Thursday, June 19, 2014

Hammering Steel Out in the Open

Steel or composite alloys are fairly common among mechanized products. Many machines have high-grade steel parts that were fashioned at a large foundry, which is a step up from steel-making plants from the Industrial Revolution. The processes used in shaping them often have one common component: being assembled through open-die forging.

Open-die forging involves two opposing dies that are hammered against a piece of superheated metal. The work itself is in full view of the foundry team and does not require enclosed machine casts, which are used on impression-die forging. Open-die forges have an assortment of dies to help fashion the heated metal to its desired configuration, such as flat dies, mandrels, pins, and round swaging dies.

Even though an open-die forge gradually presses the heated metal to the final form, the foremen themselves may still participate in the fine tuning. For example, during the formation of a spindle rod with a thicker center section, a technician puts a fuller onto the heated metal and turns the latter as it gets pounded by the die. The tool is meant to mark step sections that will be stretched to the desired length or mass, leaving the center area intact for possible fixing later. The top die is then adjusted lengthwise to further polish the part for a smooth rounded finish. 

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