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Additive manufacturing techniques are no longer in their infancy. They are quickly emerging into serious options for the production of metallic parts. Forge shops should keep a watchful eye on this unfolding technology, both as a competitor and as an opportunity.
Titanium
is the main constituent in titanium alloys, of course, but they can contain a
significant amount of other elements, which are added for a variety of
metallurgical reasons. The strength of titanium alloys can often be comparable
to steel, but they have the advantage of having only about 60% of the weight.
This article introduces a practical technique pioneered by a metallurgist at the Indian Institute of Technology. The technique enables any kind of steel to be heated without the problems associated with oxidation and decarburization.
This article continues FORGE’s series on forging
materials. The first installment on nonferrous forging materials discusses
aluminum alloys that are used in forged components. A general description of
aluminum alloys is followed by details of their chemistry and microstructure.
The rolling and thermal treatment of forged
rings sometimes leaves residual stresses that cause dimensional distortion.
Corrective measures in industry are often based on trial-and-error techniques.
Ongoing research seeks to base corrective actions on the laws of physics.
Like all steels,
microalloyed steels are iron-based metal alloys. Normally, they are plain
carbon or low-alloy steel with small additions of one of
three special elements. These steels were developed in the 1960s and used for
plate and pipeline applications. It was not until the 1980s, however, that
forgers began to produce microalloyed steel components in significant
quantities.
Like
all steels, stainless steels are iron-based alloys. They are considered a
special class of steels because of their high alloy content and their special
properties as compared to plain-carbon and low-alloy steels.
Operating for more than a century, this company grew from a small supplier of forged products to western railroads into an important supplier of precision forgings with global reach.
In this second and final article on the forging of plain-carbon and low-alloy steels, their designations, metallurgical issues and post-forging processing are discussed.
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