SMS group put a 31.5/34-MN open-die forging press into operation at Gustav Grimm Edelstahlwerk (GGE), a forge based in Remscheid, Germany. GGE specializes in the manufacture of high-alloy forgings. Because of the built-in hydraulic and control systems, GGE’s new high-speed forging press achieves time savings of about 10% compared to the old press. For the first time, SMS group has installed an additively manufactured machine component in an open-die forging press. The 3D-printed hydraulic manifold block is lighter, more compact and has a flow-optimized design. Designed by SMS group and made of an aluminum alloy, it weighs just one-tenth of the conventional steel component. The manifold block is used to distribute hydraulic oil for operating and venting the cylinders.

Italy’s Danieli Group (Danieli Breda) recently commissioned a new integrated forging complex at the Zlatoust Metallurgical Plant (ZMZ) in Chelyabinsk region, Russia. The plant consists of a 25-MN open-die forging press and two integrated manipulators operating in conjunction with Danieli’s proprietary DanForge automation system. The open-die press has 80-spm frequency, a daylight span of nearly 11.5 feet, automatic top-die clamping and an automatic tool-changing device. The manipulators can lift ingots weighing 20 tons with a load moment of 60 t/m.

Western Superconducting Technologies Co. Ltd. (WST) successfully put a 63-/80-MN two-column open-die forging press into service. Supplied by SMS group, the high-speed push-down press has a maximum press force of 63 MN and an upsetting force of 80 MN. Due to the advanced hydraulic and control systems installed, the press is capable of forging highly demanding and temperature-sensitive materials such as titanium and titanium alloys with extreme precision.

SMR Premium published “Open-Die Forging Book,” a comprehensive handbook of open-die forging producers that includes company profiles of more than 270 global producers and a separate chapter about forging market data.

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.

SMS group received a contract from Chinese steel and forging company Daye Special Steel Co. Ltd. for the engineering and delivery of a high-speed hydraulic open-die forging press. The press operates with a forging force of up to 50 MN and an upsetting force of 60 MN. Daye Special Steel opted for the stable, four-column push-down press with moving crosshead. The high forging frequency of the press enables sophisticated materials requiring a narrow temperature range to be forged and reduces machining times.

In a recently announced deal that occurred last year, Forged Components Inc. (FCI) of Humble, Texas, acquired hammer-forge and heat-treatment facilities from Houston-based Forge USA. This added eight additional heat-treatment furnaces to FCI's existing furnaces located at its Humble and Navasota, Texas, forging locations. The acquisition, which also included a 16,000-pound polymer quench tank and 30,000-pound water quench tank, has added 300,000 pounds of heat-treating capacity to FCI’s Humble and Navasota sites.