Forgings PDF
Forgings PDF
Forgings PDF
24. FORGINGS
24.1. FORGING PROCESSES
Forging is the controlled plastic deformation of a piece of metal into a useful
shape, usually at an elevated temperature. Pressure or repeated press strokes may be used. It resembles such mill operations as hot rolling, blooming, cogging, and hot extrusion except that total deformation is usually much greater and nal part geometry is more complex. All these processes rene grain structure and improve physical properties of the metal. The wrought metal in a forging, though, is shaped to become a specic, individual part. The machinery used for forging must be capable of applying large compressive forces. Traditionally, drop hammers, both gravity and powerassisted, were used and continue to be used. Crank presses and screw presses have become more prevalent because part dimensions are more consistent, and automation is facilitated. Power-driven rolls that produce a shape in one revolution may be used as a preliminary forming operation to develop a rudimentary part shape prior to press or hammer forging. Hydraulic presses are widely used for forging large, simple shapes. Open-die and hand forgings are made by forming metal between parallel, at dies. In between successive blows, the operator manipulates the workpiece to gradually form a gross outline of the nal machined part. This process is useful for making very large parts and prototype parts. Impression-die forging uses a matched set of dies with contoured impression in each half to form the part in two or three steps. Depending on the
forgeability of the metal involved and the geometric complexity of the nal part, an impression-die forging may be made directly from a heated metal billet or after roll forging to redistribute mass. (Roll forging involves a relatively long, thin workpiece fed into power-driven rolls, which are shaped to vary the section of the bar along its length.) Figure 3.13.1 illustrates conventional impression-die forging.
Figure 3.13.1. Conventional impression-die forging sequence. (Based on American Machinist, July 1978, Special Report 705, Fig. 3.)
Precision forgings and low-draft or no-draft forgings are renements of impression-die forgings. These represent closer approaches to nal part shape, with the last operation performed with dies of high accuracy. Conversely, blocker-type forgings are less precise, made with larger llet radii and thicker cross sections. While extensive nal machining is required with blocker forgings, tooling costs are lower, and the process is thus attractive for low production quantities. Ring rolling forms an axisymmetrical shape from a hollow cylindrical preform made by open-die forging. The preform is placed between two rollers, and as they rotate, the preform wall thickness is reduced and the ring diameter increases. Depending on the shape of the rolls, rectangular or contoured
cross sections are produced. Secondary shaping operations such as twisting, bending, and coining may be performed on forged parts to develop nal part geometry. Forgings also may be heattreated in a separate operation. Most forgings are shot-blasted after forging, and their surfaces may be chemically cleaned. Cold heading and impact extrusion are cold-forging techniques covered in this handbook in Chaps. 3.7 and 3.8, respectively.
complexity. Hand tools that people lift and handle are forged to reduce weight. Parts whose failure would cause injury or expensive damage are forged for safety. Forgings also seldom have internal aws to create blemishes after machining or cause leakage when pressure tightness is a requirement. Decorative parts, even when stressed very lightly, may be produced from forgings to reduce scrap losses and ensure a plateable surface, since forged or machined surfaces of forgings can be polished and plated without revealing blemishes or other internal aws. Size limits of forgings depend more on the facilities available than on any inherent limits of the process itself. Small, highly stressed, high-speedmachine components may weigh less than an ounce. Large, open-die forgings may weigh several tons.
Figure 3.13.2. Forging produces parts with an unbroken grain ow following the contour of the part.
Figure 3.13.3. A collection of typical forgings. Note that some still have ashing attached. (Courtesy National Machinery Company.)
Some typical forging applications are the following: landing gear parts for aircraft, automotive connecting rods, universal joints, crankshafts, ohighway and farm equipment parts, plumbing valves, tees, elbows, ordinance components, railroad wheels, axles, gears, oil-eld machinery components, turbine disks and blades, and bearing assemblies. Figure 3.13.3 illustrates a collection of typical forgings. 24.2.1. Forging Nomenclature Geometric shapes on an impression-die forging are named for the direction in which metal must ow to ll the die impressions. Any wall lled by ow parallel to die motion is a rib, and a projection is called a boss when it is lled parallel to die motion. The wall lled by generally horizontal ow, perpendicular to die motion and parallel to the parting plane, is the web. A
Figure 3.13.4. Forging nomenclature relates all features of a part to the direction of die motion.
Forging cost is the sum of a number of factors: metal cost including scrap, labor cost, and overhead expenses of the production facility. The one-time cost that does not vary in proportion to number of pieces is the die cost. Even though a forging-die set may require repair or replacement over the course of a long production run, the cost of this is treated as an operating expense according to established industry practice. It is initial die cost, then, that controls the economics of lot size. By its nature, forging is a high-production process. Its costs grow more attractive as die cost becomes a smaller fraction of piece cost. This is especially true for small parts. A minimum economical lot size for 100-g (1/4lb) forgings usually ranges around 5000 pieces. Very large forgings weighing from 50 kg (110 lb) to 1/2 ton may be economical in lots as small as 2 or 3 pieces. This approximation assumes ordinary conventional forgings of readily forgeable alloys. However, when only a few pieces are needed, the forging buyer can reduce die costs by utilizing a supplier who does prototype work and has the skills and equipment for such jobs. One approach is to eliminate die costs entirely by ordering hand forgings made with open general-purpose dies. The time of a highly skilled person and the overhead of specialized facilities will then be major cost items. Much more machining also may be required. However, the parts will have the advantage of the forged controlled-grain structure, freedom from porosity, and minimal nonmetallic inclusion content. Forgings made in blocker-die impressions come closer to conventional forgedpart shapes. They, too, may require extensive machining, but the cost of nishing dies will be avoided. It is common practice to use open-die forgings and blocker forgings in prototype models with the anticipation that conventional or even precision forgings will be justied at a later date in production.
make them slide along die surfaces. Some are susceptible to metallurgical degradation or to the formation of mechanical aws in the course of hot working. Dierences of this nature are summed up in Table 3.13.1, which ranks metals and their alloys by forgeability. For preliminary planning and decision-making purposes, the alloys of aluminum, magnesium, and copper along with mild steels, may be regarded as readily forgeable. There are dierences among them, but some of these dierences tend to balance out. For example, aluminum can be forged at lower temperatures than steel, but it ows less readily and requires higher pressures. There are dierences among alloys in each group also. Nevertheless, concessions from conventional design practice are seldom necessary when a material from one of the widely used families of alloys is selected. Steel forgings are usually heat-treated after nish machining to develop the static and dynamic strength properties needed in service. The stainless steels are somewhat more resistant to plastic ow, but fully formed conventional forgings are produced routinely in these alloys. Superalloy forgings, though, are usually produced only as simpler shapes. Great care is exercised to establish grain-ow patterns that will suit the parts for their intended service. If any part will require elaborate contours or drastic section changes, however, these features must be provided in subsequent operations. Some metals require atmospheric control during forging. At the extreme, beryllium is sometimes forged by rst sealing metal powder in an evacuated welded-steel jacket. The part is formed; then the jacket is removed. Vacuumhot-pressed beryllium billets also can be forged in impression dies if suitable precautions are taken.
visualize metal ow from bar stock to nal forging and the resulting grainow pattern. A forging manufacturing engineer may have concerns, however, about potential laps and locally excessive die wear and recommend changes to the forging drawing that may aect grain ow and the exact shape of the nal part. Flash is not customarily indicated on the forging drawing. For a number of reasons, forging design should be developed in partnership between the forging user and the forging producer. To neglect technical contributions that either partner can make is to risk a needless waste of money and performance. It is often advisable to use metal-ow simulation software to study blocker and nisher shapes for forgings. The simulation software shows how a metal bar changes shape under the action of the forging press or hammer, predicts total forging loads and tooling stresses, indicates where laps and other defects may form, and describes grain-ow patterns. A three-dimensional simulation takes a few hours if the part shape is available in a computeraided design (CAD) le. In contrast, the dies for a prototype forging take several weeks to machine and then may have to be modied after forging trials are completed.
CA464 CA485 CA642 CA673 CA675 CA102 CA110 CA147 CA150 CA694 Steel 10101030 10501095 4140 4340 8740 1045 Martensitic stainless steel 430 405 450 431 410 455 420 440C Maraging steel 250 200 Austenitic stainless steel 316
C46400 C48500 C64200 C67300 C67500 C10200 C11000 C14700 C15000 C69400 G10100G10300 G10500G10950 G41400 G43400 G87400 G10450 S43000 S40500 S45000 S43100 S41000 S45500 S42000 S4404
S31600
317 302 304 310 321 347 303 Nickel Nickel 200 Monel 400 Precipitation-hardening stainless steel AM 355 17-4PH Titanium Ti-6Al-6V-2Sn T1-6A1-4V Ti-7Al-4Mo Ti-5Al-2.5Sn Ti-13V-11Cr-3Al Iron-base superalloy 16-25-6 19-9DL Cobalt-base superalloy S-816 L-605 V-36 Niobium Unalloyed Nb-1Zr Tantalum Unalloyed Ta-10W 17-7PH
S31700 S30200 S30400 S31000 S32100 S34700 S30300 N02200 N04400 S17700
R30605 R30036
R05261
R05255
Molybdenum
Unalloyed Mo-0.5Ti-0.1Zr Mo-0.5Ti R03630 R03620 N06002 N07718 N07001 N09901 N07750 N07252
Nickel-base superalloy
Tungsten Beryllium
Unalloyed Unalloyed
*These listings, in order of decreasing forgeability, are approximate. There are too many variables for a precise summation that would t every case. Also, the least forgeable alloys of a basic metal may be more dicult to forge than the more forgeable alloys of the next metal listed. Any tentative choice based on this preliminary guide should be conrmed for the specic forging operation under consideration.
More forgings are produced in two-part impression dies. The design of such forgings is the topic of the following discussions. 24.5.2. Parting Line As the die halves come together and conne metal in their cavities, their mating surfaces dene a parting line around the edges of the forging. The parting line is indicated on the forging drawing, and determining its location is a critical step in forging design.
Figure 3.13.5. Ideally, the parting line should lie in one plane, perpendicular to the direction of die motion. Jogs in parting lines impose side-thrust forces on the die halves. It is expensive to absorb these forces with die counterlocks. Often, symmetry can be achieved by forging pieces as pairs. If they are right- and left-handed mates, this approach has extra merit.
Ideally, the parting line will lie in one plane perpendicular to the axis of die motion, as shown in Fig. 3.13.5. Sometimes it can be located so that one die half will be completely at, and the line will surround the largest projected area of the piece. (See Fig. 3.13.6.) If the parting line cannot lie in one plane, it is desirable to preserve symmetry so as to prevent high side-thrust forces on the dies and the press. Such forces can be countered, at extra die cost, if they are unavoidable. No portion of the parting line should incline more than 75 from the principal parting plane, and much shallower angles are desirable. An obvious essential is to select a parting line that will not entail any undercuts in either die impression, since the forging must come out of the
die after it is made. Because metal ow at the parting line is outward into the ash gutter, grain ow in the forging has a corresponding pattern. Depending on the way in which the part will be loaded, it may be desirable to change parting-line location to control grain ow. (See Fig. 3.13.7.)
Figure 3.13.6. The parting line here is in one plane perpendicular to die motion, and the impression is entirely in one die half. This is usually the most economical tooling arrangement for two-part impression dies.
Figure 3.13.7. (a) When there is a choice, locate the parting line so that metal will ow horizontally, parallel to the parting line.
24.5.3. Draft Die impressions are tapered so that forgings can be removed from their dies, and forged surfaces that lie generally parallel to die motion are correspondingly tapered. This taper, called draft, also promotes ow into relatively deep die cavities.
Draft is specied as an angle with respect to the die-motion axis. Conventionally, a standard draft angle will be specied for all aected surfaces on a forging, which simplies tooling for die sinking. It is also conventional to call for matching draft on both die halves to make surfaces of unequal depth meet at the parting line. Table 3.13.2 shows typical standard draft angle ranges for nished forgings in the various alloy families. Sometimes, a parting-line location presents tapered surfaces automatically because of a parts shape. For example, a cylinder lying parallel to the parting plane has such natural draft except for small bands next to the parting line. The draft needed there will be provided by narrow tapered tangents, but they need not be indicated on the forging drawing. (See Fig. 3.13.8.)
Figure 3.13.7. (Continued) (b) The parting line location governs when the constricted grain ow associated with ash will occur on the
part. The designer can locate the parting line to achieve the objectives of each parts function. Table 3.13.2. Typical Draft Angles
Alloy family Aluminum Magnesium Brass and copper Steel Stainless steel Titanium Draft angle, 02 02 03 57 58 56
Figure 3.13.8. These shapes have natural draft. Usually, the cylindrical section will be modied slightly to provide draft in the narrow region next to the parting line.
Low-draft and no-draft forgings can be produced in some metals, such as aluminum and brass. This usually applies to selected surfaces for which reduction or elimination of draft yields signicant benets. 24.5.4. Ribs, Bosses, Webs, and Recesses Metal ow is relatively easy to manage when ribs and bosses are not too high and narrow, and it is easiest when the web is relatively thick and uniform in thickness. (See Fig. 3.13.9.)
Figure 3.13.9. As the web becomes thinner and the ribs become deeper, forging diculty increases.
Correspondingly, forging becomes more dicult when large amounts of metal must be moved out of relatively thin webs into such projections as deep ribs and high bosses. It is helpful to taper such webs toward the ribs and bosses.
Deep recesses also are easier to forge if they have spherical bottoms. When successive forging operations are entailed, it can be advantageous to design for a fairly large punch-out hole in the thin-web section. During nish forging, after the hole has been punched, ash ows inward at its edges and helps to relieve excessive die forces. Surface textures, designs, and lettering on forged surfaces are simply very small ribs and recesses. Locate these features on surfaces that are as nearly perpendicular to die motion as possible, and locate them away from zones of wiping metal ow. Call for raised lettering and numbers, which can be produced by milling recesses in the die. It is more dicult to achieve die projections that will form recessed symbols on the forging. 24.5.5. Radii Forgings are designed with radii on all their external corners except at the parting line. It would require a sharp internal angle in the die to form a sharp corner on the forging. This is a vulnerable stress raiser; also, excessive pressure would be required to ll sharp corners. Both considerations suggest generous corner radii. A common practice is to call for full radii at the edges of all ribs and the same radius on each corner of a boss, web, or other shape. Fillet radii on a forging correspond to corners in die impressions that metal must round to ll ribs and bosses. If metal ows past a sharp corner and then doubles back, the forging may be awed with a lap or cold shut, and the die may not ll completely. This is more likely if the sharp die corner or sharp llet in the forging is near the edge of the piece. While all radii should be ample for easy forging, they can be made smaller in readily forgeable metals whenever there is a good reason for doing so. Adding forging costs should be justied by the benets gained. Table 3.13.3 shows typical radii in terms of forging proportions. The deeper the impression, the larger the radius should be, both at the llet around which metal must ow and at the corner that must ll with metal.
Depth of rib or boss, mm (in) 13 (1/2) 25 (1) 50 (2) 100 (4) 200 (8) 400 (16)
24.5.6. Machining Allowance Design features that promote easy forging add to the metal that must be machined away. Ample draft angles, large radii, and generous tolerances can all have this eect. The machining allowance should allow for the worst-case buildup of draft, radii, and all tolerances. If a part is forged with locating pads on it for setup reference, calculate tolerance buildup from those points. See Table 3.13.4 for typical allowances for machined surfaces. Extra metal is sometimes provided to keep critical machined surfaces away from the grainow pattern that occurs in the ash region near the parting line. Machining allowances or nishing allowances are added to external dimensions and subtracted from internal dimensions. 24.5.7. Other Forging Processes Several of the limitations laid down for impression forgings made in two-part dies can be bypassed and eliminated by upset- or cored-forging techniques. Shapes that would constitute undercuts for two-part dies can be forged. Sharp external corners are feasi-
(100
To 2600 cm
2
Over 2600 cm
2
in 2) Aluminum 0.51.5 (0.020 0.060) Magnesium 0.51.5 (0.020 0.060) Brass 0.51.5 (0.020 0.060) Steel 0.51.5 (0.020 0.060) Stainless steel Titanium 0.51.5 (0.020 0.060) 0.81.5 (0.030 0.060) Niobium 0.82.5 (0.030 0.100) Tantalum 0.82.5 (0.030 0.100) Molybdenum 0.82.0 (0.030 0.080)
(400 in 2) 1.02.0 (0.040 0.080) 1.02.0 (0.040 0.080) 1.02.0 (0.040 0.080) 1.53.0 (0.060 0.120) 1.52.5 (0.060 0.100) 1.53.0 (0.060 0.120)
(400 in 2) 1.53.0 (0.060 0.120) 1.53.0 (0.060 0.120) 1.53.0 (0.060 0.120) 3.06.0 (0.120 0.240) 1.55.0 (0.060 0.200) 2.06.0 (0.080 0.240)
ble. Draft can be reduced, and no draft at all may be possible on some surfaces. Deep recesses also can be forged.
24.6. TOLERANCES
The tolerances summarized below should be regarded as guidelines rather than as absolutes. Adjustments can be made from these values when it is advisable for reasons of either manufacturing economy or the components function. They apply to impression die forgings made in two-part die sets. Aluminum forgings are commonly made to higher precision than listed here. 24.6.1. Length and Width Tolerances
24.6.1. Length and Width Tolerances Dimensions generally parallel to the parting plane and perpendicular to die motion are subject to length and width tolerances. When a forged projection extends more than 150 mm (6 in) from the parting plane, dimensions to its extremities, measured parallel to die motion, are also subject to these tolerances. Length and width tolerances are commonly specied at +0.3 percent of each dimension, rounded o to the next higher 1/2 mm or 1/64 in. 24.6.2. Die-Wear Tolerances These tolerances apply only to dimensions generally parallel to the parting plane and perpendicular to die motion. The corresponding variations parallel to die motion are included in die-closure tolerances. Die-wear tolerances are plus variations of external dimensions and minus variations of internal dimensions. They do not aect center-to-center dimensions. Thus they allow for erosion of die metal and corresponding enlargement of the forged parts.
While this tolerance is applied routinely to all horizontal dimensions, as a practical matter, dies are subject to severe wear only in the zones of harsh metal ow. Table 3.13.5 shows typical tolerances. Multiply each horizontal dimension by the appropriate factor, and round o the tolerance to the next higher 1/2 mm or 1/64 in. These are tolerances on the dimensions themselves. They are based on die wear at each surface of half these values. 24.6.3. Die-Closure Tolerances Dimensions parallel to die motion between opposite sides of a forging are aected by failure of the two die halves to close precisely. The plus tolerances on such dimensions are shown in Table 3.13.6. There is no minus tolerance in this category. Eects of die wear on these vertical dimensions are included in the die-closure tolerances. An added tolerance of 0.3 percent applies to any projection that extends more than 150 mm (6 in) from the parting plane. 24.6.4. Match Tolerances A lateral shift of one die half with respect to the other moves all features on opposite sides of the forging correspondingly. Table 3.13.7 shows typical tolerances in terms of piece weight and material. 24.6.5. Straightness Tolerances For relatively long, thin parts, a typical straightness tolerance is 0.3 percent of length. When this aspect of forging accuracy is critical, forged parts are often straightened in secondary cold operations.
24.6.6. Flash-Extension Tolerances Although there are many other possibilities, the most common ash-removal method is by a punching operation in contoured dies. This may produce clean, trimmed edges, but a small bead of ash is allowed. Conventional ash-extension tolerances shown in Table 3.13.8 are appropriate when this procedure is acceptable. 24.6.7. Draft Angles Common tolerances on draft angles are +2 and 1. 24.6.8. Radii The conventional tolerance on all corner and llet radii is plus or minus onehalf the radius. On any corner where metal will be removed later, the plus radius tolerance governs how much metal will be left for producing a sharp
corner on the nished part. The minus radius tolerance, which would only limit sharpness of the forged corner, is not enforced. 24.6.9. Total Tolerances When a forging drawing is being prepared, the tolerances, plus and minus, for each dimension are arithmetic sums of all individual tolerances that apply to the surfaces involved. Other tolerances that may appear as notes, such as those on draft angles, radii, mismatch, die wear, and straightness, are also additive because they aect these surfaces. A forging should be dimensioned so that enough metal will be available on every surface to satisfy all functional requirements of the nished part.
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James G.Bralla: Design for Manufacturability Handbook, Second Edition. FORGINGS, Chapter (McGraw-Hill Professional, 1999, 1986), AccessEngineering
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