Onex Inc. of Erie, Pa., designed and manufactured a front-loading forge furnace for a leading North American forging company. The furnace, one of the largest of its kind in North America according to Onex, has workspace dimensions measuring 26 feet wide x 20 feet deep x 14 feet tall. It features an engineered lintel system that provides a longer life than traditional refractory lintels. The furnace also has a combination module roof, which is less costly than a full polycrystalline lining and does not shrink like traditional ceramic-fiber containing zirconia.

To stay competitive, forgers must continuously integrate advanced manufacturing technologies into their production. Long gone are the days when forging was simply a means of shaping metal.

The forging industry has achieved an impressive place in the North American industrial economy by producing components with unique benefits that are difficult to duplicate by any other metalworking process.

Lefere Forge of Jackson, Mich., will be closing on or about Dec. 1 after 89 years in business. The family-operated company is ending operations due to financial and labor issues. Lefere Forge’s website has been deactivated, but according to local reporting the company sent out an email on Nov. 1 to its customers stating that “…the last several years have been challenging financially, and a continuing labor shortage has not allowed us to operate the plant efficiently.” Approximately 60 employees will be displaced.

SECO/WARWICK will supply a multipurpose sealed quench-chamber furnace to Kuznia Sulkowicie SA, a Polish manufacturer of matrix forgings, construction connectors and manual tools. The furnace is designed for heat treatment (such as gas carbonitriding and pure hardening) in a controlled endothermic atmosphere. The fully automated operation of the furnace is its unique advantage. Personnel are only required to load and unload the work after treatment. The cycle and product transfer is completely automated.

Weldbend Corp., a manufacturer of carbon steel fittings and flanges, started installation on what it says is the largest cold-form Tee-Press in the Americas and Western Europe at its manufacturing facility in Argo, Ill. The new press, which weighs 1.2 million pounds and contains 5 miles of wire, will significantly expand Weldbend’s forging capabilities. It will be able to forge up to a 20-inch XS Tee with material grades including Y70. The company can currently cold forge a 6-inch Tee. Weldbend’s products are used in mechanical systems and oil-and-gas pipelines.

Arconic introduced an advanced titanium alloy called ARCONIC-THOR that is designed for higher-temperature applications in next-generation aero engines and adjacent structures. The new patented alloy is nearly 50% lighter than incumbent nickel-based superalloys, driving cost savings and fuel efficiency for customers and helping Arconic capture growing demand for advanced aero engine and airframe materials. ARCONIC-THOR can be produced as sheet, plate, foil, billet, rolled rings, forgings and extrusions. It is formable (cold, hot, superplastic), heat treatable, forgeable and weldable.

As forgers are pressured to remain competitive, they must act on opportunities to reduce costs, eliminate scrap and improve operational efficiency.

Steel is an amazing material when you consider its versatility. Steel can achieve the needed characteristics for a vast array of end products; it is relatively low cost compared to many other materials; it is endlessly recyclable without loss of property; and it can be mass produced, with annual global production of over 1.5 billion tons.

If there is one machine on your manufacturing floor that isn’t getting the attention it deserves, it’s most likely your bandsaw. For many forging houses, it is a bottleneck at worst and ignored at best.