Hot Forging Machines
For complex shapes and geometries
Hot forging machines
The activity of “beating metal” has evolved hand in hand with the history of man, passing from a manual action of the blacksmith and ending with an automated one, with power hammers activated first by water mills and then by the force of steam or an electric motor.
The power hammers, with their action, are able to maintain the temperature of the material, after the ovens heating, to facilitate its flow in the die and, in fact, to limit the risk of the formation of cracks.
The used power hammers can fall into three categories
- “Berta” or drop power hammer
- hydraulic power hammer or piston power hammer
- air power hammer
Alongside the hammers, Inginera can also rely on various types of presses. Specifically presses:
- hydraulic
- eccentric
- and knuckle joint
“Berta” or drop power hammer
This machine consists of an electric motor that raises a mallet attached to a belt. This is inserted between a major or load-bearing roller and a “tambourine” or minor roller. When the two rollers meet, they generate lifting and when they move away, they cause gravity fall of the mallet.
The most modern versions of this type of drop power hammer are equipped with PLC and brake.
This type of power hammer is characterized by:
- low construction investment
- low frequency of the “hits”, but very powerful
- precise adjustment of the fall, of the “hit”
Air hammer (formerly steam)
The mallet is pushed by the air pressure generated by a compressor or, in ancient times, by the steam of a boiler.
This type of power hammer is very powerful, but the least accurate of the three. Precisely for this reason it’s mainly suitable for free or open forging.
Hydraulic or piston power hammer
A hydraulic pump, equipped with mechanical or electromechanical valves, activates a piston at the lower end of which the mallet is placed, which, in this case, is pushed and no longer simply dropped.
This type of power hammer is characterized by:
- high power
- high frequency of the “hits”
- high temperature retention or rise
- due to speed and short piston stroke, offers less accuracy than the “Berta”
Hydraulic press
Using Pascal’s law, the hydraulic presses operate the “mallet”, positioned between the guide columns arranged in a V, through a oil cylinder set in motion by a hydraulic motor.
Compared to the family of power hammers, hydraulic presses are:
- more precise, as they are less influenced by external factors, such as vibrations;
- slower, but precisely for this reason there is minimal springback in the forged components;
Furthermore, hydraulic presses are not able to raise the temperature of the part. This makes them less suitable to forge low thickness parts.
Knuckle joint presses
Knuckle joint presses operate the “mallet” through a system of levers powered by an electric motor. These transform circular motion into alternating rectilinear motion.
As for the hydraulics presses, even in the parts made with knuckle joint presses there is a minimum springback, due to the time required for the motion reversal.
Compared to hydraulic and eccentric presses, the force impressed by knuckle joint ones is more constant. This also improves accuracy.
Eccentric presses
Eccentric presses operate the “mallet” through the movement generated by eccentric shaft with two supports or “slider-crank”. This, in turn, is driven by an electric motor.
The eccentric press can be muzzle, direct transmission, or delayed. In this case the power is amplified by the use of reduction gears.
Compared to hydraulic presses, the eccentric ones are more “robust” and require less maintenance.
There is a particular “front” eccentric press, called swan neck, which, due to its C-shaped structure, allows working on the three free sides (useful for example in sheet metal processing).
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