Aluminum hot forging: Mecolpress presses
Aluminum is a material that is often used for the hot forging of parts used in the automotive and electric sector. Mecolpress proposes specially-made presses for the production of high-quality parts.
One of the materials, often used by the forgers, is aluminum and Mecolpress proposes different presses suitable for this type of production.
Aluminum features
Aluminum is different from the other metals because of its lightness and for its good electrical characteristics. For this reason, it can replace, according to the application, steel that is heavier, and copper that is more expensive.
Forgers often use aluminum to produce parts for the automotive sector or for cycle and motorcycle: some examples are pedals and shafts, but also valves in the fuel supply columns.
Also in the fluid regulation sector, aluminum can be adopted in various sectors of application and regulators for gas pressure are produced. Other pieces are produced through aluminum hot forging and are destined to the electric sector.
Other products, realized with aluminum, are, for example, bows for arrows shooting.
The presses for aluminum hot forging work at a temperature of about 420°C-480°C, while the die temperature is around 300°C.
Mecolpress press for aluminum
L’alluminio ha una velocità di scorrimento più bassa rispetto all’ottone e bisogna prestare particolare attenzione alla temperatura utilizzata per lo stampaggio.
Aluminum has a lower flow speed than brass one and it is important to pay particular attention to the temperature used for forging. Mecolpress sales department offers to its customers a consultation service for suggesting the most suitable press to the production of aluminum pieces.
Our production range consists, indeed, of different mechanical and hydraulic presses and according to the used alloy and to the type of part to realize we can propose the machinery that satisfy the customer’ s needs.
Moreover, at our factory it is possible to realize a forging test for being able to verify the quality of the hot forged parts produced by our presses.
For further information please contact directly our sales managers.
Metals hot forging process
Metals forging: hot or cold forging?
The forging by means of presses of metals commonly used for the industrial production, such as aluminum and brass, can happen in two ways.
- The first one is the cold coining, carried out, for example, on a piece that already has its own shape and that is forged through the press in such a way to calibrate it and to compact it. The cold coining is suitable, above all, for small size parts and for great production batches, such as screws. The most suitable machines for this type of process are our screw presses.
- The metals hot forging is different from the cold one because it allows to obtain high quality pieces by means of an important deformation of the starting material. With the deformation of brass, copper, aluminum by means of hot forging presses it is possible, indeed, to produce particular shapes, having very complicated structures as well. In order to achieve this forging, Mecolpress proposes, beyond the already mentioned screw presses, also the mechanical and hydraulic presses according to the different production necessities expressed by the customer.
Mechanical and hydraulic presses for the hot forging
The mechanical press can hot forge even complicated pieces. At the end of the process, the forged parts can often have some remaining flash that can be eliminated by means of a trimming machine, machinery that is part of the products range that we offer. The eccentric mechanical press with continuous cycle is recommended for the customers who have high production necessities, while the hydraulic press is more advisable for parts having very complicated shapes and that would require, otherwise, the usage of a lot of material. This type of press permits, indeed, a saving of the input material, so offering to the forger a good margin on the product cost. Moreover, by forging the parts by means of hydraulic hot forging presses, at the end of the productive cycle the parts range that can be produced without flash is much wider, thanks to a progressive and programmable application of the forces. Another characteristic of this type of presses is the flexibility, given by the wide number of available functions.
Hot forging line
For the metals forging a furnace that can be electric (induction) or gas furnace and a press are needed. This is the base productive line for the aluminum, brass, titanium and steel processing; line that can be upstream completed with a sawing machine that cuts the metal bar in billets and with a graphitizing machine, where the billets are treated with the graphite before these are inserted in the furnace, so that these absorb better the heat and that are kept lubricated. The graphitizing, that offers remarkable advantages from a productive point of view, such as a minor gas consumption in the furnace and a superior durability of the dies, is just fitting for some specific production typologies. It is not recommended, for example, for the production of parts that once forged, must be chrome plated or exposed to further particular treatments. Our sales department is at the disposal of our customers for suggesting the best forging line composition according to the product and to application field.
Hot forged metals
The customer’s choice for a specific press for his own productive cycle is based on the material typology used by the forger and on the shapes to achieve.
For the brass forging the hydraulic press is more fitting than the screw press, that is better for the forging of titanium and steel. The eccentric mechanical presses are used for all the metals, even for the copper hot forging. Our sales department is at disposal of our customers for offering the best technical solution for every specific productive situation.
For further information about hot forging machineries, please write us at sales@mecolpress.com