When it comes to forging – hot and cold – Whale Engineering has the capacity to produce ferrous and non-ferrous product ranging from 10kgs to 500kgs, and from 250mm to 900mm with a thickness of at least 35mm for ring forgings.
Once again, the Whale Engineering focus is on creating reliable and high quality components using the latest automated machining presses that centre on the following manufacturing processes.
What is Forging?
Forging is the manufacturing process of shaping a piece of metal to a specific shape. This method is one of oldest manufacturing methods with black smiths doing it many years ago. The difference now is that more automated machinery is used to shape parts instead of manual labour.
The process enables a heated piece of material which will then be repeatedly smashed by an automated press or manual hammer (depending on component size), this using localised compressive forces. The metal work is sectioned by the temperature of the part as there are a couple of ways to manufacture.
The reason for picking forging is for high strength components, with the process concentrating heavily on the materials grain flow. The repeated ‘hammering’ on the component shapes the grain flow and compresses them. Due to this the hardness of the part increases along with its brittleness, therefor forged items are commonly annealed/normalised to reduce its hardness and raise its ductility, allowing machining to take place on the part. Heat treatment can be done after machining to increase its hardness if needed.
See below to see the manufacturing process
Open Die Forging
This process is simple yet effective, using heat and a hydraulic ram to deform a solid piece of metal. The metal is heated to just below the materials melting point, only being used on steel and stainless steel. Using the hydraulic ram to create a force of impact on the metal, with the material being constantly moved to achieve the shape. The process can do simple designs such as rings, discs, sleeves. The process is cheaper than closed die forging due to not needing to make dies.
Often needs machining after the process to achieve tolerances
Used for simple designs such as rings, discs, sleeves etc
Improved fatigue resistance
Closed Die Forging
Often referred to as impression die forging, this deformation process uses the pressure of a hydraulic ram to compress a piece of metal into an enclosed die. It is a process that is increasingly deployed to create components that exhibit complex shapes. Indeed it is a process that offers very little material limitation, requires limited machining due to the high level of surface finish created and one where tight tolerances are a pre-requisite.
No material limitation
Little machining required
Tighter tolerance can be achieved
Better surface finish