Forging is a processing method that uses forging machinery to apply pressure to metal blanks to produce plastic deformation to obtain forgings with certain mechanical properties, certain shapes and sizes, and one of the two major components of forging (forging and stamping).

Forging can eliminate defects such as loose casting in the smelting process, optimize the microstructure structure, and generally better than castings of the same material due to the preservation of complete metal streamlines. In related machinery, forgings are mostly used for important parts with high load and severe working conditions, except for plates, profiles or weldments that can be rolled with simple shapes.

According to the forming mechanism, forging can be divided into free forging, die forging, ring milling, and special forging.

Features of Free Forging:

Improve the structure and improve the mechanical properties. Through forging, the coarse crystal structure inside the metal is broken: pores, shrinkage holes, cracks and other defects are pressed to improve the compactness, and the fiber streamline of the metal is reasonably distributed on the section of the forging, which improves the mechanical properties of the metal.

Low cost and reasonable economy. Forging equipment and tools have good versatility, short production preparation cycle, and easy to replace products.
The process is flexible and adaptable.

Forgings have low dimensional accuracy.

Free forging is mainly used in the production of forgings with small batches, less complex shapes, and low dimensional accuracy requirements and some large forgings.

Free forging equipment:

Air hammer has simple structure, flexible operation and convenient maintenance, but the hammering force is small
 Hydraulic press, hydraulic press is under static pressure to make the blank plastic deformation, stable work, low noise, good working conditions, produce greater pressure, but the equipment is large, complex structure, expensive.

Both types of equipment have no overload damage problem, but if the equipment tonnage is selected too small, the forgings cannot be forged inside, and the productivity is low, on the contrary, if the equipment tonnage is selected too large, it will waste manpower and financial resources.

The choice of forging equipment is mainly related to factors such as deformation area, forging material and deformation temperature.

It can be used for pier coarse, lengthening, punching, reaming, bending, misplacement, etc

Determination of forging temperature: Under the premise of no heating defects such as overheating and overburning, the forging temperature should be increased as much as possible to make the metal have good malleability. The starting forging temperature is generally controlled at 150-250 °C below the solid phase.

Die forging is divided into open die forging and closed die forging

Definition of die forging: The method of forging a heated blank in a mold fixed on a die forging equipment is called die forging. Die forging is the main process method of forging using special forging dies to obtain the desired shape and size forgings.

The characteristics of die forging are: under the action of the forging press, the blank is forced to plastic flow forming in the forging model cavity, so as to obtain forgings with better quality than free forging.