Forging is the process of heating, deforming, and finishing a piece of metal. Forgings are made by forcing materials into customized metal shapes either by the force of a falling ram upon an anvil or by a die press enclosing a piece of metal and squeeze-forming the part. Due to the realigning of the grains of metal when heated and deformed, forgings can withstand extreme pressure and maintain structural integrity under stress. Once produced, forgings have a broad range of uses across a variety of industries ranging from heavy trucks, medical supplies, automotive parts, to aerospace.

A wide range of metals can be forged. Typical metals used in forging include carbon steel, alloy steel, and stainless steel. Very soft metals such as aluminum, brass, and copper can also be forged. The forging process can produce parts with superb mechanical properties with minimum waste. The basic concept is that the original metal is plastically deformed to the desired geometric shape—giving it higher fatigue resistance and strength. The process is economically sound with the ability to mass-produce parts and achieve specific mechanical properties in the finished product.

Forging Types And Its Features

1. Hot Forging

The forging temperature is between 950 and 1250 degrees Celsius, above the recrystallization temperature. It results in good formability and requires low forming forces.

2. Warm Forging

The forging temperature is between 750 and 950 degrees Celsius. It leads to limited formability and requires higher forming forces than for hot forging.

3. Cold Forging

The forging temperature is at room condition, self-heating up to 150 degrees Celsius due to the forming energy. It results in low formability and needs high forming forces.

Types of Forging Processes

There are several forging methods with different capabilities and benefits. The more commonly used forging methods include impression or closed die, open die forging, and seamless rolled ring forging. Here we will discuss in detail the methods, application, and comparative benefits of the different forging processes.

Closed-die forging (Impression-Die Forging)

Closed-die forging is also known as impression die forging. The metal is placed in the die and attached to the anvil. The hammer drops onto the metal, causing it to flow and fill the mold cavity. The hammer is in rapid and continuous contact with the metal within a few milliseconds. Excess metal is pushed out of the die cavity, creating flash. The flash lamp cools faster than the rest of the material, making it stronger than the metal in the mold. After forging, remove the flash.

Imprecision die forging that is produced on a horizontal forging machine, which is known as upsetting. In Upsetting, the stock is held between a fixed and moving die while a horizontal ram provides the pressure to forge the stock. After each ram stroke, the multiple-impression dies opens to permit the transfer of stock from one cavity to another.

Closed die drop forging is another form of impression die forging. It does not depend on the flash formation to achieve complete filling of the die. Material is deformed in a cavity that allows little or no escape of excess material, thus placing greater demands on die design.

Open Die Forging

Open-die forging can produce forgings from a few pounds up to more than 150 tons. Called open-die because the metal is not confined laterally by impression dies during forging, this process progressively works the starting stock into the desired shape, most commonly between flat-faced dies. In practice, open-die forging comprises many process variations, permitting an extremely broad range of shapes and sizes to be produced. When design criteria dictate optimum structural integrity for a huge metal component, the sheer size capability of open die drop forging makes it the clear process choice over non-forging alternatives. At the high end of the size range, open-die forgings are limited only by the size of the starting stock, namely, the largest ingot that can be cast.

Open-die shape capability is indeed wide in latitude. In addition to round, square, rectangular, hexagonal bars and other basic shapes, open-die processes can produce:
● Stepper shaft solid shaft (spindle or rotor) whose diameter increases or decreases (decreases) at multiple positions on the longitudinal axis.
● The shape of a hollow cylinder is usually much longer than the diameter of the part. Length, wall thickness, inner diameter, and outer diameter can be changed as needed.
● Depending on the height/wall thickness ratio, the shape of the ring-shaped part may resemble a gasket or close to a hollow cylinder.
● Profiled metal shells (such as pressure vessels) can be combined with extrusion nozzles and other design features.

Seamless Rolled Ring Forging

The ring forged by the seamless ring rolling forging process weighs less than 1 pound, up to 350,000 pounds, and the outer diameter ranges from a few inches to 30 feet. In terms of performance, forged circular cross-section rings are often used in energy generation, mining, aerospace, off-highway equipment, and other critical applications.

The seamless ring configuration can be flat (such as a washer), or it can have a high vertical wall (approximately a hollow cylindrical part). Even though the basic shape with a rectangular cross-section has become the norm, rings with complex functional cross-sections can still be forged to meet almost all design requirements.

These contour-rolled rings can be made into thousands of different shapes, with inner and/or outer diameters having contours. The main advantage of the profiled ring is that it greatly reduces the processing operations, and the customized contour ring can save the cost of parts.

Forging Solutions Offered by Yifei

A leader among forging companies in China, Yifei combines award-winning forging process expertise with cutting-edge research and innovation. Whether managing a complex supply chain or researching special material properties, Yifei Forge matches the right equipment and forging metallurgy to get the best manufacturing outcome.

Custom Forging

Yifei’s main focus is on custom forging service, build-to-print components per our customer’s prints, and specifications. With 7 computer-controlled hydraulic hammers and 2 conventional drop hammers, we forge most ferrous, non-ferrous, and exotic metal alloy grades. We can offer parts up to 165 pounds in net weight in near-net shapes.

We manufacture parts as designed by our customers. We also have multiple design engineers and a Ph.D. Metallurgist on-staff to assist with processing RFQs with unique material or processing requirements or casting-to-forging or hog-out-to-forging conversion exploratory quotes.

Contact Us Now

If you would like to have a question then get in touch today, we are ready to assist 24/7. We welcome your cooperation and we will develop with you.

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