Apply force. Move the metal into shape.
Forging shapes solid metal through controlled compressive force using hammers, presses, dies, or combinations of forming equipment to create components with defined geometry and mechanical properties.
Tooling and deformation control define the forging approach.
Open-Die Forging
Metal is compressed between relatively simple dies without fully enclosing the workpiece, allowing large or lower-volume shapes to be progressively formed.
Closed-Die Forging
Shaped dies constrain the material and create more defined component geometry as metal flows into the tooling cavity.
Hot Forging
Material is heated to increase formability and reduce the force required for substantial deformation.
Cold Forging
Metal is formed at lower temperatures, often where dimensional control, surface condition, or work hardening are useful process characteristics.
Part performance depends on material, temperature, deformation, tooling, and follow-on processing.
Billet size and shape influence material flow, flash, grain direction, and final forging efficiency.
Material temperature affects flow stress, ductility, die loading, scale, finish, and forming behavior.
Draft, radii, parting line, flash land, cavities, and material flow paths influence tool design.
Part size, alloy, reduction, temperature, and geometry affect required press or hammer capacity.
Dedicated tooling becomes easier to justify as recurring production increases.
The alloy must deform without losing the properties required by the application.
Forging is used with a range of metals, but heating method, die design, forming force, post-forge treatment, machining, and final performance all depend on the specific alloy.
The forged shape may still require several finishing operations.
Heat Treatment
Controlled thermal processing can develop or modify mechanical properties after forging.
02Machining
Critical interfaces, bores, threads, sealing surfaces, and dimensional features may be machined after forging.
03Surface Finishing
Cleaning, blasting, coating, plating, polishing, or other finishing can prepare the final component.
Need continuous lengths with the same cross-sectional shape?
Extrusion pushes material through shaped tooling to create profiles, tubes, channels, and other constant cross-section products.
Explore Extrusion →