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Main goal of the project 'Design of a Semi-hot Process Chain' is to establish a basis for the set-up of complete, reliable and flexible process chains for the warm forging of longitudinal parts.
Scope of the project
The research encompasses the whole process beginning with the feeding of raw material
up to the output of finished, cooled and measured parts. This is to be realized in the
supporting SMEs in a one-piece-flow process with low production costs and high process
quality and will guarantee the optimum use of the project results.
In the course of the project a line will be set up and put into operation at VIVA, one
of the partners in Zlin/ Cz. Thus, the process reliability will be tested under real
production conditions of a part for the automotive industry. The results will allow for
a transfer of the technology within the consortium at minimum technical risk.
Objectives
Semi-hot or warm forging is an economical alternative to the conventional forging
technology. It offers several advantages that contribute to economic, environmental
and social issues. These are reduced energy input, no scale, better surface quality
and closer tolerances. It has been successfully used in the production of rotationally
symmetric components so far. Components in which one axis is several times longer than
the others cannot be manufactured with this process by now.
The aim of the project is to set up a reliable, flexible, safe and clean
production process. The different objectives are as follows:
- Modernization of the production process for complex small- and medium sized pieces not obtainable by cold forging. Such pieces can include wrenches, lever arms etc.
- Increased product quality due to low scale formation during the forging process, and therefore good surface quality, and due to the dimensional accuracy obtainable in warm forming.
- Save on materials: Due to the better surface quality and the reduced shrinkage in comparison to hot forging less tolerances have to be considered. Thus the part can be produced near net shape. For hot forged parts material utilisation is, depending on the work piece complexity, between 60 to 80% of the raw material. In semi hot forging material utilization can be increased to over 90%. Also the elongated die life allows for save on materials for tools.
- Shortening of production time: In the design of the chain the concept of “one-piece-flow” will be adopted. All operations up to the annealed and quality checked forged part will be incorporated into a single production line. This will eliminate in-termediate stocks and waiting periods. Also machining time can be reduced due to the better surface quality and the near-net-shape technology.
- Increased production quality and thus reduction of reworked and rejected pieces. Die wear does decrease and Quality control will directly be integrated into the production process. Thus the mass production of faulty parts e.g. due to extensive die wear or lube pockets is avoided.
- Improvement of working conditions by elimination of heat-scale dusts and arduous tasks e.g. decreased heat radiation during handling, as well as increase of professional skills and enrichment of operator tasks (operation of complex machines and take-over of quality control operations)
- Reduced environmental impact: The energy required for the production of semi-hot forgings amounts to 41J per kilogram of the work piece. This comprises the energy for heating and forming and means a reduction of at least 5 J/kg in comparison to conventional hot forging processes (Figure 1). Also material waste is reduced and the elongated die life allows for a more efficient life-cycle design of tools.
- Overall reduced production costs: Due to better material utilization, elongated die life and less energy input production costs will be reduced.
The results expected from the proposed project will be spread first among the
project participants but further on in the European forging industry as a whole and
hence will strengthen the competitiveness of European forges. It will also help the
SME participants to build up international partnerships and alliances for research
and marketing. This will help them to keep up with the globalisation of the market.
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This project is supported by funding under the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Union