the forging
Cold shut or fold this is a discontinuity produced when two surfaces of metal fold
against each other without welding completely
Loose scale or lubricant residue that accumulates in deep recesses of the die forms
scale pockets and cases under fill
Secondary tensile stress can develop during the forging and cracking can thus be
produced. Internal cracks can develop during the upsetting of a cylinder or a
round shaped work piece, as a result of the circumferential tensile stresses.