SMS group received the final acceptance certificate from Japan’s Hitachi Metals following the successful commissioning of its open-die forging press. This is the largest four-column open-die forging press in push-down design that SMS group has built in the last 25 years. The press, which operates with a forging force of up to 90 MN and an upsetting force of 108 MN, forges flat and round bars from ingots at a maximum starting material weight of 30 tons. Hitachi Metals intends to use it to process titanium alloys, tool steels, high-speed steels and nickel-based alloys.

Two rail-bound manipulators position the forgings with millimeter precision and move them fully in sync with the press stroke. A three-dimensional laser measuring system measures the surface temperature and the geometry of the forging in real time and optimizes the pass schedule for homogeneous forging of the core zone.