Production techniques_forging

PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES

FORGING OF METALS

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

ISFAHAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Dep. of Mech. Eng.

An introduction to forging process

 Dating back at least to 4000 B.C., to make jewelry, coins,..

 Shaping the workpiece by compressive forces applied

through various dies and tooling

 Include large rotors for turbines; gears; bolts and rivets;

hand tools; machinery components; aircraft, railroads,…

 Production of discrete parts with good strength and

toughness

 Very reliable for highly stressed and critical applications

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Mohsen Badrossamay 1
Production techniques_forging

An introduction to forging process

 Forging temperature:
 at room temperature (cold forging)
 at elevated temperatures (warm or hot forging)
 Cold forging characteristics:
 Requires higher forces
 The material must have sufficient ductility at room temperature to
undergo the necessary deformation without cracking
 Parts with good surface finish and dimensional accuracy
 Hot forging requires lower forces; dimensional accuracy and
surface finish of the parts are not as high as in cold forging
 Forgings generally are subjected to additional finishing
operations, such as heat treatment to modify properties and
machining to obtain accurate final dimensions and surface
finish
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Dep. of Mech. Eng.

An introduction to forging process

 The finishing operations can be minimized by precision
forging
 The quality, dimensional tolerances, and surface finish of the
forging depend on how well these operations are performed
and controlled
 Dimensional tolerances range between ±0.5 and ±1.0% of
the dimensions of the forging
 Tolerances for hot forging of steels usually are less than
±6mm in good practice
 In precision forging as low as ±0.25mm

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Production techniques_forging

Forged Components

(a) Schematic illustration of the steps involved in forging a knife. (b) Landing-gear
components for the C5A and C5B transport aircraft, made by forging. (c) General view
of a 445 MN (50,000 ton) hydraulic press (Courtesy of Wyman-Gordon Company).
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Dep. of Mech. Eng.

Microstructure as a Function of
Manufacturing Method

Schematic illustration of a part made by three different processes showing grain

flow:
(a) Casting by the processes described in casting processes chapter
(b) Machining form a blank, to be introduced later
(c) Forging.

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Production techniques_forging

Characteristics of Forging

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Open-die forging
 The simplest forging operation
 Parts weights 15 to 500 kg, but as heavy as 270 tones have
been made
 Part sizes range from nails and pins to very large (up to 23m
long shaft for ship propellers)
 Flat or shallow cavities dies to produce simple forgings
 Flat-die forging or upsetting includes placing a solid
workpiece between two flat dies and reducing its height by
compressing it
 Ideal condition is frictionless upsetting
 Actual operation develops the part to a barrel shape (pancaking)

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Production techniques_forging

Upsetting with Barreling

 Barreling is caused by frictional forces at die-workpiece
interface that oppose the outward flow of the materials
 Also can develop in upsetting hot workpiece between cold
dies
 Barreling can be minimized using an effective lubricant
 Thermal affected barreling can be reduced, or eliminated by
using heated dies, and 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. 9
Dep. of Mech. Eng.

Forging force in upsetting

 2 r 
F  Y f  r 2 1  
 3h 
Where
Yf is the flow stress of the material, µ is the coefficient of
friction between the workpiece and the die, and r and h are
the radius and height of the workpiece, respectively

Example: Calculate the forging force at the end of an upsetting

process where a solid cylindrical slug made of 304 stainless
steel with 150 mm diameter and 100 mm height is reduced
in height by 50% at room temperature. Assume that the
coefficient of friction is 0.2.
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Production techniques_forging

Cogging Operation on a Rectangular

Bar

(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.
(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.
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Dep. of Mech. Eng.

Impression-die forging
 A type of closed-die forging in which the workpiece takes the
shape of the die cavity while being forged
 For enhancing metals ductility and lowering the force is
carried out at elevated temperatures
 Its characteristic is the formation of flash which is excess
metal that is subsequently trimmed off
 The high pressure and the resulting high frictional resistance
in the flash presents a severe constraint to the material in
the die for outward flow
 As a consequence the material begins to flow into the die
cavity based on the principle that in plastic formation the
material flows in the direction of least resistance because it
requires less energy
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Production techniques_forging

Impression-Die Forging

(a) through (c) Stages in impression-die forging of a solid round billet.

(d) Standard terminology for various features of a forging die.
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Die Inserts
 A forging die may be
made of several
segments including die
inserts
 The inserts are made of
stronger and harder
materials
 The inserts can be
replaced easily in the
case of wear or failure
in a particular section of
the die

Die inserts used in forging an automotive axle housing.

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Production techniques_forging

Preparing forging blanks

 The blank is prepared:
a) Cropping from an extruded or drawn bar stock
b) Using a pre-form from operations such as powder metallurgy
c) Casting
d) Using a pre-form blank from a prior forging operation
e) A type of closed-die forging in which the workpiece takes the
shape of the die cavity while being forged
 Preforming operations are used to distribute the material
properly into various regions of the blank using simple
shaped dies of various contours
 Fullering: material is distributed away from an area
 Edging: material is gathered into a localized area
 Blocking: forms the part into the rough shape

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Dep. of Mech. Eng.

Forging a Rod, Fullering, and Edging

(a) Stages in forging a connecting rod for an internal combustion engine.

(b) Fullering and (c) edging operations to properly distribute the material when
preshaping the blank for forging.
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Production techniques_forging

Trimming Flash After Forging

Trimming flash from a forged part. Note that the

thin material at the center is removed by punching.
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Dep. of Mech. Eng.

Force in Impression Die Forging

Estimation of the forging F  kY f A
force:
Where
Yf is the flow stress of the
material at the forging
temperature
k is a multiplying factor
obtained from the table
A is projected area of the
forging including the

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Production techniques_forging

Closed-die forging
 Although impression-die forging is a closed-die process, in
true closed-die process the flash does not form
 In 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 in order to produce a forging with the desired
dimensional tolerances
 Undersized blanks prevent the complete filling of the cavity
 Oversized blanks generate excessive pressures and may cause dies
to fail or the machine to jam

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Dep. of Mech. Eng.

Closed-Die Forging Versus

Flashless Forging

Comparison of closed-die forging with flash (left side of each illustration) and
precision or flashless forging (right side) of a round billet.

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Production techniques_forging

Precision forging
 Reducing the number of additional finishing operations
required - hence the cost
 Typical parts: gears, connecting rods, and turbine blades
 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
d) Higher-capacity equipments
 Aluminum and magnesium alloys are suitable for precision
forging because of the relatively low forging loads and
temperatures that they are required
 Steels and titanium also can be precision forged

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Dep. of Mech. Eng.

Various forging operations

 Coining:

 A closed-die forging process which is used in minting

coins, medallions, and jewelry
 In order to produce fine details the pressure required can
be as high as five or six times the strength of material
 Lubricants cannot be applied in coining
 Marking parts with letters and numbers can be done
rapidly by this process
 Coining is also used with forgings and other products to
improve surface finish

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Production techniques_forging

The Coining
Process

(b)

(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 workpiece and
tooling
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Dep. of Mech. Eng.

Various forging operations

 Heading:
 Also called upset forging, is an upsetting operation usually
performed on the end of a round rod or wire in order to increase
the cross-section
 Typical examples are nails, bolt heads, screws, rivets, and
various other fasteners
 Can be carried out cold, warm, or hot
 The length-to-diameter ratio of the bar has to be in a range to
prevent buckling of the bar (limited less than 3:1)
 Higher ratios can be carried out if the diameter of die cavity is not
more than 1.5 times the bar diameter
 Piercing:
 The process of indenting the surface of a workpiece with a
punch in order to produce a cavity or an impression

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Production techniques_forging

Heading

(a) Heading operation to form heads on fasteners, such as nails and rivets.
(b) Sequence of operations to produce a typical bolt head by heading.
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Dep. of Mech. Eng.

Grain Flow
in Forging
(piercing)

A pierced round billet

showing grain-flow pattern.
Source: Courtesy of Ladish
Co., Inc.

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Production techniques_forging

Stepped Pin

(a) The stepped pin from SAE 1008 steel used as a part of a roller assembly to adjust
the position of a car sit
(b) Illustration of the manufacturing (cold-forging) steps used to produce the stepped
pin. Source: Courtesy of National Machinery, LLC.
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Dep. of Mech. Eng.

Swaging

(a) Schematic illustration of the rotary-swaging process. (b) Forming internal

profiles on a tubular workpiece by swaging. (c) A die-closing swaging machine
showing forming of a stepped shaft. (d) Typical parts made by swaging. Source:
Courtesy of J. Richard Industries.
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Production techniques_forging

Swaging with and without a Mandrel

(a) Swaging of tubes without a mandrel; note the increase in wall thickness in
the die gap. (b) Swaging with a mandrel; note that the final wall thickness of the
tube depends on the mandrel diameter. (c) Examples of cross-sections of tubes
produced by swaging on shaped mandrels. Rifling (internal spiral grooves) in
small gun barrels can be made by this process.
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Dep. of Mech. Eng.

Forgeability of metals
 The capacity of a material to undergo deformation without cracking
 Tests for quantifying the forgeability:
(a) Upsetting test: a solid, cylindrical specimen is upset between flat
dies, and the reduction in height at which cracking on the barreled
surfaces begins is noted; the greater the deformation prior to
cracking, the greater the forgeability
(b) Hot-twist test: a round specimen is twisted continuously in the
same direction until it fails. This test is carried out on a number of
specimens and at different temperatures, and the number of
complete turns that each specimen undergoes before failure is
plotted. The temperature at which the maximum number of turns
occurs then becomes the forging temperature for the maximum
forgeability

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Production techniques_forging

Metals in Decreasing Order of

Forgeability

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Speed Ranges of Forging Equipment

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Production techniques_forging

Economics of Forging

Typical (cost-per-piece) in forging; note how the setup and the tooling costs-
per-piece decrease as the number of pieces forged increases if all pieces use
the same die.
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Dep. of Mech. Eng.

Comparison of a connection rod

costs made by Forging and Casting

Relative unit costs of a small

connecting rod made by
various forging and casting
processes
Sand casting is the most
economical process for
fewer then about 20,000
pieces.

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Production techniques_forging

Case study
Lotus Elise Series 2 and Vertical Suspension Uprights

(a) The Lotus Elise Series 2 Sports car; (b) illustration of the original design for the
vertical suspension uprights, using an aluminum extrusion; (c) retrofit design, using
a steel forging; (d) optimized steel forging design for new car models. Source:
Courtesy of Lotus Engineering and the American Iron and Steel Institute. 35
Dep. of Mech. Eng.

Case study
Comparison of Suspension Designs for the Lotus

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