Forging is a process used in the manufacturing industry that involves heating, finishing, and reformation of a metal piece.
The metal reformation can either be done by a hammer, power hammer, or a die. Also, the forging process varies according to the temperature; it can be cold forging or hot forging.
Forging can bear extreme pressure and maintain its structural integrity under high stress. That’s the reason it’s getting used in multiple industries like Automotive parts, aerospace, heavy trucks, medical supplies, etc.
Another reason why forging is used widely is that parts created using it are stronger and of high strength when compared to pieces created with other metal forming processes like casting.
Now that we are aware of the basics of forging let’s check all the types of forgings.
Types of Alloy Forgings
There are three main types of Weldaloy Specialty Forgings:
- Open Die Forging
- Closed Die Forging
- Rolled Ring Forging
Each method has its advantages and ideal for different types of jobs. We will go through each of them one-by-one.
1. Open Die Forging
It is one of the oldest forging methods, also known as hammer forging, Smith forging, flat-die forging, and hand forging.
It has evolved a lot in a period of a hundred years in terms of technology and machinery advancements. Unlike closed die forging, open die forging uses two dies that do not encase the metal part completely.
The metal parts went through a heat treatment at the desired temperature and placed between the upper die attached to a ram. On the other hand, the lower die is attached to an anvil, bolster, or a hammer.
Once the metal part is positioned correctly, both the dies continuously and repeatedly compress and hit the meta part to reform it into the desired shape.
Below are the reasons why most of the manufacturers prefer open die forging as their preferred method.
- Cost-effective when it comes to low-volume parts
- It develops high-strength parts due to continuous grain flow and more excellent grain sizes.
- Versatile in nature
- It is ideal for forging metals like aluminium, copper, brass, and titanium alloys.
- Also used for metal parts that have specific mechanical requirements, or requires cold work or hot work, larger for production such as rings and ring rolling mill.
2. Closed Die Forging
Closed die forging is a manufacturing process in which the metal part is pounded between two dies. It uses force or pressure to compress the metal part and contains precut profiling of the end product.
It is also referred to as impression die forging because the metal part is enclosed to give a die impression. Because of this impression, the metal part gains its predefined form and shape.
Also, it completely depends on the desired metal part specifications (product’s shape, size, and other specifications) whether it can be formed using a single die or multiple die impressions.
Closed die forging or impression die forging is suitable for manufacturing parts that are smaller in size, larger in quantity number, and do have posses complicated specification requirements.
It is used to forge metal alloys such as titanium, aluminium, and other types of alloys. It is generally produced on hammers with high capacity (20,000 tons, 50,000 tons, and 50,000 lbs), mechanical compression, and hydraulic pressure.
This process can produce closer tolerance and complex shaped metal parts when compared to open Weldaloy Specialty Forgings die forgings. The reason behind the same is that the flow of the metal alloys is restricted by the die contours.
3. Rolled Ring Forging
Rolled ring forging is a process performed by creating a hole in a solid curved metal piece. The results almost look like a doughnut-shaped metal.
Then this doughnut ring rolled, squeezed, or even pounded into a thin ring. The diameter of the ring can vary from inches to 30 feet.
One of the significant advantages of this type of forging is that a reliable uniform product can be created in a lesser amount of time and material when compared to the other traditional forging methods.
Seamless rolled ring forging is known to manufacture the high-quality ring with characteristics such as repeatable mechanical specifications, uniform gain, and a perfect round/curve shape.
These characteristics enhance the efficiency of the material, i.e., less wastage, and manufacture rings in a short period of time.
Once rolling of the meta part is completed, the metal part went through machining and heat treatment to obtain required specifications for the desired end result.
Wrapping Up
It entirely depends on the type of job, characteristics, and other factors which kind of Weldaloy Specialty Forgings should be used. Each type of forging process has its own pros and cons.
Each type of forging is capable of producing high-tolerant and high-quality parts, whether it is built from the metal itself or its alloy.