UNIT 1.11 - COMPONENTS: Contents Introduction 1 Forging 1.1 Common forging defects ‘Common in-service faults Rings Links 44 Egg links HooksIntroduction This unit considers finks, rings, hooks and similar components that are used in the scombly of general purpose slings or fitted to iting machines. The fitings and Components dealt with here are intended for assembly and iting to chain, wire rope {nd textile materials, although there may be differences in some cases for speciic liting media. In certain circumstances some of these itens may be used on their ‘own as part ofa rigging arrangement. ‘The series of Harmonised European Standards, BS EN 1677, covers components, {or sings and has separate parts specificaly for hooks wih latch, grades 8 end 4, self locking hooks grade 8 and links, grades 8 and 4. ‘These standards control the ‘eneral design and manufacturing criteria to be applied by the manufacturer, but Give the opportunity for manufacturers to adopt their own designs, matecal ‘Specifications and material sizes. As 2 result, whist the lems produced by individual manufacturers have much In common, they do differ in sizes and sections os, permitted within the manufacturing windows of the standard. It is therefore Fecassary to consuit the speciic manufacturer's catalogues and technical itraturo for detaled information ung Eavoment Enger Aeon 2010-1Forging The components this unit is concerned with are produced from steel by forging. In ‘most cases the items are drop forged. However, hand forgings, especially of links ‘and special items, are also commonly found in service. This was covered in unt 14, but the main points are revisited here, In the case of drop forging, a billet of stoe! Is heated to working temperature and then held between a spit aie of the required iter. The top haf ofthe dis fitted to.a drop, hhammer and the bottom half is attached to a fixed anvil. Under power the top die ‘ops onto the bilet, hammering the heated metal info tie dio. This process is repeated untl the final shape of the item is achieved. ‘The excess material is forced out of the dle where the two halves come together. ‘Subsequently this lash’ has to be dressed off. i is easy to recognise a drop forging by the dressed line that runs around the centre line ofthe frished section, For some components itis necessary to take the billet through a series of dies until the final item is completed. However, the fower strikes of the hammer that are necessary the better and the lower the risk of introducing delects In tho case of links, some manufacturers produce them by drop forging whist others hand forge the link by bending a bar to shape and then welding the joint. In yet other cases there is @ combination of the processes, The initial bending of a bar is made by hand forging and welding, wit the finishing to size achioved by drop forging. 1.1 Common forging defects ‘Although the forging process is basic, and looks crude tothe casual observer, it calls for great skill from the operator i forging faults are to be avoided. The typos of fect that occur during manufacture are therefore much tre same, inespective of the component being produced. The tester and examiner must be alert to these ‘when making an examination of any forged component. cag Oall marks are an overlapping ofthe material during working which is Closed into the material below welding temperature, Under load they vill open Up and act as stress raisers, eventually becoming cracks + Laminated material wil agsin act as a stress raiser which will eventually crack. This Is often difcut to detect as is appearance wil differ ‘ith its position and the methods of working applied :o the material. Often it ill look like a discoloured line running along or across the iter: + _In addition to those mentioned above, cracks can occur in several ways. The most common occurs during heat treatment, when over stressed ‘material fs quenched too quickly. Cracks can also aceur due to chemical Contamination, for example with acids or acidic gasses. + Weld faults must be considered when looking at welded rings and links. Weld cracks can develop during manufacture of in service. Other ‘manufacturing weld faults are lack of panetration, appearing as a lap between the weld and the parent material, undercutting, gas blow holes and slag inclusions. ‘These may be difficult to identify in links which have been welded before the fna forging process,