How to Forge Metal?
Jul 6, 2025
For people who work in manufacturing and engineering, the knowledge of metal forging is elemental. Metal forging brings about parts that are highly efficient and can be used in many industrial fields. So, this is a guide on metal Schmiedeprozesses, suitable for people who want to enhance their careers or businesses seeking professional help. Here is a general outline of the process to forge metal:
Metal Preparation
The first step is to choose the metal materials that meet the requirements of the forging process, e.g., carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum alloy, copper alloy, etc. This is followed by the metal material being cut into billets in the desired shape. The typical billets are usually round steel, square steel, as well as ingots. The quality and composition of the billet directly affect the performance of the final product, so it must be strictly examined and tested prior to the use of rough stock.
Billet Heating
Metallurgical workers need to heat the metal billet they have chosen to a suitable temperature range for making it soft, and hence, easy to work with it. The heating will soften the material and make deformation operations easier. Different metals have different temperature ranges at which they are the most malleable. As one instance, the initial forging temperature for carbon steel is usually in the range from 1150 to 1250℃, and the final temperature of forging shall be not lower than 800℃.
The commonly used heating methods in forging production are by flame, which have options like coal-fired furnaces, oil-fired furnaces gas-fired type. Another method is by the use of electricity for heating the metal which could be through resistance furnaces or induction furnaces. Among these, the induction method of heating is getting increasingly adopted in the forging industry because of its many advantages, such as fast heating, regulation of temperatures, saving of energy, and environmental friendliness.
Select forging equipment and dies:
According to the size and weight of the billet and the requirements of the forging process, select suitable forging equipment. Common forging equipment includes air hammers, steam-air hammers, friction presses, hot die forging presses, hydraulic presses, etc. At the same time, design and manufacture the corresponding forging dies according to the shape and size of the product. The dies are generally composed of upper and lower dies, and their materials are usually selected from alloy steels with high strength, high wear resistance, and good toughness, such as 5CrMnMo, 5CrNiMo, etc.
Perform forging operations
Freies Schmieden
This is a relatively simple forging method. The billet is deformed by impact or pressure between the upper and lower anvils. Free forging can be performed through basic processes such as upsetting (reducing the height of the blank and increasing the cross-sectional area), drawing (increasing the length of the blank and reducing the cross-sectional area), punching (punching through holes or blind holes on the blank), etc. It is often used to produce forgings with simple shapes, such as shafts, disc parts, etc.
Gesenkschmieden
The heated blank is placed in the mold cavity fixed on the forging equipment. Under the action of impact force or pressure, the metal blank fills the cavity, thereby obtaining a forging consistent with the shape of the mold. Die forging can be divided into open die forging and closed die forging. In the open die forging process, the metal has a small amount of lateral flow during the forging process, forming flash; in the closed die forging process, the metal deforms in the closed cavity without producing flash, which can better control the dimensional accuracy and metal streamline distribution of the forging. It is often used to produce forgings with complex shapes and high precision requirements, such as crankshafts and connecting rods of automobile engines.
Post-forging treatment
Cooling
After forging, the forging needs to be properly cooled. The cooling method depends on the properties of the metal material and the requirements of the forging. Common cooling methods include air cooling (natural cooling in the air, suitable for most carbon steel and low alloy steel forgings), pit cooling (putting the forging in a pit or box to slowly cool, used for some high alloy steel and large forgings), furnace cooling (putting the forging in a heating furnace and slowly cooling it with the furnace, which can effectively reduce the internal stress of the forging and prevent deformation and cracking).
Heat treatment
In order to improve the organization and properties of forgings, such as refining grains, eliminating internal stress, and improving strength and toughness, forgings usually need to be heat-treated. Common heat treatment processes include annealing, normalizing, quenching, and tempering. The specific heat treatment process parameters need to be determined according to the composition of the metal material and the use requirements of the forging.
Subsequent processing and inspection
According to the final requirements of the product, the forging is subjected to subsequent mechanical processing, such as cutting, grinding, etc., to achieve the specified dimensional accuracy and surface roughness. In addition, comprehensive quality inspection of forgings is also required, including appearance inspection (checking whether there are cracks, folds, slag inclusions and other defects on the surface of forgings), size inspection (measuring whether the size of forgings meets the design requirements), mechanical property testing (testing the strength, plasticity, toughness and other mechanical property indicators of forgings through tensile tests, impact tests, etc.) and non-destructive testing (such as ultrasonic testing, magnetic particle testing, penetration testing, etc., used to detect defects inside forgings).
BAODING LONGWAY: Your Forging Partner
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We provide a one-stop service for custom metal parts solutions. Our expertise covers the entire process: from casting and forging to machining, heat treatment, surface treatment, and assembly. Whether you need precision gears manufacturing or custom investment casting parts, we have the skills and capacity to deliver. Our Schmiedeteile meet strict quality standards, ensuring durability and performance. With a professional technical team and dedicated export service, they can handle various forging projects, making them a great choice for businesses worldwide looking for reliable metal forging solutions.
Schlussfolgerung
Forging metal is a complex and precise process that requires strict control of process parameters at each link to ensure that the quality and performance of the final product meet the requirements.
Understanding the forging process helps you make informed decisions. And when it’s time to find a partner for your forging needs, we offer the quality and service you can trust.Kontakt now!