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Advantages of forging

Some common advantages of forging are given as under.

1. Forged parts possess high ductility and offers great resistance to impact and fatigue loads.
2. Forging refines the structure of the metal.
3. It results in considerable saving in time, labor and material as compared to the production
of similar item by cutting from a solid stock and then shaping it.
4. Forging distorts the previously created unidirectional fiber as created by rolling and
increases the strength by setting the direction of grains.
5. Because of intense working, flaws are rarely found, so have good reliability.
6. The reasonable degree of accuracy may be obtained in forging operation.
7. The forged parts can be easily welded.

Disadvantages of forging

Few dis-advantages of forging are given as under.

1. Rapid oxidation in forging of metal surface at high temperature results in scaling which
wears the dies.
2. The close tolerances in forging operations are difficult to maintain.
3. Forging is limited to simple shapes and has limitation for parts having undercuts etc.
4. Some materials are not readily worked by forging.
5. The initial cost of forging dies and the cost of their maintenance is high.
6. The metals gets cracked or distorted if worked below a specified temperature limit.
7. The maintenance cost of forging dies is also very high.

Applications of forging

Almost all metals and alloys can be forged. The low and medium carbon steels are readily hot
forged without difficulty, but the high-carbon and alloy steels are more difficult to forge and
require greater care. Forging is generally carried out on carbon alloy steels, wrought iron,
copper-base alloys, alumunium alloys, and magnesium alloys. Stainless steels, nickel based
super-alloys, and titanium are forged especially for aerospace uses. Producing of crank shaft
of alloy steel is a good example which is produced by forging. Forging processes are among
the most important manufacturing techniques utilized widely in manufacturing of small tools,
rail-road equipments, automobiles and trucks and components of aeroplane industries. These
processes are also extensively used in the manufacturing of the parts of tractors, shipbuilding,
cycle industries, railroad components, agricultural machinery etc.
COMMON HAND FORGING TOOLS

For carrying out forging operations manually, certain common hand forging tools are
employed. s, for a blacksmith is one who works on the
forging of metals in their hot state. The main hand forging tools are as under.

1. Tongs
2. Flatter
3. Swage
4. Fuller
5. Punch
6. Rivet header
7. Hot chisel
8. Hammers
9. Anvil
10. Swage block
11. Drift
12. Set-hammer
14. Brass scale
15. Brass

17. Heading tool

Tongs

The tongs are generally used for holding work while doing a forging operation.
1. Flat tongs are used for mainly for holding work of rectangular section.
2. Straight-lip fluted tongs are commonly used for holding square, circular and hexagonal bar
stock.
3. Rivet or ring tongs are widely used for holding bolts, rivets and other work of circular
section.
4. Gad tongs are used for holding general pick-up work, either straight or tapered.

Flatter

It is commonly used in forging shop to give smoothness and accuracy to articles which have
already been shaped by fullers and swages.

Swage

Swage is used for forging work which has to be reduced or finished to round, square or
hexagonal form. It is made with half grooves of dimensions to suit the work being reduced. It
consists of two parts, the top part having a handle and the bottom part having a square shank
which fits in the hardie hole on the anvil face.

Fuller

Fuller is used in forging shop for necking down a forgeable job. It is made in top and bottom
tools as in the case of swages. Fuller is made in various shapes and sizes according to needs,
the size denoting the width of the fuller edge
Punch

Punch is used in forging shop for making holes in metal part when it is at forging heat.

Chisels

Chisels are used for cutting metals and for nicking prior to breaking. They may be hotor cold
depending on whether the metal to be cut is hot or cold. The main difference between the two
is in the edge. The edge of a cold chisel is hardened and tempered with an angle of about 60°,
whilst the edge of a hot chisel is 30° and the hardening is not necessary. The edge is made
slightly rounded for better cutting action.

Hand hammers

There are two major kinds of hammers are used in hand forging: (1) the hand hammer used
by the smith himself and (2) the sledge hammer used by the striker. Hand hammers may
further be classified as (a) ball peen hammer, (b) straight peen hammer, and (c) cross peen
hammer. Sledge hammers (Fig. 14.8) may further be classified as (a) Double face hammer,
(b) straight peen hammer, and (c) cross peen hammer. Hammer heads are made of cast steel
and, their ends are hardened and tempered. The striking face is made slightly convex. The
weight of a hand hammer varies from about 0.5 to 2 kg where as the weight of a sledge
hammer varies from 4 to 10 kg.
Anvil

An anvil is a most commonly tool used in forging shop which is shown in Fig.14.10. It acts
as a mild
steel with a tool steel face welded on the body, but the beak or horn used for bending curves
is not steel faced. The round hole in the anvil called pritchel hole is generally used for
bending rods of small diameter, and as a die for hot punching operations. The square or
hardie hole is used for holding square shanks of various fittings. Anvils in forging shop may
vary up to about 100 to 150 kg and they should always stand with the top face about 0.75 mt.
from the floor. This height may be attained by resting the anvil on a wooden or cast iron base
in the forging shop.

Swage block

It is mainly used for heading, bending, squaring, sizing, and forming operations on forging
jobs. It is 0.25 mt. Or even more wide. It may be used either flat or edgewise in its stand.
Drift

It is a tapered rod made of tool steel. Holes are opened out by driving through a larger tapered
punch called a drift.

Hardie

Its taper head is fixed into the hardie hole of the anvil, the cutting edge being upward. The
part to be cut is kept over the cutting edge of the fixed hardie on anvil and another chisel is
placed over the job and the cutting is performed by hammering.

Forging Operations

1. Upsetting
2. Bending
3. Drawing down
4. Cutting
5. Setting down
6. Punching
7. Flattening
8. Fullering
9. Swaging

Drawing out

Drawing out is used to reduce the thickness of a bar and to increase its length. It may be
carried out by working the metal over the horn of anvil, then by hammering it on the anvil
face. The rounded horn of the anvil acts as a blunt edge, which forces the metal to flow
lengthwise when struck by the hammer. For drawing down very heavy work, fuller may be
used for drawing down a bar over the horn (round portion) of anvil.
(ii) Fullering

It involves heating the stock in the black smith hearth. Then heated stock is placed on the
fuller fixed on anvil. A fuller is put over the sock and hammering is done to reduce the cross
section of job at required point.

(iii) Upsetting

Upsetting is also known as jumping operation which is carried out to increase the thickness
(or diameter) of a bar and to reduce its length. Generally, the increase in thickness is only
local, for example, when forming a bolt head. This operation is an operation just. opposite to
drawing and involves increasing the cross-sectional area usually by hammering or pressing in
a direction parallel to the ingot axis. The length of the ingot decreases and following the path
of least resistance it spreads out. The required shape is given the ingot by spreading it
between two dies. Only that portion of the bar which is to be upset is heated locally. Or, the
whole bar is heated and except for the portion to be upset, the rest is quenched in water so
that upset will form only on the hot portion of the bar. In one method of upsetting, the bar is
held in the tong and supported vertically on the anvil. The top edge of the bar is then
hammered to form the upset on the bottom hot end of the bar. For upsetting, the blow of the
hammer must be in line with the bar to prevent bending of the bar.

(iv) Bending

Bending is a very commonly used forging operation in forging shop to give a turn to a metal
rod or plate. It is accompanied by spreading of the metal in the inside of the bend and
narrowing at outside. The simplest method of bending a piece of metal in hand forging is to
support it on the anvil and to strike its free end with a hammer When bent, the metal of the
workpiece thins out round bend causing weakness. This can be overcome by upsetting the bar
prior to bending.

(v) Cutting

Cutting is a main forging operation to cut out a metal rod or plate into two pieces with the
help of a chisel and hammer when the metal is in red hot condition. A hot or cold cut (chisel)
is used for cutting heated metal bars in a smithy shop. The hot set does not require hardening
and tempering. Its cutting edge is keener than that of a cold set. Hot sets are manufactured
from a tough variety of steel in order that they may cut through relatively soft red-hot metal
with ease. While cutting, it is best to cut half through the workpiece to turn it over and cut
through from the other end.
(vi) Punching

Punching is a main forging operation used for producing hole in metal plate by using a tool
known as punch. The metal plate is placed over the hollow cylindrical die and punch is
placed above it at required location where hole is being made. For punching a hole, the metal
job must be at near welding heat and the punch is driven part way through the job with
hammer blows. The work is then turned over and the hole is completed from the other side.
The above said practice is adopted for thicker jobs.
Forging Methods

Open Die Forging

In open die forging a cylindrical billet is subjected to upsetting between a pair of flat dies or
platens. Under frictionless homogeneous deformation, the height of the cylinder is reduced
and its diameter is increased. Forging of shafts, disks, rings etc are performed using open die
forging technique. Square cast ingots are converted into round shape by this process. Open
die forging is classified into three main types, namely, cogging, fullering and edging.
Fullering and Edging operations are done to reduce the cross section using convex shaped or
concave shaped dies. Material gets distributed and hence gets elongated and reduction in
thickness happens. Cogging operation involves sequence of compressions on cast ingots to
reduce thickness and lengthen them into blooms or billets. Flat or contoured dies are used.
Swaging is carried out using a pair of concave dies to obtain bars of smaller diameter.

Impression Die Forging (Close)

It is also known as impression die forging. Impressions are made in a pair of dies. These
impressions are transferred to the work piece during deformation. A small gap between the
dies called flash gutter is provided so that the excess metal can flow into the gutter and form a
flash. Flash has got a very important role during deformation of the work piece inside the die
cavity. Due to high length to thickness ratio of the flash gutter, friction in the gap is very
high. Due to this the material in the flash gap is subjected to high pressure. There is high
resistance to flow. This in turn promotes effective filling of the die cavity. In hot forging, the
flash cools faster as a result of it being smaller in size. This enhances the resistance of the
flash material to deformation resistance. As a result of this, the bulk of work piece is forced
to deform and fill the die cavity more effectively even intricate parts of the die cavity is
filled. Flash is subsequently trimmed off in order to obtain the required dimensions on the
forged part. Often multiple steps are required in closed die forging.
Flash less forging

It is a closed die forging process in which the work volume is equal to die cavity volume,
with no allowance for flash. Excess material or inadequate material will lead to defective
part. If billet size is less then underfilling takes place. Over sized billet leads to die damage or
damage to the press.

Basic Terminology of forging process