Effective Tooling Designs for Production of Precision Forgings.

The aim of the two-phase program is to demonstrate that nonsymmetric rib-and-web type configurations can be hot forged to precision dimensions with better die life through the use of reinforcing components surrounding the die inserts. Efforts consisted of 1 a review of the literature on precision forging where die breakage has been a problem, 2 visits to five leading forging companies active in precision forging and companies active in Government-sponsored research on forging, 3 selection of a part configuraiton for design, 4 analytical modeling studies of stress distribution in the die assembly, 5 developing the preform design through the use of Plasticine and hard plastic dies, 6 conducting forging trials in model dies instrumented with strain gages, and 7 conducting hot forging trials on aluminum, AISI 4340 steel, and Inconel 718 alloys in Battelles 2500-ton press. Author