Forging

Thu, 10 Apr 2008

Take a piece of metal, strike it with a hard enough blow that it bends, or is shaped, and you've got the concept of forging. There are two kinds of forging: Hot and cold.  Cold forging is done at room temperature and gives a good finish and excellent dimensional control.  Cold forging is useful for cutlery for example.  In hot forging, the ductility of the metal is increased by heating the material.

The forging process called closed-mold involves putting a work piece over a metal mold, which sits atop and anvil.  A hammer then forces the work piece into the mold.  Such forging (drop hammer forging) is often done sequentially, moving from a shallow die to progressively deeper ones. Some material does not enter the die and is called "flash" which is later removed.

Various shapes and sizes can be formed through forging.

eMachineShop takes the mystery out of forging though it's software download the provides instant feedback, pricing and online ordering.