Production of steel flanges from forgings

Forged metal products are widely used in various fields. Forgings are a rough workpiece, from which, using metalworking methods (forging, stamping, grinding, etc.), it is possible to obtain a fairly accurate part. The advantage of such blanks is that in the process of their processing, chip waste is minimal. At the same time, the shape and configuration of the finished product exactly matches the specified parameters.

One example of using forgings as blanks for – manufacture of steel flanges from them. Flanges – these are the main connecting elements of any pipeline. They allow both connecting individual parts of pipes to each other, and attaching them to tanks, equipment, etc. They can also be an integral part of shafts, welded and other structures.

Features of the process of manufacturing flanges from forgings

There are two main methods for producing flanges from forgings:

• forging;
• stamping.

In turn, forging can be free, with backing dies and carried out in radial forging machines. In general, forging – a simpler and more cost-effective way to produce flanges from forgings, but it has some limitations. The most important of them – the workpiece should have a simple, preferably symmetrical shape. In addition, with the help of forging it is not always possible to obtain a product with a high surface quality.

Stamping – a more complex process carried out on high-tech equipment (forging mills, presses). It comes in the following forms:

• on hammers and presses;
• landing on horizontal forging units;
• extrusion on extruding presses;
• on calibration cranksets.

Through stamping, it is possible to obtain parts of complex configuration with high surface quality. The cost of such flanges is also higher compared to forged ones. The choice of a specific manufacturing technique depends on the complexity of the product, its mass, material, etc. For example, calibration crank presses are used for mass production of small (up to 10 kg) parts of a rather complex configuration. At the same time, stamping on hammers and presses can produce parts weighing up to 200 kg, the configuration complexity of which is limited by the possibility of extracting a die blank from a part.

The part is eventually machined on a lathe. At this stage, the final dimensions are given to the product, holes are drilled in it for mounting bolts. The last stage – checking the quality of the finished flange.