How Forgings Compared With Castings
Forging is a manufacturing process where metal is pressed, pounded or squeezed under great pressure into high-strength parts known as forgings. The process is normally (but not always) performed hot by preheating the metal to a desired temperature before it is worked. It is important to note that the forging process is entirely different from the casting (Or foundry) process, as metal used to make forged parts is never melted and poured (as in the casting process)
The forging process can create parts that are stronger than those manufactured by any other metal working process. This is why forgings are almost used where reliability and human safety are critical. But you will rarely see forgings, as they are normally component parts contained inside assembled items such as airplanes, automobiles, tractors, ships, oil drilling equipment, engines, missiles and all kinds of capital equipment.
Forged parts vary in size and shape and sophistication - from the hammer and wrench in your tool box to close tolerance precision components in the Boeing 747 and NASA space shuttle. In fact, over 18,000 forgings are contained in a 747. Some of the largest customer markets include aerospace, national defense, automotive and agriculture, construction, mining, material handling, and general industrial equipment. Even the dies themselves that make forgings (and other metal and plastic parts) are forged.
Labels: Engineering Knowledge Base, feature, Production Technology
