Selection and application of forging

Forging is a processing process in which a metal is flattened, crushed or squeezed under strong pressure to obtain high-strength metal parts. In general, (except in special cases), the forging metal needs to be preheated to reach the desired temperature. It should be particularly noted that the forging and casting are completely different, and that the forgings do not melt the metal after pouring the metal as the casting does.

The forging has a higher strength compared to the metal parts obtained by other metalworking methods. This is why people often choose forgings when they are more strict about reliability and safety. However, under normal circumstances, forgings are rarely used as internal assembly components in aircraft, automobiles, tractors, ships, oil drilling equipment, engines, missiles, and some other major equipment.

Forgings are diverse in terms of size, shape and complexity —— from hammers and wrenches in the toolbox to components with precision tolerances in the Boeing 747 and NASA space shuttles. In fact, 18,000 parts of Boeing\'s 747 are forgings. Some of the larger customer groups include: aerospace, national defense construction, automotive industry, agriculture, construction industry, mining industry, material delivery industry and general industrial equipment. The largest industry —— custom forging —— annual sales exceed $6 billion. These custom forgings are manufactured by about 250 forging companies from 300 factories in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Almost all of the metal can be forged. However, some commonly used metals mainly include: carbon steel, alloys, stainless steel, tool steel, aluminum, titanium, brass, copper, and superalloys containing cobalt, nickel and molybdenum. Each of the metal has different strength and weight characteristics. It is applied to the special parts required by the customer according to the different characteristics of the metal. Although the drive system and styles are very varied, any of the following devices can produce forgings.

Forging hammer: driving force reaches 50000 pounds, deformed by controlled impact force;
Press: driving force reaches 50000 tons, through controllable pressure extrusion metal vertical deformation;
Upsetting forging: it is the most basic forging process applied in horizontal upsetting processing. The roll ring is the circular hollow metal parts rolled through the roller under relative pressure to squeeze the (no welding) ring parts.

The forgings produced by the above processes can enable the designer to reflect some basic advantages of the forgings to some extent. Directed strength forging improves the microstructure of the metal and produces optimal grain rheology to achieve the desired orientation characteristics. For example, tensile strength, ductility, impact resistance, crack resistance, and fatigue resistance. The integrity of the forging structure is not affected by the internal pores and the loose state. The forging process makes the metal material relatively uniform, making it have uniform mechanical properties and achieve the desired heat treatment effect. Dynamic mechanical properties greatly enhance the impact resistance and impact resistance of the forging, and crack resistance and fatigue resistance. These features give the forgings a unique advantage in the security and related areas.