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:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.