Steel Forging

Forging is an ancient technique that has been used for centuries to produce and
fabricate necessities from metal. Over the many years of its existence, forging has
been perfected, reinvented, and changed to manufacture metal components and
parts for most of the appliances and equipment used today.

Forging is a metal working process that manipulates, shapes, deforms, and

compresses metal to achieve a desired form, configuration, or appearance outlined
by a metal processing design or diagram. Depending on the type of metal and the
requirements of the design, the forging process can be completed using either hot or
cold forging processes.

Forging is one of the more pivotal metalworking processes in the metal

manufacturing industry. It’s especially vital in the iron and steel industries and is
viewed as a tremendous source of productivity.

What is The Metal Forging Process?

Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of a metal through

hammering, pressing, or rolling. These compressive forces are delivered with a
hammer or die. Forging is often categorized according to the temperature at which it
is performed—cold, warm, or hot forging.

Here are some of the more common methods used:

● Closed die forging

● Open die forging
● Cold forging
● Extrusion
● Roll forging

Products Made from Forging

The strength, reliability, and durability of forged components make them ideal for
heavy duty stressful applications

● Automotive
● Weapons
● Agriculture
● Oil
● Industrial Equipment
 ● Railroads
● Hand tools
● Aerospace

What is the Best Metal for Forging?

It’s possible to forge any kind of metal, but there are certain metals and alloys that
are better suited for different applications.

Most commonly, these are the kinds of metals that get forged:

● Carbon, alloy, and stainless steel

● Exceptionally hard tool steels
● Aluminum
● Titanium
● Brass and copper

High-temperature alloys containing cobalt, nickel, or molybdenum

Out of these choices, it’s almost impossible to choose which is the “best,” as it really
depends on the needs of a customer.
What Products Require Forged Metal?

The forging process is incredibly versatile and can be applied to anything from small
parts measured in inches to components that weigh up to 317,5 tons.

Forged products can be structural components in the following:

● Critical aircraft parts:

● Landing gear
● Shafts for jet engines
● Turbines
● Transportation equipment:
● Automobiles
● Railroads
● Crankshafts
● Levers
● Gears
● Connecting rods
Also, forging is used to fortify hand tools (e.g., chisels, rivets, screws, and bolts).

Open Die Forging, Closed Die Forging, and Roll Forging

The most common metal forging processes are open die forging, closed die forging,
and roll forging.
What is Open Die Forging?
In open die forging, heated metal parts are shaped between a top die attached to a
ram and a bottom die attached to a bolster, anvil, or hammer. With open die forging
the metal is never completely confined or restrained in the dies.

Typically, temperatures range from anywhere between 260°C and 1315°C, the
appropriate temperatures are applied when working the metal parts. Once the metal
has been appropriately heated, the intricate hammering – or pressing of the
workpiece – is performed to gradually shape the metal to its desired form.

Typically, the open die forging process is used to produce larger, simpler-shaped
parts such as bars, rings, and hollows.

(1) Solid cylindrical billet upset between two flat dies. (2) Uniform
deformation of the billet without friction. (3) Deformation with friction. Note
barreling of the billet caused by friction forces at the billet–die interfaces.

Advantages of open-die forging:

● Better fatigue resistance and strength

 ● Reduces chance of error and/or holes
● Improves microstructure
● Continuous grain flow
● Finer grain size

What is Closed Die Forging?

Closed die forging moves the die towards each other, covering the workpiece entirely
or partially. There is heated raw material that’s nearing the shape/size of the final
forged part and is placed in the bottom die.

This process works by incorporating the shape of the forging into the top or bottom
die as a negative image. Once the process starts, the impact of the top die on the
metal material forms it into the required forged form.

This process can be used to manufacture parts that range in size from a few hundreds
of grams to 27 tons.

Advantages of closed-die forging:

● Produces parts up to 25 tons

● Produces near net shapes that require only a small amount of finishing
● Economic for heavy production

Cold Forging
Cold forging shapes, deforms, and processes metals at room temperature or slightly
above room temperature. The term cold forging is a general term that includes
drawing, heading, coining, punching, and thread rolling. The temperature of the
metal is three tenths of its recrystallization temperature. Cold forging is the preferred
method for shaping soft metals such as aluminum and copper. The benefits of cold
forging include reduced processing of finished parts, better surface finishes,
improved dimensional stability, and lower cost.
 ● require very little or no finishing work.
● good level of attainable dimensional accuracy and excellent surface quality.
● long die life
● high production rates

What is Roll Forging?

Roll forging, also known as roll forming, it’s a forging method that uses opposing
rolls to form a metal part. Even though roll forging uses rolls to produce parts and
components, it is still considered a metal forging process and not a rolling process.

The process involves two cylindrical or semi-cylindrical horizontal rolls that are used
to deform a round or flat bar stock. Through this action, the thickness is reduced,
and the length is increased. Parts produced through roll forging have superior
mechanical properties than those produced from many other processes.

After being inserted, a heated bar is passed between the two rolls. It’s progressively
shaped while rolling through the machine’s shaped grooves. The precisely shaped
geometry of these grooves are what forge the part to the specified dimensions.

Roll forging is often used to produce parts for the automotive industry. It is also used
to produce things like knives and hand tools.
Advantages of automatic roll forging:

● Produces little to no material waste

● Creates a favorable grain structure in the metal
● Reduces the cross-sectional area of the metal
● Produces taper ends

Standard Forging Equipment

There are four primary tools that are used in the metal forging process depending on
the exact method being used.

Hammers
The hammer, or power hammer, is a tool most commonly associated with forging.
Whether a hand-held hammer or a massive power hammer, the tool is used to
repeatedly hit the metal in order to deform it. As long as it possesses a 22,5 tons
driving force to deliver high-pressure impact blows, a hammer can pound metal into
shape.
Presses
Presses use either mechanical or hydraulic pressure to apply continuous pressure on
forging dies. This kind of equipment requires a 50,000 ton driving force to vertically
squeeze metal into die cavities with controlled high pressure. Instead of hitting the
metal repeatedly to deform it, the metal is slowly pressed into the dies.

Upsetters
Upsetter forging is similar to press forging, however, the main difference is that an
upsetter is a forging press that is used horizontally. Instead of forcing the metal
downward into a die, the metal is moved into the die impression in a horizontal
direction.

Ring Rollers
The heart of a roll forging machine is the opposing rollers that shape the workpiece
and carry the dies. Support rails give the rollers constant spring such that the
framework can have a low spring constant. When in operation, the rollers are forced
together with greater force than is necessary to deform the workpiece. Backup rollers
bear against the work rollers and are positioned asymmetrically to the plane of the
workpiece. A hydraulic cylinder drives the work rollers together to shape the work
piece at a constant and steady pressure.
How Does Forging Strengthen Metal?

Compared to other manufacturing methods, metal forging is known to produce some

of the strongest manufactured parts available. As the metal is heated and pressed,
minor cracks are sealed and empty spaces found in the metal are closed up.

In addition, the hot forging process breaks up any impurities in the metal and
redistributes such material across the metalwork. This results in vastly reduced
inclusions in the forged part. Inclusions are compound materials embedded inside
steel throughout manufacturing, causing stress points in the product.

Even though impurities should be managed during the initial casting process, this
process will further refine the metal.

Another way that forging strengthens metal is through the altering of its grain
structure. This has to do with the material’s grain flow as it deforms. Like other
forming processes, a favorable grain structure can be created, making the forged
metal sturdier.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages:
● Forging gives a comparatively tougher product compared to casting.
● The fatigue strength and creep resistance of forge products is higher.
● Forge products have higher mechanical properties.
● Low cost operation.
● This process does not require a special skill operator.
● Variety of shapes can be formed by this process.

Disadvantages:
● Higher initial cost for big forging presses.
● Secondary finishing process required in hot forging.
● It cannot produce complex shapes.
● Size is limited due to the size of the press.
● Brittle metal cannot be forged.

Conclusion:
● Forging is a metal working process that manipulates, shapes, deforms, and
compresses metal to achieve a desired form, configuration, or appearance
outlined by a metal processing design or diagram.
● Though forging is an ancient process, it is still an essential part of most
metalworking manufacturing processes.
● With technological advancements and the development of new metals, forging
has changed but maintains much of its original form.
● Modern forging uses a wide range of technical methods and heavy duty
equipment to produce parts that are essential for most of the necessities of
society.
● The controlled deformation of the forging process results in metallurgical
soundness and exceptional mechanical properties.