FORGING

Forging is an oldest shaping process used for the producing small articles for
which accuracy in size is not so important. The parts are shaped by heating
them in an open fire or hearth by the blacksmith and shaping them through
applying compressive forces using hammers. Thus forging is defined as the
plastic deformation of metals at elevated temperatures into a predetermined
size or shape using compressive forces exerted through some means of hand
hammers, small power hammers, die, press or upsetting machine. It consists
essentially of changing or altering the shape and section of metal by
hammering at a temperature of about 980°C, at which the metal is entirely
plastic and can be easily deformed or shaped under pressure. The shop in
which the various forging operations are carried out is known as the smithy or
smith’s shop.
 A metal such as steel can be shaped in a cold state but the application of
heat lowers the yield point and makes permanent deformation easier.
 Forging processes may be classified into hot forging and cold forgings
and each of them possesses their specific characteristics, merits,
demerits and applications.
 Hand forging process is also known as black-smithy work which is
commonly employed for production of small articles using hammers on
heated jobs.
 Forging by machine involves the use of forging dies and is generally
employed for mass production of accurate articles.
 In drop forging, closed impression dies are used and there is drastic flow
of metal in the dies due to repeated blow or impact which compels the
plastic metal to conform to the shape of the dies.
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, aluminium alloys,
and magnesium alloys. Stainless steels, nickel based super-alloys, and titanium
are forged especially for aerospace.
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.

FORGEABILITY:
 The ease with which forging is done is called forgeability. The
forgeability of a material can also be defined as the capacity of a
material to undergo deformation under compression without rupture.
 Forgeability increases with temperature up to a point at which a second
phase, e.g., from ferrite to austenite in steel, appears or if grain growth
becomes excessive.
 The basic lattice structure of metals and their alloys seems to be a good
index to their relative forgeability.
 The metals having high ductility at cold working temperature possesses
good forgeability.

FORGABLE MATERIALS:
Forgeable materials should possess the required ductility and proper
strength. Some forgeable metals are given as under in order of increasing
forging difficulty.
1. Aluminium alloys. 2. Magnesium alloys
3. Copper alloys. 4. Carbon and low alloysteels
5. Martensitic stainless steels. 6. Austenitic stainless steels
7. Nickel alloys 8. Titanium alloys
9. Columbium alloys 10. Tantalum alloys
11. Molybdenum alloys 12. Tungsten alloys
13. Beryllium.

HEATING DEVICES:
Forgeable metals are heated either in a hearth or in a furnace. The hearths
are widely used for heating the metals for carrying out hand forging
operations. Furnaces are also commonly used for heating metals for heavy
forging. Some commonly used furnaces are given below:
1. Box or batch type furnaces.
2. Rotary-hearth furnaces.
3. Continuous or conveyor furnaces.
4. Induction furnaces.
5. Resistance furnaces.
6. Open fire and stock fire furnace.

FORGING TEMPERATURES:
A metal must be heated to a temperature at which it will possess high
plastic properties to carry out the forging process. The metal work piece is
heated to a proper temperature so that it gains required plastic properties
before deformation, which are essential for satisfactory forging. Excessive
temperatures may result in the burning of the metal. Insufficient
temperatures will not introduce sufficient plasticity in the metal to shape it
 properly by hammering etc. Moreover, under these conditions, the cold
working defects such as hardening and cracking may occur in the product.
 The temperature to start the forging for soft, low carbon steels is
1,250 to 1,300°C, the temperature to finish forging is 800 to 840°C.
 Temperatures for high carbon and alloy steels which are hard in
nature are 1100 to l140°C and 830 to 870°C.
 Wrought iron is best forged at a temperature little below 1,290°C.
 Non ferrous alloys like bronze and brass are heated to about 600 to
930°C, the aluminium and magnesium alloys to about 340 to 500°C.

ADVANTAGES OF FORGING IN COMPARASION TO CASTING AND

MACHINING
Because of inherent improvement in the grain size and introduction of un-
interrupted grain flow in the structure of finished forged component forging
has the following advantages in comparison to casting and machining. Some of
such advantages are given as under.
(i) Greater strength and toughness.
(ii) Reduction in weight of the finished part.
(iii) Saving in the material.
(iv) Elimination of internal defects such as cracks, porosity, blowholes, etc.
(v) Ability to withstand unpredictable loads during service.
(vi) Minimum of machine finish to be carried out on the component especially
when it is forged in dies.

EFFECT OF FORGING ON METAL CHARACTERISTICS

Some common characteristics of forged parts are given as under.
(i) Forged parts have directional properties and hence have good strength.
(ii) Mechanical properties of materials such as percentage elongation,
resistance to stock and vibrations are improved.
(iii) Forging process confines the structure of metal by closing up the cavities.
(iv) Cracks and blow-holes are minimized in forged parts.

FORGING METHODS:
1. Hand forging: Hand forging is performed in the black smithy shop. The job
is heated at the forging temperature in hearth and it is then brought on
 anvil using tong. It is then forged using hand hammers and other hand
forging tools for imparting specific shape.

Forging Operations
The hand forging operations are
1. Upsetting . 2. Bending
3. Drawing down. 4. Cutting
5. Setting down. 6. Punching
7. Flattening 8. Fullering
9. Forge Welding. 10. Swaging
(i) Drawing out
Drawing out is used to reduce the thickness of a bar and to increase its
length.
(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.
(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.
(v) Punching
Punching is a main forging operation used for producing hole in metal plate by
using atool known as punch.
(vi) Forge Welding
It is a process of joining two metal pieces to increase the length by pressing or
hammering them when they are at forging temperature. It is performed in
forging shop and hence sometimes it is called as forge welding.
2.Power Forging
To have heavy impact or blow for more plastic deformation, power hammer
are generally employed. These hammers are operated by compressed air,
steam, oil pressure, spring and gravity. They are generally classified as spring
hammer and drop hammers.
 Spring Hammer
Spring hammer is commonly used for small forgings. It is light type of
power hammer. Spring hammers may be made available in various
capacities having the tup weights from 30 to 250 kg. Those having top
weights 50 to 100 kg and speed of blows up to 300 per minute are in
generally used in forging shop. These hammers have a common
drawback in their springs getting broken very frequently due to severe
vibrations during forging of the jobs in the forging shop
 Drop Hammers
Drop hammers are operated hydraulically and are widely used for
shaping parts by drop hammering a heated bar or billet into a die cavity.

DEFECTS IN FORGED PARTS

Defects commonly found in forged parts that have been subjected to
plastic deformation are as follows.
(i) Defects resulting from the melting practice such as dirt, slag and blow
holes.

(ii) Ingot defects such as pikes, cracks scabs, poor surface and segregation.
(iii) Defect due to faulty forging design.

(iv) Defects of mismatched forging because of improper placement of the

metal in the die.
(v) Defects due to faulty design drop forging die.

(vi) Defects resulting from improper forging such as seams cracks laps. etc.

(vii) Defects resulting from improper heating and cooling of the forging part
such as burnt metal and decarburized steel.
Some well identified common forging defects along with their reason are
given as under.

1. Mismatched forging
Reasons
Due to non alignment of proper die halves.
2. Brunt and overheated metal
Reasons
This is caused by improper heating the metal at high temperature or for a
long time.
3. Fibred flow lines discontinued
Reasons
This will occur because of very rapid plastic flow of metal.
4. Scale pits
Reason
These are formed by squeezing of scale into the metal surface during
forging.
5. Oversize components
Reasons
Due to worn out dies, incorrect dies, misalignment of die halves.

REMOVAL OF DEFECTS IN FORGING

Defects in forging can be removed as follows:
 Surface cracks and decarburized areas are removed from forging parts
by grinding on special machines. Care should also be taken to see that
the job is not under heated, decarburized, overheated and burnt.
 Shallow cracks and cavities can be removed by chipping out of the cold
forging with pneumatic chisel or with hot sets.
 The parting line of a forging should lie in one plane to avoid
mismatching.
 Destroyed forgings are straightened in presses, if possible.
 Die design should be properly made taking into consideration all
relevant and important aspects that may impart forging defects and
ultimate spoilage
 The mechanical properties of the metal can be improved by forging to
correct fibre line. The internal stresses developed due to heating and
cooling of the job can be removed by annealing or normalizing.
HEAT TREATMENT OF FORGING
Heat treatment is carried out for releasing the internal stresses arising in the
metal during forging and cooling of work piece. It is used for equalizing the
granular structure of the forged metal and improving the various mechanical
properties. Generally forged parts are annealed, normalized and tempered to
obtain the desired results.

HOT EXTRUSION
It is the process of enclosing the heated billet or slug of metal in a closed cavity
and then pushing it to flow from only one die opening so that the metal will
take the shape of the opening. The pressure is applied either hydraulically or
mechanically. Extrusion process is identical to the squeezing of tooth paste out
of the tooth paste tube. Tubes, rods, hose, casing, brass cartridge, moulding-
trims, structural shapes, aircraft parts, gear profiles, cable sheathing etc.
The extrusion setup consists of a cylinder container into which the heated
billet or slug of metal is loaded. On one end of the container, the die plate with
the necessary opening is fixed. From the other end, a plunger or ram
compresses the metal billet against the container walls and the die plate, thus
forcing it to flow through the die opening, acquiring the shape of the opening.
The extruded metal is then carried by the metal handling system as it comes
out of the die.
 The extrusion ratio is defined as the ratio of cross- sectional area of the
billet to that of the extruded section. The typical values of the extrusion
ratio are 20 to 50.
 Horizontal hydraulic presses of capacities between 250 to 5500 tonnes
are generally used for conventional extrusion.
 The pressure requirement for extrusion is varying from material to
material. The extrusion pressure for a given material depends on the
extrusion temperature, the reduction in area and the extrusion.

Methods of Hot Extrusion

Hot extrusion process is classified as
1. Direct or forward hot extrusion.
2. Indirect or backward hot extrusion.
3. Tube extrusion.
1.Direct or Forward Hot Extrusion:
In this method, the heated metal billet is placed in to the die chamber and the
pressure is applied through ram. The metal is extruded through die opening in
the forward direction, i.e. the same as that of the ram. In forward extrusion,
the problem of friction is prevalent because of the relative motion between
the heated metal billet and the cylinder walls. To reduce such friction,
lubricants are to be commonly used. At lower temperatures, a mixture of oil
and graphite is generally used. The problem of lubrication gets compounded at
the higher operating temperatures. Molten glass is generally used for
extruding steels.

2.Indirect or Backward Hot Extrusion:

In indirect extrusion, the billet remains stationary while the die moves into the
billet by the hollow ram (or punch), through which the backward extrusion
takes place. Since, there is no friction force between the billet and the
container wall, therefore, less force is required by this method. However this
process is not widely used because of the difficulty occurred in providing
support for the extruded part.

3.Tube Extrusion
This process is an extension of direct extrusion process where additional
mandrel is needed to restrict flow of metal for production of seamless tubes.
Aluminium based toothpaste and medicated tubes are produced using this
process

COLD EXTRUSION
Principle of cold extrusion is similar to that of hot extrusion. The dissimilarity is
that material in hot working processes should possess the essential ductility
with out the application of heat. Impact extrusion is also a cold extrusion
process. It is used for making small components from ductile materials. Impact
extrusion of material is accomplished where the work blank is placed in
position over the die opening the punch forces the blank through the die
opening causing material to flow plastically around the punch. The outside
diameter of the tube is same as diameter of the die, and the thickness is
controlled by the clearance between punch and die. Collapsible medicare
tubes and toothpastes etc. are produced using this impact extrusion.
TYPES OF CASTING DEFECTS

Types

1. Gas Porosity: Blowholes, open holes, pinholes

2. Shrinkage defects: shrinkage cavity
3. Mold material defects: Cut and washes, swell, drops, metal penetration, rat tail
4. Pouring metal defects: Cold shut, misrun, slag inclusion
5. Metallurgical defects: Hot tears, hot spot

1.Shift or Mismatch : The defect caused due to misalignment of upper and lower part of
the casting and misplacement of the core at parting line.

Cause :
(1) Improper alignment of upper and lower part during mold preparation.
(2) Misalignment of flask (a flask is type of tool which is used to contain a mold in metal
casting. it may be square, round, rectangular or of any convenient shape.)

2. Swell :
It is the enlargement of the mold cavity because of the molten metal pressure, which
results in localised or overall enlargement of the casting.

Causes
(i) Defective or improper ramming of the mold.

3. Blowholes:
When gases entrapped on the surface of the casting due to solidifying metal, a rounded
or oval cavity is formed called as blowholes. These defects are always present in the
cope part of the mold.

Causes :
(i) Excessive moisture in the sand.
(ii) Low Permeability of the sand.
(iii) Sand grains are too fine.
(iv) Too hard rammed sand.
(v) Insufficient venting is provided.

4. Drop:
Drop defect occurs when there is cracking on the upper surface of the sand and sand
pieces fall into the molten metal.
Causes :
(i) Soft ramming and low strength of sand.
(ii) Insufficient fluxing of molten metal. Fluxing means addition of a substance in molten
metal to remove impurities. After fluxing the impurities from the molten metal can be
easily removed.
(iii) Insufficient reinforcement of sand projections in the cope.

5. Metal Penetration
These casting defects appear as an uneven and rough surface of the casting. When the
size of sand grains is larges, the molten fuses into the sand and solidifies giving us
metal penetration defect.

Causes :
(i) It is caused due to low strength, large grain size, high permeability and soft ramming
of sand. Because of this the molten metal penetrates in the molding sand and we get
rough or uneven casting surface.

6. Pinholes:
They are very small holes of about 2 mm in size which appears on the surface of the
casting. This defect happens because of the dissolution of the hydrogen gases in the
molten metal. When the molten metal is poured in the mold cavity and as it starts to
solidify, the solubility of the hydrogen gas decreases and it starts escaping out the
molten metal leaves behind small number of holes called as pinholes.

Causes :
(i) Use of high moisture content sand.
(ii) Absorption of hydrogen or carbon monoxide gas by molten metal.
(iii) Pouring of steel from wet ladles or not sufficiently gasified.

7. Shrinkage Cavity
The formation of cavity in the casting due to volumetric contraction is called as
shrinkage cavity.

Causes :
(i) Uneven or uncontrolled solidification of molten metal.
(ii) Pouring temperature is too high.

8. Cold Shut
It is a type of surface defects and a line on the surface can be seen. When the molten
metal enters into the mold from two gates and when these two streams of molten metal
meet at a junction with low temperatures than they do not fuse with each other and
solidifies creating a cold shut (appear as line on the casting). It looks like a crack with
round edge.

Causes:
(i) Poor gating system
(ii) Low melting temperature
(iii) Lack of fluidity

9. Misrun
When the molten metal solidifies before completely filling the mold cavity and leaves a
space in the mold called as misrun.

Causes:
(i) Low fluidity of the molten metal.
(ii) Low temperature of the molten metal which decreases its fluidity.
(iii) Too thin section and improper gating system.

10. Slag Inclusion

This defect is caused when the molten metal containing slag particles is poured in the
mold cavity and it gets solidifies.

Causes :
(i) The presence of slag in the molten metal.

11. Hot Tears or Hot Cracks

when the metal is hot it is weak and the residual stress (tensile) in the material cause
the casting fails as the molten metal cools down. The failure of casting in this case is
looks like cracks and called as hot tears or hot cracking.

Causes :
(i) Improper mold design.

12. Hot Spot or Hard Spot:

Hot spot defects occur when an area on the casting cools more rapidly than the
surrounding materials. Hot spot are areas on the casting which is harder than the
surrounding area. It is also called as hard spot.
Causes :
(i) The rapid cooling an area of the casting than the surrounding materials causes this
defect.

13. Sand Holes

It is the holes created on the external surface or inside the casting. It occurs when loose
sand washes into the mold cavity and fuses into the interior of the casting or rapid
pouring of the molten metal.

Causes:
(i) Loose ramming of the sand.
(ii) Rapid pouring of the molten metal into the mold results in wash away of sand from
the mold and a hole is created.
(iii) Improper cleaning of the mold cavity.

15. Honeycombing or Sponginess

It is an external defect in which there is a number of small cavities in close proximity
present in the metal casting.

Causes:
(i) It is caused due to dirt and scurf held mechanically in the suspension of the molten
metal.
(ii) Due to imperfect skimming in the ladle.

16. Warpage:
It is an accidental and unwanted deformation in the casting that happens during or after
solidification. Due to this defect, the dimension of the final product changes.

Causes:
(i) Due to different rates of solidification of different sections. This induces stresses in
adjoining walls and result in warpage.
(ii) Large and flat sections or intersecting section such as ribs are more prone to these
casting defects.
17. Fins
A thin projection of metal, not considered as a part of casting is called as fins or fin. It is
usually occurs at the parting of the mold or core section.

Causes:
(i) Incorrect assembling of mold and cores.
(ii) Insufficient weight of the mold or improper clamping of the flask may produce the
fins.