Hot forging is one of the forging processes that has been used for centuries. The process includes heating the workpiece to the point of melting so that you can deform it once it is has attained its plasticity. The technique was even by the earliest man to make rudimentary tools and other metallic parts.

What is hot forging?

Hot forging process today has changed a great deal. With companies like https://www.hotforgingchina.com/, they have been able to revolutionize the forging method to what we have today. Today, the heating of the workpiece can be done using electrical heat or the deforming done using a special compression machine.

Hot Forging Process

The process of hot forging takes about six steps to complete. In this article, we are going to look at these six steps to enable you to understand how it works:

1. Selecting Metal

The first step is selecting the material you need to hot forge. The choice of the material is determined by the properties of the products requested. The most widely used materials are steel and aluminum.

2. Dies Design and Making

The second step is designing the dies you need for the forging of the parts. The size and the shape of the product to be forged are what matters the most. Make sure that you have gotten all the details right to get the right product.

3. Heating the Metal

Once you have the material and the die ready, the next thing is the heating of the material. You need to consider the issue of forging temperature or the crystallization temperature of the material to be forged. This is an important factor to consider.

4. Forging

Once the metal or workpiece has been heated to the crystallization point, you need to start the forging process. There are several things you need to consider here, including the compression force needed. You must get this right if you are to get quality products.

5. Heat Treatment

Once the workpiece has been deformed and the desired product forged, the next thing that you need to think about should be treated. The metal must be treated while steel to harden it to the required levels. You need to follow the recommended treatment process to get the required properties.

If you are metal part manufacturing industry, such as machine parts and so on, cold forging is not a new term to you. This a forming technology that is growing very fast, mostly because of the many benefits it offers over other forming technologies. One of the most popular benefits of cold forging is the cheaper production cost.

As the name suggests, cold forging forges metal bars at room temperature. Unlike hot forging, you don’t need to heat the metal, unless on special cases where very hard metal is being forged. But in an ideal situation, you work on the billet at room temperature. But how does the cold forging process look like? Well, there are several steps that you should follow for the proper cold forging process. Here are the six main steps you should follow:

1. Lubrication

The first step is selecting the material to be forged and lubricate the billet. Lubrication helps to prevent the metal from sticking to the forging die after punching. It also helps to cool the billet during the pressing process. Use the recommended lubrication oil.

2. Insert Metal In the Die

From lubrication, the material is placed on the forging die. There are two dies depending on the product being forged. One of the dies is stationery on the pressing surface of the forging machine. The second die is on the punch or the striking hammer. The placement on the material should be on the stationery die on the press surface.

3. Striking/punching

The punching step is where the compression force is applied to the metal bar to deform it. This is where the material deformed by pressing it into liquid form. The compression force is applied using the striking hammer. You must have set the right punching power.

4. Flash removal

The punching process will do two things. First, the material will take the shape of the die to produce the desired product. Second, some of the excess material will come out. Excess material is added to ensure that the actual shape and size of the product is achieved. The excess material after punching is called flash, and it should be removed.

5. Removing Forged part

After removing flash, you can now remove the formed part from the die. This can be done using special tools to avoid injuries. Remember, the material is still very hot after compression.

6. Shaping

The last step is doing after shape. Cold forging usually produces near-net shapes and therefore, finish work is easy. Sometimes, it may be necessary.