DROP FORGING

Drop forging is a mass production

technique which hammers the metal between two
dies. Half of the die is attached to the hammer
(upper section) and half to the anvil (lower
section). The hot metal is placed in the lower half
of the die and struck one on more time with the
upper die. This forces the metal to flow in all
directions, filling the die cavity. Excess metal
squeezed out between the die faces is called flash
or flashing. After the forging is completed the
flash is cut off in another press with a trimming
die.
 A metal shaping process, the metal to be
formed is first heated then shaped by forcing it
into the contours of a die, this force can be in
excess of 2000 tons. The drop forging process can
be performed with the material at various
temperatures;

Hot Forging

During hot forging the metals are heated to

above their recrystallization temperature. The
main benefit of this hot forging is that work
hardening is prevented due to the recrystallization
of the metal as it begins to cool.
Cold Forging

Cold Forging is generally performed with metal at

room temperature below the recrystallization
temperature. Cold forging typically work hardens the
metal

TWO TYPES OF DROP FORGING

OPEN DIE

Drop forging requires the operator to position the work

piece while it is impacted by the ram. The die attached to the

ram is usually flat or of a simple contour, most of the shaping is

 CLOSED DIE (Impression die)

Drop forging comprises of a die on the anvil which

resembles a mould, the ram which falls and strikes the top

of the metal billet can also be equipped with a die. The

heated metal billet is placed on the lower die while the

ram drives down forcing the metal to fill the contours of

the die blocks.

Process details

Closed-die forging

A heated blank is placed between 2

halves of a die
A single compressive stroke squeezes the blank
into the die to form the part. In hammer or drop
forging this happens by dropping the top of the
mould from a height. An alternative is to squeeze
the moulds together using hydraulic pressure.
Once the die halves have separated, the
part can be ejected immediately using an
ejector pin.
The waste material, flash, is removed later.
Advantages

1. Parts of sizes up to 25 tons can be

produced with closed die forging

2. Closed die forging can produce near net

shapes that will require only a small
amount of finishing

3. Economic (profitable) for large runs of

product

4. Forging provides superior mechanical

properties over castings due to the
internal grain structure formation in
forged parts

5. Makes strong products.

6. Many metals are forged cold, but iron

and its alloys are always forged hot.
Disadvantages

1. Not very economical for short runs due to the

high cost of die production

2. The business set up cost of drop forging is very

high, not only are the machines and furnaces
costly but special building provisions must be in
place to cope with the powerful vibrations caused
by drop forging. A special foundation must be laid
to deal with this environment

3. Drop forging presents a dangerous working

environment
Materials and shapes

1. Any metal can be forged, provided the

blank is hot enough (( 60% of the melting
temperature).

2. Typical possible sizes for closed dies range

from 10g to 10kg, depending on complexity.

3. The part is left with good surface and

mechanical properties, although cold-forging
can perform even better.
4. Complex parts can be formed using a
series of forging dies with increasing levels
of detail.

5. A draft (taper) angle has to be

incorporated to allow easy removal of the
part.

6. Any waste material squeezed between

the die halves, called flash, is readily
recycled.
Economics

Production rate is limited by the insertion

and removal of the blank, so some form of
automation is often used.
As a result, machines can cost 100,000+,
but can produce many parts a minute (if
small).
As both the machines and the dedicated dies
are costly, production runs in excess of
50,000 are often needed to produce small
parts economically.
Large parts can be produced economically at
smaller batch sizes, because there is less
competition.
 APPLICATION
Typical Products

Spanners

pedal cranks

gear blanks

valve bodies

hand tools

crankshafts

coins
MATERIALS USED

The materials that are used most commonly in

drop forging are: aluminium, copper, nickel, mild
steel, stainless steel, and magnesium.

Best Material: Mild Steel

Worst Material: Magnesium