I’ve had some really good days in nearly 25 years as a forging tool and die welder. The die is hot enough, the radio is playing loudly, and the boss is on vacation.

In the first two parts of this series, we examined the basic definition of grain flow and described the anisotropic properties in metals because of it.

Graphite die lubricants had dominated forging applications for centuries. Changing industry needs and the drive toward safer, cleaner shops drove the development of synthetic lubricants.

The mechanical properties of a metal with grain flow are anisotropic.

In this series, we will examine the concepts and features of forging grain flow. This article will cover the basics of grain flow that occur during metalworking processes. 

Gemini XXL is the fastest grinding 100% aluminum oxide depressed center wheels on the market. 

This article introduces a practical technique that enables the reduction of burning loss or mill scale and increases yield in most kinds of steels. The technique is most successfully adopted in open-die hot forging and hot rolling of stainless and other expensive alloy steels.

Rotary forging is a cold-forming process invented by Edwin Elmer Slick in 1914. Slick Mills were used to form circular products such as railroad wheels and tire molds. More recently, research to further the process is being conducted at the University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC) in Glasgow, Scotland. 

The Defense Logistics Agency is the Department of Defense’s largest logistics combat support agency. It supplies 84% of the military’s spare parts and provided $44 billion in sales and revenue in fiscal 2012. Want to learn how to become a part of this program and gain sales by supplying forgings for defense and weapon systems? Just keep reading.

Since steels are so widely used, two articles will be devoted to this class of materials. This article will discuss the chemistry, typical applications and some operational forging issues.