FORGING OF METALS
Introduction
Open-die forging
Impression-die and closed-die forging
Related forging operations
The economics of forging
INTRODUCTION
A metal is shaped by compressive forces through dies & tooling
Oldest metal working process – 4000BC (in making jewelry,coins)
Can be performed with a hammer and anvil
Typical forged products:
Bolts
Rivets
Connecting rods
Gears
Steps involved in forging a bevel gear with a shaft.
Landing-gear
Metal flow & grain structures can be controlled.
Advantages :
Parts have good strength
High toughness
Can be done at;
Room temperature (cold forging)
Greater forces for higher ductility metals.
Better surface finish & dimensional accuracy
Elevated temperature (warm or hot forging)
Forgings require additional heat treating to modify properties &
machining to obtain accurate final dimensions & good surface finish
Grain flow for (a) casting (b) machining (c) forging
Outline of Forging and Related
Operations
OPEN-DIE FORGING
Is the simplest forging process
Sizes can very from very small
parts (nails, pins, bolts) to very large parts (23m long shaft for ship propellers)
Also called as upsetting or flat-die forging
a solid work piece is placed between two flat dies and reduced in height by
compression
Barreling
Caused by frictional forces that oppose the outward flow of the workpiece at
the die-workpiece interfaces
Can be minimized if a lubricant is used
Barreling from thermal effects can be minimized by using heated dies &
thermal barriers (such as glass cloth)
(a) Solid cylindrical billet upset between two flat dies.
(b) Uniform deformation of the billet without friction.
(c) Deformation with friction; note barreling of the
billet caused by friction forces at the billet–die
interfaces.
Cogging
Also called drawing out
Open-die forging operation in which the thickness of a bar is
reduced by successive forging steps done at specific interval
since the contact area between die and workpiece is small,
thickness can be reduce with small force
Forging force (for round w-piece)
Yf : flow stress
m : Coefficient of friction
r : radius of workpiece (a) Schematic illustration of a cogging operation on a rectangular bar. Blacksmiths use
this process to reduce the thickness of bars by hammering the part on an anvil;
h : height of workpiece reduction in thickness is accompanied by barreling. (b) Reducing the diameter of a bar
by open-die forging; note the movements of the dies and the workpiece. (c) The
thickness of a ring being reduced by open-die forging.
IMPRESSION-DIE
The workpiece takes the shape of the die cavities while being
forged between the two shaped dies
Carried out at elevated temp. to lower the required forces
and attain enhanced ductility in workpiece
During deformation (Fig. C), some of material flows outward
and forms a flash
Flash: the high pressure and the resulting high frictional
resistance in the flash presents a severe constraint on any
outward flow of material in the die
die will flows preferentially into the die cavity, filling it
completely (due to least resistance)
Initial parts or to be forged is prepared by: Cutting from a bar
stock; preformed blank (powder metallurgy); Casting;
Preformed blank from prior forging
2 type pre-forming processes are used to distribute the
material
Fullering – material is distributed away from an area
Edging – material is gathered/fit into an area
Part then is form into rough shape by a process called (a) through (d) Stages in impression-die forging of
blocking, using blocker dies a solid round billet; note the formation of flash,
Follow by finishing process to get its final shape which is excess metal that is subsequently
trimmed off. (e) Standard terminology for various
Flash is remove by a trimming operation
features of a forging die.
(a) Stages in forging a connecting rod for an internal combustion engine; note the amount
of flash required to ensure proper filling of the die cavities. (b) Fullering and (c) edging
operations to distribute the material properly when preshaping the blank for forging.
Trimming flash from a forged part; note that the thin material at the center
(slug) is removed by punching.
CLOSED-DIE FORGING
Flash does not form flashless forging
The workpiece completely fills the die cavity
The forging pressure is very high
accurate control of the blank volume and proper die design are essential to
produce a forging with the dimensional tolerances
Undersized blank prevent the complete filling of the die cavity
Oversize blanks generate excessive pressure & may cause dies to fail prematurely
or the machine to jam
Comparison of (a) closed-die forging
with flash and (b) precision or
flashless forging of a round billet.
Source: After H. Takemasu, V.
Vazquez, B. Painter, and T. Altan.
PRECISION FORGING
• Purpose: to reduce the number of additional finishing operation & cost
net-shape forming
• The part formed is close to the final dimensions
• Precision forging requires:
a) Special and more complex dies
b) Precise control of the blank’s volume and shape
c) Accurate positioning of the blank in the die cavity
• Example product: gears, connecting rods, turbine blades
VARIOUS FORGING OPERATIONS
COINING
Used for minting coins, medallions, & jewelry
The blank or slug is coined in a completely closed die cavity
To produce fine details, the pressure required can be as high as five or six times the
strength of the material
Lubricants can not be used in coining
Can entrapped in the die cavities and prevent the full reproduction of the die surface
details & surface finish
Can be used to improve surface finish
(a) Schematic illustration of the coining
process; the earliest coins were made by
open-die forging and lacked precision and
sharp details. (b) An example of a modern
coining operation, showing the coins and
tooling; note the detail and superior surface
finish that can be achieved in this process.
Source: Courtesy of C & W Steel Stamp
Company Inc.
Heading
Also called upset forging
Performed at the end of a round rod or wire in order to produce a larger
cross-section
Eg : Heads of bolts, screws, rivets, nails etc.
(a) Heading operation to form
heads on fasteners, such as nails
and rivets. (b) Sequence of
operations in producing a typical
bolt head by heading.
Piercing
A process of indenting the surface of a workpiece with a punch in order to produce
a cavity or an impression
Also ca be used to produce hollow regions in forgings using side-acting auxiliary
equipment
Example: the indentation of the hexagonal cavity in bolt heads
Piercing force depends on:
a) The cross-sectional area and the tip geometry of the punch
b) The strength of the material
c) The magnitude of friction at the sliding interfaces
Hubbing
Pressing a hardened punch with a tip geometry into the surface of metal block
The cavity produced is subsequently used as a die for forming operations
The die cavity usually is shallow, but for deeper cavity, some material may be
removed by machining prior to hubbing
FORGING DEFECTS
• Internal defects may develop from:
a) Non-uniform deformation of
material in the die cavity
b) Temperature gradients
throughout the workpiece during
forging
c) Microstructural changes cause
by phase transformations
• Effect of defect:
a) Fatigue failure
b) Corrosion and wear during the
service life
Examples of defects in forged parts. (a) Laps due to web buckling during forging; web
thickness should be increased to avoid this problem. (b) Internal defects caused by an
oversized billet; die cavities are filled prematurely, and the material at the center flows past the
filled regions as the dies close.
ECONOMICS OF FORGING
Cost
Tools & die costs depend on the complexity of the
product from moderate to high.
Then, cost/piece decrease as the number of parts
increased
Material cost
Relatively low compare to the cost of dies.
Not influenced by the type of materials forged.
Labor cost
Generally moderate Typical cost per piece (unit cost) in
forging; note how the setup and the
With CAD-CAM application, its significant saving in tooling costs per piece decrease as
time & effort the number of pieces forged increases
(if all pieces use the same die).
