Lazorkin Engineering LLC — Four-Die Forging Technology

The forging time in FDFD was reduced by 41-45% compared to the conventional method. Forging in FDFD eliminated the process of straightening forgings and reduced the number of additional preheating of the blank, and four-sided deformation eliminated porosity in forgings with a minimum drawing value of 1.8.

When forging ingots from heat-resistant nickel superalloys in FDFD, the number of additional heatings was reduced from 9 to 6. The macrostructure obtained using the forging technology in FDFD had clear advantages over the macrostructure of the metal obtained by forging with two dies.

The introduction of FDFD into production has significantly improved the quality of the metal by reducing carbides in forgings and distributing them evenly, and has also increased the productivity of the process.

Over 5 years of operation of two FDFDs on forging presses with a force of 20 MN and 25 MN, these devices have shown: high reliability and unpretentiousness in operation. At the same time, energy savings associated with the operation of the press, as well as those spent on heating the blanks, amount to 35%, the increase in productivity amounted to 25 to 50% when forging titanium aerospace alloys. The payback period for the purchase of FDFDs was 4 years.

Due to the additional shear deformations during FDFD forging, the deformations along the cross-section of the blank are more uniform, and in the center of the blank the deformations are higher than during forging with two dies. This allows for a positive effect in terms of eliminating defects of metallurgical origin.

The FDFD quick-change die system has revolutionized the work process. Special mechanisms and devices provide for the replacement of one set of dies for another in 10-15 minutes.