Mechanical Forging Press Machine – How It Works

Mechanical forging press machines are widely used for producing forging components. This article will explain the details of the different sections of a forging press machine and its working procedure.

Like drop forging hammer, mechanical forging press is also used for mass production of forging components.

Overview of Mechanical Press Forging Process

○ The billet is heated up to the recrystallization temperature and kept over the bottom half of the die.

○ The bottom half of the die is kept fixed.

○ The top die goes up and down repeatedly to shape up the billet to final product.

○ The billet is pressed (or squeezed) rather than hammered in a mechanical forging press. So the life of the die is more in case of mechanical press forging.

○ The production rate of mechanical forging press is greater than that for a drop forging hammer.

Working of Mechanical Forging Press

Various parts of a mechanical forging press and their functions are as below:

○ Flywheel: Flywheel supply power for forging. The flywheel is connected to a prime mover (either electric motor or diesel engine) either directly or through a drive (belt drive or gear drive). The fly wheel is supported by bearings. The speed of the flywheel is directly proportional to production rate of forging components.

○ Board: The board is connected eccentrically to the flywheel. This mechanism converts rotary motions of the flywheel into vertical linear motion of the board.

○ Ram: The ram is the connecting member between the board and the upper half of the die. The ram is guided by lubricated guide shafts (not shown in picture) for maintaining proper vertical motion.

○ Die: The forging die has two halves. The top half moves up and down with the ram, whereas the bottom half is kept fixed by the anvil. The design of the die cavity decides the final shape of the forged component.

○ Anvil: The anvil keeps the bottom half of the die rigidly fixed. Rigidity of the anvil is important for proper functioning of any forging press.

Conclusion

For shake of simplicity, the picture of different sections of forging press machines is not showing all the parts of an actual press. The parts of the machine explained here are the main parts in terms of functionality.