Forging

➢ Objectives:
o To understand the concept of forging.
o To be conversant with the various equipment and tools used for forging
o To have a broader view of various forging processes.
o To get an idea of various applications of forging.

➢ Machines/Tools used:
o Forging Furnaces - To heat up the workpiece up to the required
temperature, usually around 900oC.
▪ Muffle Furnace
▪ One ton Gas Heating Furnace
▪ Dual Burner, Propane Gas Forge Furnace
▪ Melting Coal Furnace
o Swage Block - It is a perforated metallic block with grooved sides, which
helps in shaping the workpiece into the desired curve.
o Forging/Drop Hammers - Commonly used in impression die forging, to
apply pressure on the workpiece. They are of two types:
▪ Gravity Drop Hammers - impact energy from a heavy ram in free
fall.
▪ Power Drop Hammers - impact energy from accelerated
ram (by pressurized air or steam).
o Forging Presses - Gradually applies pressure on the workpiece to compress
it.
o Forging Tongs - Used to carry the heated workpiece from the oven.
o Anvil - It is a heavy metallic block with a flat surface, on which the
workpiece is worked upon.
o Hammers - They are used to strike the workpiece, to forge it into the
shape required.
▪ Ball peen hammer
▪ Straight peen hammer
▪ Cross peen hammer
▪ Sledgehammer
o There are various other tools that help in shaping the workpiece.
These include:
▪ Fullers
▪ Swages
 ▪ Flatters
▪ Set Hammer
▪ Punch
▪ Chisel
▪ Drift
➢ EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE:
o The process of forging begins with cutting out the workpiece of
required length a larger metallic rod/sheet using a chop-saw.
o The workpiece is then heated in a Muffle Furnace to approximately
900oC. Now,
a. To make a Square Rod, for which the workpiece is initially a circular rod;
▪ The workpiece is taken out of the furnace using tongs, and taken to
an anvil, upon which it is struck by a sledgehammer from all four
sides to form a square rod.
b. To make a Chisel, for which the workpiece is initially a rectangle-
faced rod;
▪ The workpiece is taken out of the furnace using tongs, and taken to
an anvil, upon which it is struck with sledgehammers of different
sizes, and is eventually shaped to form a cutting edge on one side.
c. To make a Hook, for which the workpiece is initially a circular rod;
▪ The workpiece is taken out of the furnace using tongs, and taken to
a Swage Block, where it is struck on using hammers of different
sizes and shapes, and is slowly shaped into the required curve.
o While working the workpiece, if it cools down and hardens, we re-heat
it using the Muffle Furnace. This helps to keep the workpiece strong and
crack- free for the whole process.

➢ Home Activity:
o A few products that are manufactured by certain types of forging
processes are listed below:
▪ Wheel Axles
▪ Agricultural machinery
▪ Engine shafts
▪ Metallic framework in bridges
▪ Gears and spurs
▪ Hand tools - Chisels, hammers, wrenches, pliers.
▪ Construction equipment
▪ Bearings
o Forging processes that may be involved in making a pair of pliers are
as follows:
 ▪ The base rods are shaped to the appropriate size, and then fed
onto an assembly line, which feeds them into a furnace to be
heated.
▪ After heating, the red-hot rods are hammered with a
machine die, and then the excess metal is cut off by
another machine.
▪ Now, the gripping teeth are forged and shaped.
▪ The plier halves are strengthened by heating in a gas fired
furnace, and cooled down with salt water.
▪ The halves thus forged are now assembled together with a
rivet, and then coated with rust inhibitors and lubricants.
▪ Finally, the handles of the pliers are lowered into a vat of liquid
vinyl. The pliers are then sent to their final oven, heating the
vinyl to the steel while sealing the rubber grip to the pliers.

➢ LIMITATIONS OF FORGING:
o Forging is a dangerous process, with a great risk of the operator
getting injured.
o Getting a properly finished product from forging is very tough.
o The process of hand forging requires great precision, and skilled
labour.
o Brittle metal cannot be forged.
o The size of product to be formed might get limited due to the size
of the press.
o The workpiece may get distorted if it is worked upon below the
required temperature.
o Forging complex shapes is very tough.

➢ CONCLUSION:
In forging, a workpiece is compressed between two opposing dies, so that
the die shapes are imparted to the work. Forging is traditionally a hot
working process, but many types of forging are performed cold.
Forging is a deformation process in which the work is compressed between
two dies, using either impact or gradual pressure to form the part. It is
the oldest of the metal forming operations.