FORGING

0. Classification
• 1. Temperature
• Hot forging
• Warm forging
• Cold forging
• 2. Forging equipments
• Hammer
• Press
• 3. Dies
• Open
• Close
1. Temperature: hot forging
• Forging is carried out at a temperature above the recrystallization
temperature of the metal which means at the temperature at which the
new grains are formed.
• Advantage:
• high strain rates and hence easy flow of the metal
• recrystallization and recovery are possible
• forces required are less
• Disadvantages:
• lubrication at high temperatures is difficult
• oxidation and scaling occur on the work piece
• poor surface finish
• lesser precise tolerances
• possible warping of the material during the cooling process.
1. Temperature: warm forging
• In warm forging, the work piece is heated below the recrystallization
temperature of the metal, in order to lower the flow stress and the
forging pressures.
• Advantage:
• high production rates
• good dimensional tolerances and surface finish
• significant savings in material and machining
• favorable grain flow to improve strength
• greater toughness
• Disadvantages:
• tooling and press load higher than hot forging
1. Temperature: cold forging
• A chemically lubricated bar slug is forced into a closed die under extreme
pressure. The unheated metal thus flows into the desired shape.
• Advantage:
• production rates are very high with exceptional die life
• improves mechanical properties
• less friction between die surface and work piece
• lubrication is easy
• no oxidation or scaling
• Disadvantage:
• there can be residual stress
• heavier and more powerful forging equipment is needed
• stronger tooling is required
• tool design and manufacturing are critical
2. Forging equipment: hammer
• Least expensive and most versatile type of equipment for generating
load and energy in forging
• Characterized by multiple impact blows between contoured dies
• Typologies:
• board drop hammer
• belt drop hammer
• power drop hammer
2. Forging equipment: press
• Metal is shaped by means of a single continuous squeezing action
• Typologies:
• Hydraulic
• Mechanical:
• crank
• knuckle joint
• eccentric
• rack and pinion
• screw
3. Dies: open dies
• no precut profile in the dies
• allow the material to freely deform in lateral directions of the applied load
• suitable for only simple shapes
• lesser dimensional accuracy
• high skill of the operators
• dies are simple and less expensive
• comprises many process variations, permitting an extremely broad range of
shapes and sizes to be produced
• applicable in all forgeable ferrous and non-ferrous materials
3. Closed die forging
• two or more dies containing impressions of the part shape are brought together as
forging material undergoes plastic deformation
• also called impression die forging (da verificare)
• material is fully constrained in the cavity created by the upper and lower die halves
• smaller parts can also be forged cold
• use hydraulic presses, mechanical presses and hammers
• more complex shapes and closer tolerances
• higher interface pressures, very accurate control of material volume and proper die
design
• work piece is first rough forged close to final shape by blocking die, then forged to final
shape and dimensions by finishing die
• large production rates to justify high costs of dies