Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Workshop Practice
Department of Mechanical Engineering
College of E&ME, NUST Pakistan
What is Forging
• A metal forming technique used to shape
metals by application of local compressive
forces.
• Compressive forces can be generated in a
metal either through impact (with hammers)
or by gradually pressing (with presses).
• Forging is typically used to establish a
basic/initial shape of a part.
Forging and Temperature
• Metal can be shaped at both low and high
temperatures by appropriate application of
force/pressure.
• Based upon temperature forging is classified
as:
– Hot or Warm Working: Requires less
force/pressure. Increases ductility but reduces
strength
– Cold Working: Increases strength but requires
greater forces/pressure
Dies and Types of Forging
• Dies are used to constrain the workpiece
between two or more surfaces while force is
being applied to it.
• Based on the type of die being used, forging
can be classified as:
– Open Die Forging
– Impression Die Forging
– Flashless Forging
– Automatic hot forging
– Isothermal forging
Forging Application
• Bolts
• Gears
• Turbine disk
• Crank shaft
• Connecting rod
• Components of hydraulic machines
Open Die Forging with Friction
•In the absence of a lubricant, friction between the workpiece and die
surfaces pops up.
•Due to friction between the workpiece and die surfaces, metal flow
becomes non‐uniform.
•Consider the example of water flowing in a river; water flows faster in the
center and slower near the river bank.
•In hot forging, friction effects are even more pronounced.
•Used mostly for large metal parts like rollers, shafts and rings
Open die forging
Impression Die Forging
Impression Die Forging
• Advantages compared to machining from stock
– Higher production rates
– Less material wastage
– Higher Strength and Strength to Weight Ratios
– Favorable grain orientation in the metal crystalline
structure
• Disadvantages
– Not capable of close tolerances
– Machining is often required to achieve the desired
level of final accuracy and features
Trimming
Flash less Forging
Automatic hot forging
• Mill‐length steel bars are inserted into one end of the
forging machine at room temperature, and hot
forged products emerge from the other end
• Acceptance of low‐cost materials
• Minimal labor required to operate machinery
• Produces little to no material waste (material
savings between 20–30% over conventional
forging)
Isothermal forging
• Isothermal forging is a forging process where the metal and
die are heated to the same temperature
• Adiabatic heating is used—there is no net transfer of mass or
thermal exchange between the system and the external
environment
• The changes are all due to internal changes resulting in highly
controlled strain rates
• Due to the lower heat loss, smaller machines may be used for
this forging process
Advantages of Isothermal forging
• Near net shapes which lead to lower
machining requirements and therefore lower
scrap rates
• Reproducibility of the part
• Less thermal stress in the workpiece and die
Disadvantages of Isothermal forging
• Higher die material costs to handle temperatures
and pressures
• Uniform heating systems are required
• Protective atmospheres or vacuum generation
required to reduce oxidation of the dies and
material
• Low production rates
Required properties for dies
• Thermal shock resistance
• Thermal fatigue resistance
• High temperature strength
• High wear resistance
• High toughness and ductility
• High machinability
Forging defects
• Cracking: Both interior and exterior cracking is
caused by excessive stress, improper stress
distribution on the part, or by improper
distribution of temperature during the operation.
• Laps or folds: Caused by buckling of part and not
having enough material in the work piece.
• Cold Shuts: Occurs when metal of different
temperature meet; they don’t combine smoothly,
a layer forms at their intersection
Forging defects
• Warping: It can happen when thinner sections
cool faster than the rest of forging.
• Scale pits: improper cleaning of the stock used
for forging or the oxide gets embedded into
the finish forging surface.
• Flakes: Caused by rapid cooling which make
exterior to cool quickly causing interior
fracture.
Forging tool
• Furnace/Hearth: Heating furnace
• Anvil: Supporting tool
• Hammer: Striking tool
• Tong: Holding tool
• Chisel: Cutting of shaping tool
• Fuller: Grooving tool
Upsetting and Heading
Upsetting and Heading Cont.
Swaging and Radial Forging
Types of forging loading
• Based on loading, forging is classified as:
• Hammer Forging
• Press Forging
Forging Hammers
Forging Presses
Forging Advantages
1. Part integrity
Directional Strength
Structural Strength
Impact Strength
2. Grain flow comparison
Forged bar
Machined bar
Cast bar
Forging Advantages
2. Grain flow comparison
Forged bar
Machined bar
Cast bar
3. Part flexibility
Variety of sizes
Variety of shapes
Metallurgical spectrum
Quantity and prototype options
Part integrity
Directional Strength
• By mechanically deforming the heated metal under tightly
controlled conditions, forging produces predictable and
uniform grain size and flow characteristics
• Forging stock is also typically pre‐worked to refine the
dendritic structure of the ingot and remove porosity
• These qualities translate into superior metallurgical and
mechanical qualities, and deliver increased directional
toughness in the final part
Part integrity
Structural Strength
• Forging also provides a degree of structural integrity that is
unmatched by other metalworking processes
• Forging eliminates internal voids and gas pockets that can
weaken metal parts. By dispersing segregation of alloys or
non‐metallics, forging provides superior chemical uniformity
• Predictable structural integrity reduces part inspection
requirements, simplifies heat treating and machining, and
ensures optimum part performance under field‐load
conditions
Part integrity
Impact Strength
• Parts can also be forged to meet virtually any stress, load
or impact requirement
• Proper orientation of grain flow assures maximum
impact strength and fatigue resistance
• The high‐strength properties of the forging process can
be used to reduce sectional thickness and overall weight
without compromising final part integrity
Grain flow comparison
Forged bar
• Grain flow is oriented to improve ductility, toughness, and
increase fatigue resistance
Grain flow comparison
Machined bar
• Uni‐directional grain flow has been cut when changing
contour, exposing grain ends. This renders the material more
liable to fatigue and more sensitive to stress corrosion
cracking
Grain flow comparison
Cast bar
• Cast bars typically do not have a desired grain structure
Part flexibility
Variety of sizes
• Open die forged part weights can run from a single pound to
over 400,000 pounds
• Open die parts forgings are often specified for their
soundness in place of rolled bars or castings
• Shape design is just as versatile, ranging from simple bar, shaft
and ring configurations to specialized shapes
• Shape designs are only limited by the creative skills and
imagination of the forging supplier
Part flexibility
Metallurgical spectrum
• Metallurgical properties can be greatly varied through alloy
selection, part configuration, thermal mechanical working and
post‐forming processes
Disadvantages of Forging
• Hot forging prevents work hardening and hence increases
the difficulty of performing other machining operations on
the part
• Producing forged parts involves a lot of expenditure for the
machinery, dies, tools and personnel
• Some forging requires metal‐forming dies, which are
required to be precisely machined and heated to properly
shape the piece. This is not always achievable by novices or
not very‐high experienced engineers
Disadvantages of Forging
• Not very economical for short runs due to the high cost of die
production
• The business set up cost of drop forging is very high, not only
are the machines and furnaces costly but special building
provisions must be in place to cope with the powerful
vibrations caused by drop forging. A special foundation must
be laid to deal with this environment
• Drop forging presents a dangerous working environment
Disadvantages of Forging
• Production forging involves significant capital expenditure for
machinery, tooling, facilities and personnel. In the case of hot
forging, a high‐temperature furnace (sometimes referred to as
the forge) is required to heat ingots or billets.
• Owing to the size of the massive forging hammers and presses
and the parts they can produce, as well as the dangers
inherent in working with hot metal, a special building is
frequently required to house the operation.
Disadvantages of Forging
• Owing to the size of the massive forging hammers and presses
and the parts they can produce, as well as the dangers
inherent in working with hot metal, a special building is
frequently required to house the operation
• In the case of drop forging operations, provisions must be
made to absorb the shock and vibration generated by the
hammer. Most forging operations use metal‐forming dies,
which must be precisely machined and carefully heat‐treated
to correctly shape the workpiece, as well as to withstand the
tremendous forces involved
Forging Process
That’s all for
forging!