RECENT ADVANCES IN COLD AND WARM FORGING PROCESS MODELING TECHNIQUES - SELECTED EXAMPLES

The key to survival in today's competitive market is manufacturing hig h quality products at low cost. In the context of metal forming, this translates into fewer and more efficient processes, elimination of sec ondary operations, while maintaining the surface finish, tolerance and dimensional specifications. Making the right choice of a process that is cost-effective for the required production volume and yet meets th e design requirements, is extremely important. One approach to achievi ng this objective is through process modeling for net shape manufactur ing. This paper presents ongoing industry relevant research at the Eng ineering Research Center in the area of cold and warm forging towards better quality and lower cost. It reports current research on sequence design for fuel injector nozzle, modeling of fracture during inductio n heating, modeling of warm/hot forging of microalloyed steels and dev elopment of an integrated process planning system. These efforts could result in reduced process defects and lower process costs.