Steps of Stainless Steel Forging Process

Since all the steel forgings produced by our factory are limited to the closed die forging process, we will introduce the stainless steel forging process under the category of closed die forging process in detail below. Generally, the main steps of the closed die steel forging process are as follow, including die/tool manufacturing, billet cutting, billet heating, forging, trimming, heat treatment, shot blasting, machining, surface treatment, inspection and packaging.

Ⅰ. Die design and manufacturing of stainless steel forging process

Die manufacturing is an unnecessary step for closed die steel forgings. Once a new order is placed, our engineers will design the die according to the customer's steel forging drawing. Unlike casting, steel forging dies will include forging dies, trimming dies and flat dies, which is why forging dies are much more expensive than casting dies.

Ⅱ. Blank cutting and heating of stainless steel forging process

We will keep some commonly used steel specifications for continuous production. After the die is completed, the billet will be taken out of our material warehouse, then cut into the required length, and heated in an intermediate frequency furnace before forging.

Ⅲ. Closed die forging of stainless steel forging process

After the billet is heated, the heated steel bars are placed under the upper and lower dies, and then pressed into the desired shape, but there will be excess material around the product, which is called flash.

Ⅳ. Trimming of stainless steel forging process

Now a forged blank with burrs is obtained. In order to remove the burrs, the forged steel blank is placed under the trimming die, and then pressed again. In this step, the entire forging blank is completed.

Ⅴ. Heat treatment of stainless steel forging process

In order to improve the strength and mechanical properties, heat treatment will be carried out after forging. Like precision castings, the common heat treatment methods for steel forgings are normalizing, quenching, annealing, tempering, solution treatment and so on. Of course, the heat treatment in the stainless steel forging process is only carried out when needed.

Ⅵ. Shot blasting cleaning of stainless steel forging process

In order to remove the scale and obtain a better surface finish, the steel forgings will be shot blasted. After shot blasting, the product will look clearer and smoother.

Ⅶ. Machining of stainless steel forging process

Although the tolerances of forging blanks are smaller than those of casting blanks, sometimes they are still insufficient for application. In this case, machining is required.

Ⅷ. Surface treatment of stainless steel forging process

If there is no special surface treatment requirement, water/oil anti-rust paint must be painted before packaging. Sometimes special surface treatment is required according to the purpose of steel forgings, such as color spray paint, galvanizing, electronic spray paint and so on.

Ⅸ. Inspection of stainless steel forging process

Inspection is also an important step. We can divide the inspection process into external inspection and internal inspection. External inspection includes size and appearance defect inspection. Internal inspection refers to internal performance inspection.