Biography of our hot forging blog
At the beginning of 2017 Mecolpress decided to start a blog entirely devoted to the hot forging world.
We set for it 2 goals:
- Being a reference point for hot forging companies, above all if these are first-time forgers.
- Supporting the companies having a long hot forging experience but that want to optimize their process, to better use their presses and to find answers to the necessities they meet step by step.
We have realized, doing some internet researches that it is very difficult to gather information regarding the hot forging world.
On Google you can find anything, but you will barely find suggestions or detailed deepening on hot forging!
Frequently we happen to be contacted by beginner hot forging companies, or companies having inexpert or not particularly qualified personnel (for example you can read this article) and all of these want to have further information.
We are aware that it is not possible to become expert forgers or to learn a job from Google but it is equally true that in 2020 I have to find answers on the internet to my necessities and some deepening on the topic.
Who are we?
Mecolpress is a company specialized in the production and installation of hot forging presses for brass, aluminum, copper, titanium, steel and other alloys.
Mecolpress was established in 1969, therefore we have a long forging experience and knowledge.
In our production workshop we have persons extremely expert in brass hot forging, and recently we have inserted in our staff also a steel “technologist”, we have available a mechanic and electronic technical office completely internal and a highly appreciated customer-care service.
To date we have developed and installed more than 1.950 presses at more than 400 customers all over the world, used for the forging of brass, aluminum, copper, titanium and steel.
One of the features that our customers usually appreciate most is the after sales service: the great and guaranteed material availability is added to the expertise and solid knowledge of the machines. The efficient feedback of Mecolpress lies in the largeness of the areas dedicated to the storage of parts that can be requested by the customers (we have 2 devoted warehouses) and in the investments decided exactly in favour of the “warehouse”.
Why writing a blog regarding hot forging?
At this point we said “why not sharing part of our skills online? For example, with a company from South Africa that is wondering if it’s worth it to convert his production in a hot forging system?”
“And in addition, could all the expert forgers (Mecolpress customer or not) be interested to understand if there are improvements to apply to their production? The world has changed and even fields such as the hot forging one may seem as more “static” but, as a matter of fact, they are not. If you don’t stay up to date you will lose important commissions and the quality of your work won’t evolve!
Which kind of answers will you find on this blog?
With our blog we offer ideas and tips to improve each forging process. To manage the machines and the forging lines in the best way in order to obtain the best productivity, more flexibility and less maintenance.
The topics that according to us are easier to speak on are the technical ones, thanks to the experience acquired in 50 years of activity and to our numbers, but we try to maintain a character that can be easily understood also to the less experienced companies, remaining at disposal for further in-depth detailed explanation.
In the “Case Study” category you will find for example:
- How we could help a German customer of ours to win successfully a challenge, to forge a very complex set of parts that he didn’t dare to accept as an order.
- Is it possible to reduce the gate valves costs by forging without flash? It is possible by means of ME hydraulic presses.
- Is your screw press driving you crazy? You could have disregarded what for you is just a detail, but our experience taught us that it can make the difference!
We propose solutions to problems caused by a not optimal usage of the presses or screw presses, by the inexperience; these are requests that we collect from our after-sales department. We give voice to necessities that also for expertised hot forging companies sometime can appear as complex.
A challenge we can win for our customer means for us a great satisfaction!
STEEL HOT FORGING: THE WORD TO OUR EXPERT
We interviewed Luca Di Donato, Mecolpress specialist for steel hot forging.
Steel is a far different material from brass, for this reason Mecolpress has decided to increase its team with a devoted figure, to whom we have addressed some questions.
Let's talk about steel hot forging
What is your role in Mecolpress?
The role I currently play in the company context is project engineer manager specialized in steel hot forging and non-ferrous alloys (except brass).
Specifically, I mainly deal with the identification and definition of the hot plastic deformation process that is technically and economically most suitable for the production of semi-finished steel components but also aluminium and special nickel and Titanium alloys.
What kind of experience do you have in steel hot forging sector?
The gained background in the specific sector derives from many years of work experience acquired in the company field, initially as a designer and then as technical and operational director of companies located in Italy and abroad.
Which application sectors do usually use steel hot forging presses?
Presses for steel hot forging are widely used in many application sectors such as automotive, aeronautics, agriculture, construction, chemical, petrochemical and industrial sector in general.
Which type of machine is most suitable for steel forging? (mechanical presses, hydraulic presses, screw presses?)
From a metallurgical point of view, steel can be forged using every type of press, since the types of steel in general are little affected by the presses deformation speed as some aluminium alloys and the super alloys of Titanium and Nickel are affected.
Therefore, there are other parameters that influence the choice, in fact the geometry, the geometric and dimensional tolerances can certainly guide the choice on a mechanical press rather than on a screw press, but also on a hydraulic press.
Compared to brass, which are the distinctive traits of steel?
From the process point of view and therefore from the point of view of the relative presses, the first aspect that is typical for steel is certainly the forging temperature which is around 1200 ° C.
The other equally important feature is the steel deformability which is far more difficult than the one of the brass. The resistance to hot plastic deformation of steel forces the adoption of simpler geometries, the adoption of presses with increased capacity in terms of forces, moreover, pre-forming processes are often used.
According to your experience, which are the recurring critical issues that you could observe in the forging of this material?
As previously highlighted, steel is forged at high temperature, therefore possible overheating can be created in areas that are particularly subject to deformation, the involved forces are important and as a result the energy and disposition can approach the limit and cause no geometric conformity on the piece.
In the end, steel cannot be easily deformed and therefore it requires a specific study to understand which preforming processes are better to adopt in order to avoid cracks / folds of material.
Always according to your experience, when we want to choose the most suitable machine, what should we absolutely consider?
Obviously the geometry of the forged product to be obtained, together with the imposed geometric and dimensional tolerances, strongly influences the choice of the best process, first of all the type of press but also all the machines necessary to compose the line, from the cutting, heating, and preforming process up to the possible calibration of hot / cold forging.
Mecolpress, through the specific skills acquired in fifty years of working history and thanks to its professionalism, is able to support the customer from the very first stages of defining the most suitable geometry for the choice of the forging up to the realization of the line, also fully automated, turnkey.
What do you think that can really make the difference in a “guessed” press?
The heart of the production line in its entirety is the PRESS which has been designed to respect specific characteristics, as a result “guessing” the type of press is absolutely important, but it is equally essential to consider who designed and built it, in this regard the presses produced by Mecolpress are considered to be among the best on the market, both in terms of technological content and in terms of rigidity and reliability.
If you want further information regarding the topic “Steel hot forging”, we invite you to consult the U.NI.S.A. Italian National Union of Steel Forgers, of which we are aggregate members.