The U.K.’s Sheffield Forgemasters is being acquired by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to support a substantial recapitalization of the company’s defense-critical plant and equipment over the next 10 years. The investment will secure Sheffield Forgemasters’ role as a critical supplier to the next generation of U.K. defense programs while continuing its independent commercial activities, serving markets such as civil nuclear, oil and gas, power generation, renewables and steel processing.

A. Benevenuta & C. S.p.a. ordered a 2,500-ton mechanical forging press from Farina, a Schuler affiliate. The company produces hot-forged steel components for the automotive industry near Turin, Italy. The parts are used in suspension systems, transmissions, engines and brakes in passenger cars, tractors, trucks and earth-moving machinery. The press force of the Benevenuta production lines ranges from 1,200 to 2,500 metric tons.

Schuler and its affiliate Farina demonstrated what the companies say is the world’s largest mechanical forging line to an international group of 60 forging experts. A live video stream transmitted from the production site in Suello, Italy, highlighted the features of the 16,000-ton press, which has a stroke of 600 mm, in action. The press will be delivered to Germany’s thyssenkrupp Gerlach. Due to its Scotch Yoke design, the press has a total height of 14 meters – making it much smaller than conventional presses. This enables high off-center loads and a high number of strokes. From the outside, the GLF-type machine looks like a conventional press, including the flywheel, clutch and crown gear. However, the Scotch Yoke directly works in the slide, which is the reason for the compact design.

Automotive supplier Ningbo Xusheng Auto Technology Co. Ltd. of China issued the Final Acceptance Certificate to SMS group for a fully automatic closed-die forging line. Installed at the company’s Ningbo location in the province of Zhejiang, the forging line consists of an eccentric forging press and, as a pre-forming unit, an automatic forging roll. The press operates with a maximum press force of 25 MN. Ningbo Xusheng is using the line to produce aluminum chassis components, especially for electric vehicles. With support of specific simulation software, SMS group cooperated with Ningbo Xusheng to jointly develop the technology and the dies for the aluminum forging process. 

Schuler Service repaired two machines damaged in a fire at Mühlhoff Umformtechnik, an automotive supplier in Uedem, Germany. As a result, part production on a new 2,000-ton press from the TSD series can also start on time – all within just 12 months of the fire. Because drive components with long lead times were already accessible, Schuler was able to shorten the time to commissioning by three months. This happened even though the experts on site had to contend with challenges such as the foundation, which was designed for the previous and significantly smaller 800-ton line.

Schuler will deliver a 16,000-ton forging line, which includes a Farina forging press, to thyssenkrupp Gerlach. Internal assembly for the 16,000-ton line – one of the largest mechanical machines in the world, according to Schuler – has been completed at Farina’s facility in Suello, Italy. After the test run, the components (with a total weight of 1,700 tons) will make their way to thyssenkrupp Gerlach’s forging plant in Homburg, Germany. Production is expected to start in 2022.

This is a complete list of all the feature articles that appeared in FORGE, by month, in 2020. All articles are hyperlinked for your convenience.

Schuler installed two forging lines, including the dies and furnaces, in China. The screw press and the crank press forge aluminum chassis parts fully automatically. Screw presses from Schuler feature a press force of 250-28,000 tons. The water-cooled servo direct drive transmits the torque of the motor without losses and offers a high level of precision, operational reliability and economy. The 750- to 16,000-ton crank press is suited for mass production. Depending on the specific requirements, the press frame and drive system are designed for high manufacturing precision and high production rates.

Anhui Anhuang Machinery Co. Ltd. placed an order with SMS group for a fully automatic closed-die forging line for pistons. The 2,500-ton line consists of a fully automatic closed-die forging press and an induction heating system from SMS Elotherm for heating the forging blanks. Anhui Anhuang will be one of the first automotive suppliers in China that is capable of manufacturing pistons for cars and trucks in a fully automated process. Commissioning is scheduled for the second quarter of 2022.

If you’re at all like me, you wonder which articles get the most attention on our website. Every year we publish around 25 feature articles, and at the end of the year we gather statistics to see which ones get the most page views. So, without further ado, here are the five most-viewed articles on www.forgemag.com based on page views. This ranking applies only to articles published in 2020.