Forging

❖ Objectives:
➢ To understand the concept of forging.
➢ To have a broader view of various forging processes.
➢ To get an idea of various applications of forging.
➢ To be conversant with the various equipment and tools used for forging

❖ Machines/Tools used:
➢ Forging Furnaces - To heat up the workpiece up to the required temperature,
usually around 900oC.
▪ Muffle Furnace
▪ One ton Gas Heating Furnace
▪ Dual Burner, Propane Gas Forge Furnace
▪ Melting Coal Furnace
➢ Forging Presses - Gradually applies pressure on the workpiece to compress it.
➢ Forging/Drop Hammers - Commonly used in impression die forging, to apply
pressure on the workpiece. They are of two types:
▪ Gravity Drop Hammers - impact energy from a heavy ram in free fall.
▪ Power Drop Hammers - impact energy from accelerated ram (by
pressurized air or steam).
➢ Anvil - It is a heavy metallic block with a flat surface, on which the workpiece
is worked upon.
➢ Swage Block - It is a perforated metallic block with grooved sides, which helps
in shaping the workpiece into the desired curve.
➢ Forging Tongs - Used to carry the heated workpiece from the oven.
➢ Hammers - They are used to strike the workpiece, to forge it into the shape
required.
▪ Ball peen hammer
▪ Straight peen hammer
▪ Cross peen hammer
▪ Sledgehammer
➢ There are various other tools that help in shaping the workpiece. These
include:
▪ Fullers
▪ Swages
▪ Flatters
▪ Set Hammer
▪ Punch
▪ Chisel
▪ Drift
 ❖ Experimental Procedure:
➢ The process of forging begins with cutting out the workpiece of required
length a larger metallic rod/sheet using a chop-saw.
➢ The workpiece is then heated in a Muffle Furnace to approximately 900oC.
Now,
a. To make a Square Rod, for which the workpiece is initially a circular rod;
o The workpiece is taken out of the furnace using tongs, and taken to an
anvil, upon which it is struck by a sledgehammer from all four sides to
form a square rod.
b. To make a Chisel, for which the workpiece is initially a rectangle-faced rod;
o The workpiece is taken out of the furnace using tongs, and taken to an
anvil, upon which it is struck with sledgehammers of different sizes,
and is eventually shaped to form a cutting edge on one side.
c. To make a Hook, for which the workpiece is initially a circular rod;
o The workpiece is taken out of the furnace using tongs, and taken to a
Swage Block, where it is struck on using hammers of different sizes
and shapes, and is slowly shaped into the required curve.
➢ While working the workpiece, if it cools down and hardens, we re-heat it
using the Muffle Furnace. This helps to keep the workpiece strong and crack-
free for the whole process.

**Wear proper safety equipment, including gloves, shoes, apron, and goggles
while forging**

❖ Home Activity:
➢ A few products that are manufactured by certain types of forging processes
are listed below:
▪ Agricultural machinery
▪ Construction equipment
▪ Metallic framework in bridges
▪ Engine shafts
▪ Wheel Axles
▪ Hand tools - Chisels, hammers, wrenches, pliers.
▪ Gears and spurs
▪ Bearings
➢ Forging processes that may be involved in making a pair of pliers are as
follows:
▪ The base rods are shaped to the appropriate size, and then fed onto
an assembly line, which feeds them into a furnace to be heated.
▪ After heating, the red-hot rods are hammered with a machine die,
and then the excess metal is cut off by another machine.
▪ Now, the gripping teeth are forged and shaped.
▪ The plier halves are strengthened by heating in a gas fired furnace,
and cooled down with salt water.
▪ The halves thus forged are now assembled together with a rivet, and
then coated with rust inhibitors and lubricants.
▪ Finally, the handles of the pliers are lowered into a vat of liquid vinyl.
The pliers are then sent to their final oven, heating the vinyl to the
steel while sealing the rubber grip to the pliers.

SEQUENCE IN IMPRESSION DIE FORGING:

❖ Limitations of Forging:
➢ The process of hand forging requires great precision, and skilled labour.
➢ The workpiece may get distorted if it is worked upon below the required
temperature.
➢ Forging is a dangerous process, with a great risk of the operator getting
injured.
➢ The size of product to be formed might get limited due to the size of the
press.
➢ Getting a properly finished product from forging is very tough.
➢ Forging complex shapes is very tough.
➢ Brittle metal cannot be forged.

❖ Forging and Civil Engineering:

➢ Many components of ships, aircrafts and other vehicles are manufactured by
forging.
➢ Cold forging is used for making many hand tools and hardware like knifes,
chisels, bolts, Alan-keys, gears, bearings etc.
➢ Forging operation maybe use in defence equipment.
➢ Many kinds of machinery equipment & industrial tools are made by forging.

❖ Conclusion:
➢ Forging is a deformation process in which the work is compressed between
two dies, using either impact or gradual pressure to form the part. It is the
oldest of the metal forming operations.
➢ In forging, a workpiece is compressed between two opposing dies, so that the
die shapes are imparted to the work. Forging is traditionally a hot working
process, but many types of forging are performed cold.

Thank You