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Best large forging video I've seen, quite interesting.

SND

Diamond
Joined
Jan 12, 2003
Location
Canada
Ran across this video of what looks to be a fairly modern forging factory, good video quality and a great product in the end. Unfortunately its in German I think, which I don't understand, but at least its not in Chinese, yet...

I was a bit puzzled when I saw them put the indentations with what first looked like a shear blade of some sort to me. Seems they're used as witness marks when necking it down eh?
It's also the first time I saw them squish a forging from the ends (3:50mins in) didn't know that was part of the process, quite a thing to stand up on its end.

Any guess at why they're poking the beast from all sides at 9:37? getting samples?

Faszinierende Großtechnik - YouTube
 
The wedge is called a "fuller". It is used to segment the work into different sections when you want to create different diameters on the shaft. The fulling crease allows you to have steep dropoffs from one diameter to the other. If you did not use a fuller you would get kind of a slope between the diameters instead of sharp break.

When they stand the block on end and "squish" it, that is called "upsetting". The shape produced is a "bolster". It is part of giving the block the right grain. If they were making a gear, this would the final step, a bolster into disk which would become the gear. Here, they are upsetting the block to even out the grains before they elongate it again.

The guys poking the bar with rods are probably testing it for clear sound. If they hear a thud, it probably has to be reworked because that means there is an internal crack.
 
The technology was developed in the US back in the 60's. I usnderstand we bo no large scale forging here. rail car axles are about it. Our few remaining shipyards have to import ship shafting.

Walk through a present day machine shop and there;s nothing but old farts.
 
Videos such as this is what will keep younger people interested in science and manufacturing. We all need a little wonderment from time to time. I do, any way. Thank you for pointing it out.
 
The technology was developed in the US back in the 60's. I usnderstand we bo no large scale forging here. rail car axles are about it. Our few remaining shipyards have to import ship shafting.

Walk through a present day machine shop and there;s nothing but old farts.


There are plenty of large-scale forging places left in the US - they just tend to focus on boring things like superalloy turbine engine disks.
 
Squeaky clean looking facilities. The only dirt I saw was the sandbox they dumped the casting on to. I like the use of modeling clay to demonstrate what it is that is going on.

-DU-
 
Great video, just showed it to my "Computer integrated manufacting" high school class, they loved it! The Watervliet arsenal in NY still operates a rotary forge like the one pictured to make gun barrels. I used to be able to bring my students there for a tour. Tours have not been allowed for the last 12-15 years though, too bad, it was a great show! Barry
 
I must be some sort of German version of how its made, but better? or maybe educational video to get interest of the younger people. They should show things like that in high schools here.

I had heard of "upsetting" somewhere before(no picture attached) but didn't know that was the particular operation, always assumed it meant forging features off center like a crank.
 
The technology was developed in the US back in the 60's. I usnderstand we bo no large scale forging here. rail car axles are about it. Our few remaining shipyards have to import ship shafting.

Lehigh Heavy Forge Corporation would be surprised to hear this. Have a look through this link for assurance that the death of heavy open die forging in the USA has been prematurely announced.

Lehigh Heavy Forge Corporation
 
Thats just sexy! looks like a new setup, manufactured by these guys

SMS Meer GmbH

bet the cost was eyewatering,

love forging, my specialist subject for 10 !

lotsa big progressive forge shops in the states still. From memory the first real big hydraulic presses were first developed and built by the Germans in WW2, No one could work out how they made the big forgings on the first jets untill after the war, and then every one else started their heavy press programmes.
 
Right now, I think the biggest press in the US is the Alcoa press in Cleveland. This is 50,000 ton press that was just rebuilt. For comparison , the Alcoa press is 450 millinewtons. The press in the video is, I think, a 100 millinewton press.
 
Thanks for the vid, enjoyed watching it.

For those wondering : it is indeed an educational video.
The comments are simple and layman`s descriptions of the process, without using technical terms.
Highschool audiences I guess.
 
In the vernacular of the modern mush-heads,"OMG!" That is about as good a video of that process as I've ever encountered, and I don't speak a word of German. Along with the explanation I've seen here in the forum, I have a fair understanding of what was going on. Thanks a bunch. And yes, we need a lot more of that sort of video explaining and advocating for the whole manufacturing sector to those modern mush-heads I was referring to earlier. Excellent view of the technology involved, the clean, well lit facility. Everything ,first rate. We still won't head them all to the shop, but we really don't want them all. Just the real gear heads, and they do still exist.
 
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Okay, so I'm going to reveal my ignorance here:

It looks like they cast the steel into a mold which almost resembles a big ladle. When they knocked it out, the circumference of the cast ingot had a spline pattern.

Does anybody know what the purpose of this spline is?

Thanks,
Henry Wettersten
 
Okay, so I'm going to reveal my ignorance here:

It looks like they cast the steel into a mold which almost resembles a big ladle. When they knocked it out, the circumference of the cast ingot had a spline pattern.

Does anybody know what the purpose of this spline is?

Thanks,
Henry Wettersten

The "spline" ridges are called "flutes". The purpose of fluting the ingot is to reduce the chance of surface cracking. The larger the ingot, the more susceptible it is to cracking.
 








 
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