Beating is a method of producing flat or hollow bodies from sheet

metals, by hammering at suitable points, which reduces the thick-

ness of the sheets. Chasing hammer
Workpie ce
Curving consists of hammering an even sheet in such a way as to
Final shape
cause it to curve (bow). The thickness of the sheet is reduced,
pitial Shape
important points to be remembered in forging:

Bring structural steels to white-heat, and tool steels to

cherry-red.
Fly. 3,85 Beating
First forge the part which cools quickest.
Remove burning-off before forging. Sweep hammer
Initial Shape Workbiece
The hammer must be fixed firmly on the haft.
Finished
Bringing the hammer down in an arc is dangerous. Bring it
down straight.
Use tongs with safety rings to hold the object being
forged.
Tongs should not be held against the body.

Fig. 3,85 Curving

PRESSURE FORMING BY SWAGING Heade,'

Upper die

In swaging, the forging tools (swages) move counter to

each other. The swages (dies) enclosethe workpiece.

If the work piece to be swaged is first heated to forging tem- — Lower die
perature, the process is known as drop-forging.
Swages are permanent moulds in which the pre-formed
workpiece is hammered down or pressed. This can be carried
out either in the cold state, or after the metal has been heated
FIg. 3,87 Swaging
to forging temperature, The workpiece gets the shape of
the die cavity. Large workpieces or complicated ones may be
forged in several stages. using swages (crankshafts, connect-
ing rods). Advantages: low production costs, greater
accuracy. clean surfaces.

Because the tools are expensive to produce, drop-forging

is economical only for mass production, Materials which can
be drop-forged: alloyed and unalloyed steels, copper and
copper alloys. magnesium alloys.
Upper die

Materials for tools: Water-hardening carbon steel (009%

carbon content) for flat swages; alloyed steels containing
chromium, nickel and molybdenum -are used when radical
reshaping is called for. The cavities are milled out of solid Workpiece
blocks. The sides of the dies are bevelled (inside die 1 :5, out• with burr
side die 1:1 0) so that the finished piece can be removed easily. L

Because the working material shrinks when cooled, and the

CtamPing surlace' ,
swage expands with the heat of the workpiece, shrinkage
allowances between 1 .2% to 1 .5% must be provided for. Fig. 3.88 Drop-forging die and workplace

L-
Compression moulding—working sequence
Initial id preparatory shape
material
Free form forging in the preliminary forging die—drop
forging—stress relief annealing. Elwr

The heaviest phase of transformation takes place in the

preliminary forging die and in the intermediate die, to preserve
1st oreparalory shape
the exact dimensions and precise shape of the finishing
die. Remove burr
F l y . 1 8 9 Wo r k i n g s e q ue nc e I n d r o p - fo r y l ny

106