Warm forging has a number of cost-saving advantages which underscore its increasing use as a manufacturing method. The temperature range for warm forging of steel extends from above a household oven temperature to below the recrystallization temperature, which is about 800 to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, depending upon the alloy. However, the narrower range of from 1,000 to 1,330 degrees Fahrenheit is emerging as the range of perhaps the greatest commercial potential for warm forging of steel alloys.
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Compared with cold forging, warm forging has the potential advantages of reduced tooling loads, reduced forging press loads, increased steel ductility, elimination of need to anneal prior to forging, and favorable as-forged properties that can eliminate heat treatment.
Hot forging is the plastic deformation of metal at a temperature and strain rate such that recrystallization occurs simultaneously with deformation, thus avoiding strain hardening. For this to occur, high workpiece temperature (matching the metal&#;s recrystallization temperature) must be attained throughout the process.
A form of hot forging is isothermal forging, where materials and dies are heated to the same temperature. In nearly all cases, isothermal forging is conducted on superalloys in a vacuum or highly controlled atmosphere to prevent oxidation.
Aluminum hot forging is a unique and propriety process developed by Queen City Forging, whereby rapid Infrared heating is used to enhance physical properties for aluminum forging.
Not sure if cold, warm or hot forging is right for your project? As a leading forging company in the United States, Queen City Forging can help you determine the best forging process for your needs. Our expertise provides innovative, cost-competitive solutions that produce a quality forge for OEMs, every time. Contact us or request a quote today.
If your project requires forging, then it&#;s important to choose the right material.
This is because different metals have different properties, which may influence the complexity of the process.
For instance, soft metals like iron are easy to work with and can be forged at a relatively low temperature, while harder metals like steel require a higher temperature.
On the other hand, harder metals also contain many industrial advantages over the softer, more easily forged ones.
The sections below will cover the most common metal materials used for forging: stainless steel, carbon, brass, aluminum, superalloys, micro alloys, copper, and magnesium.
By choosing the right metal, you are ensuring that your custom metal parts remain strong, yet flexible enough to operate efficiently in all kinds of environments and settings.
Besides iron, stainless steel is mostly composed of chromium and nickel, which helps protect its surface from rusting and corroding.
Stainless steel is commonly used for manufacturing products and components that are subject to highly corrosive acids, such as those found in food preparation areas.
Stainless steel has many sought-after properties for those looking to build custom metal components.
These include:
However, there are a couple of disadvantages to using stainless steel. For one thing, it can be more expensive than other materials. Secondly, it can be difficult to weld and form (e.g., forge).
Although stainless steel is difficult to shape due to its high carbon content, which makes it brittle and hard to work with, it can still be forged to specification if the right procedures are followed.
To forge stainless steel, it must be heated to a very high temperature and then quickly cooled so it won&#;t become soft and malleable.
The stainless steel forging process is as follows:
The above forging process helps create custom shapes and sizes from stainless steel, which are very useful for the aerospace, automotive, food processing, medical, and power generation industries.
Some of the more common applications of forged stainless steel parts include:
One added advantage of using stainless steel forgings is that they can be tailored to meet the specific needs of each industry.
For example, the aerospace industry requires components that are lightweight and strong, while the food and beverage industry requires components that are resistant to corrosion and easy to clean.
Stainless steel can be forged to fit the requirements of both of these industries.
In conclusion, by forging stainless steel into specific shapes and sizes, manufacturers can create components that are perfect for each specific application.
Carbon metal is a type of alloy that contains carbon as the predominant alloying element.
Carbon alloys are created by adding carbon to a molten metal, which results in a harder, stronger material with improved wear resistance.
One of their unique characteristics is versatility, which has made them one of the most popular materials to use in metal manufacturing.
Carbon metal, which includes all forms of carbon steel, can be used to form strong and lightweight parts for products found in cars and aircraft.
Other advantages of carbon metal include:
As with stainless steel, carbon metal can be quite brittle and therefore difficult to forge.
Moreover, despite its highly corrosion-resistant nature, it can still corrode quickly in some aqueous environments.
Still, there are times when forged carbon alloys are the best manufacturing option.
When an application needs to perform in a high-temperature, high-corrosive environment which also produces extreme stress on structures and parts, forged carbon metal is the optimal choice.
Forging carbon metal is a relatively direct process, which can typically be done in four steps:
The above forging process helps enhance carbon metal&#;s impressive set of properties.
It also gives the metal various unique shapes and sizes which can be used in a variety of applications across many industries (aerospace, automotive, agriculture, construction, manufacturing, medical, and power).
Some of the more common applications of forged carbon metals are listed below:
Forged carbon alloy is a popular material choice for a variety of applications and industries due to its unique properties.
It is strong and durable, yet also malleable, making it easy to work with.
Additionally, carbon metal is relatively inexpensive compared to other metals, making it an affordable option for many applications.
Brass is an alloy that consists of copper and zinc. Its use in manufacturing goes back a long way&#;it has been used to manufacture tools and other items since about 500 BC.
Brass is strong and durable, yet also malleable, so it can be easily forged into different shapes and sizes.
This alloy has a variety of properties that make it a suitable material for many applications in the production of musical instruments and furniture, as well as in the plumbing industries.
Some of these include:
While its golden shine and durable structure have made brass a useful material for manufacturing music and furniture decor, it is also very heavy.
This makes it very hard to carry and, therefore, it is not suitable for many lightweight applications.
It is also a very expensive manufacturing option due to its high-copper composition.
As was mentioned earlier, brass can be forged with relative ease.
Forging brass allows for intricate designs and shapes that would be difficult or even impossible to create with other methods and metals.
However, forging brass requires high temperatures, so the forging process must be watched carefully to make sure the brass does not become so hot that it loses its properties.
The brass forging process is as follows:
The forging process ensures that finished products made from brass always have a consistent quality and appearance.
That is why brass is commonly used in decorative pieces like jewelry and furniture hardware.
Some of its most common applications include:
Brass is a versatile metal alloy that has many properties that suit a variety of applications.
In particular, brass forgings can be made to fit most requirements for musical, plumbing, and decorative manufacturing projects.
Aluminum is a silver-colored, lightweight metal that is both non-toxic and reactive.
It is the third most abundant element found on Earth, making up eight percent of the Earth&#;s crust.
Aluminum offers the following benefits:
While the above properties are well-suited for a host of applications, aluminum metal does have several drawbacks that may be disadvantageous for certain manufacturing projects.
First off, aluminum is a soft metal, which means it can be easily scratched or dented.
Secondly, it is a poor conductor of heat and electricity, and is therefore unsuitable for applications that require a high wear resistance and are exposed to excessive heat and high electrical currents.
Despite these drawbacks, however, aluminum forgings are still used in a variety of industries for producing custom-metal components.
The aluminum forging process can be summarized in the following four steps:
The above process is repeated until the desired shape is formed.
Forged aluminum is much stronger than traditional cast aluminum parts, so it is well suited for high-stress applications.
It is also lighter and more consistent in shape than cast aluminum, making it a superior choice for many applications in the aerospace, automotive, and construction industries.
Popular forged aluminum applications include:
Forged aluminum components combine strength, durability, and a lightweight structure.
Therefore, they are a perfect fit for many applications and components in the transportation, construction, and manufacturing industries.
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Superalloys exhibit improved properties over traditional metals.
The combination of metals such as nickel, cobalt, and iron gives superalloys an increased level of strength, corrosion resistance, heat resistance, and pressure resistance.
This makes them ideal for use in harsh environments (i.e. outer space, under the ocean).
Examples of such alloys include:
Inconel alloy forgings, in particular, have excellent corrosion-resistant and oxidation-resistant properties.
The following list of properties are present in all grades of superalloys to a greater or lesser extent:
While superalloys offer a wide range of benefits, there are a couple of disadvantages to using them.
The first thing is that they are more expensive than traditional alloys, which can increase manufacturing costs.
Additionally, they may require special handling or processing (extra machining and coatings) to achieve desired properties.
However, forging superalloys can negate some of the additional handling and processing required for fortification as the forging process automatically creates very dense and uniform structures that are less likely to crack or corrode.
Superalloys must be forged in extremely hot temperatures (up to - °F / 649-982 °C) to achieve maximum strength and durability.
The superalloy forging process requires seven major steps, which are as follows:
Superalloy forgings are often used in extreme environments where corrosion, high temperatures, high stress, and mechanical wear are prevalent.
These types of environments are typically found in the aerospace, automotive, oil and gas, power generation, marine, medical, and defense industries.
The most common applications of super alloy forgings include:
Super alloy forgings possess enhanced and additional properties that many traditional metal alloys lack.
The increased strength, corrosion resistance, and heat resistance that these alloys provide make them an ideal material to use in high-heat and high-stress applications.
Microalloys constitute a group of alloys made up of small particles of two or more metals.
The combination of small metals helps to spread the mixture of elements more evenly, resulting in a stronger, more durable material that has more corrosion-resistant properties than other alloys.
The most common metals used in microalloys are aluminum, copper, and magnesium.
However, other metals such as zinc, tin, and lead, along with rare earth elements like cerium and yttrium, can also be used.
Rare earth elements are added to microalloys to give them more heat resistance.
Microalloys have a variety of properties that make them advantageous in certain applications.
Their main properties include:
As with superalloys, micro alloys are also more expensive than traditional alloys.
Moreover, their mechanical properties can sometimes be more difficult to control, which can lead to poor performance in some applications.
Since micro alloys are made up of very small particles, they can be forged into intricate shapes, making them a very popular choice for products that require unique dimensions.
The micro-alloy forging process takes place as follows:
Before forging micro alloys, the size and complexity of the part that needs to be forged must be considered as micro alloys are more suited for smaller, more intricate parts.
Micro alloy forgings are a popular manufacturing material to use in the aerospace, automotive, and medical industries as they help add strength, reduce weight, prevent corrosion, and make heat transfer possible.
Common applications include:
In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in using micro alloys to improve the performance of various engineering applications, particularly those in the automotive and medical industries where small, lightweight, and durable parts are a necessity.
Soft, malleable, and ductile with very high thermal and electrical conductivity, copper has been used as a manufacturing material to create items like jewelry and coins for years.
Pure copper is silvery white, but it often acquires a reddish tarnish when exposed to air.
Aside from its durable nature, copper also has naturally-occurring anticorrosive properties which make it useful in creating long-lasting products and parts.
Other advantages of copper include:
One of the main disadvantages of copper is also one of its major advantages.
As copper is a good conductor of electricity it could be very dangerous when used in applications that operate close to electrical currents.
One of the most common uses of copper forging is creating jewelry. However, forging copper can also be utilized to create other decorative items or small parts for machines.
The best time to forge copper is when it is in its annealed state (e.g., when it has been heated to a very low temperature and allowed to cool slowly).
The copper forging process involves four steps, which are as follows:
While it is suggested that copper be heated at lower temperatures, it can also be forged at higher temperatures, although it will be harder to shape and thus require more hammering.
Copper forging applications are found in a variety of industries. In the automotive industry, copper is often used to make brake pads and clutch discs.
It is also frequently implemented in the electrical industry, where it is used to make wiring and connectors.
Other common applications for copper forgings include:
Copper forging is a process that has been used for centuries to create objects from metal.
Since copper is easy to heat, has a high melting point, and is corrosion-resistant, it is commonly forged to create stronger components that can withstand harsh environments.
Magnesium is a light, silver-white metal that is known for its low melting point ( °F/648 °C).
Pure magnesium is found in nature both in its free and compound forms (magnesium carbonate, magnesium chloride, magnesium sulfate, magnesium nitrate).
In fact, it is the 8th most abundant element on earth.
Magnesium is often alloyed with other metals like aluminum, copper, and zinc to make various tools, as well as explosive items like fireworks and flares.
These alloys have many unique properties that make them an excellent choice for manufacturing components that operate on land, sea, and air.
They are, among other things:
While its lightweight and easily machined capabilities make magnesium a good solution for many cast and forged components, one of its main drawbacks is that it is not as durable as other metals.
As such, it may not be suitable for applications that need a very high degree of wear resistance.
Magnesium is also extremely flammable, and care must be taken when working with it so as not to cause an explosion.
Magnesium forgings are an excellent choice when a strong, yet lightweight part that will not corrode is needed.
However, forging magnesium could be tricky and without the right equipment and experience, the metal could be easily damaged and made unusable.
The correct way to forge magnesium is as follows:
The hammering or pressing process is repeated until the desired shape is achieved.
Magnesium can be forged using different techniques. Die forging (described above) and drop forging are the most common ones.
Magnesium forgings are primarily used in the aerospace industry, automotive industry, commercial industry, defense industry, and manufacturing industry.
It is most commonly used to create components for the following applications:
Magnesium alloy forgings are used in a variety of applications across many industries mainly because of their high strength-to-weight ratios and corrosion resistance.
Namely, they are about two-thirds the weight of aluminum alloys, but have similar mechanical properties.
As the demand for lighter and stronger materials continues to increase for motor vehicles and aircraft, it is expected that the demand for magnesium alloys will also continue to rise for years to come.
All the metals listed above can be forged to fit the specific shapes, sizes, and designs of almost any industrial project.
Through the forging process, metals become stronger and tougher, and particular properties like machinability and corrosion resistance are enhanced to a large degree.
Any application requiring complex shapes and an ability to perform in harsh environments and conditions would benefit greatly from metal forgings.
To learn more about which metal forgings would best fit your custom metal parts project, please visit the custom forged parts page.
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