August 2023 Volume 5

FORGING RESEARCH

Simulation-based Digital Twin Architecture for Enhancing Forging Part Quality and Control Final Report Submitted to FIERF Gayatri Abu, Research Assistant Gracious Ngaile, Professor

Chapter 1 Introduction and Research Objectives 1.1 Introduction 2.2.2 Inherent Variables in the forging operation 2.3 Die Heating Methods in Forging Operation 2.3.1 Introduction 2.3.2 Methods of Heating a Die/ Tool 2.3.2.1 Warming the Die with Billet/ waste material Table of contents Chapter 1: Introduction and Research Objectives (p5) 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Research Objectives Chapter 2: Literature Review (p7) 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Analysis Conducted within Forging

2.3.2.2 Die heating with Gas Flame Heating 2.3.2.3 Induction heating 2.3.2.4 Furnace heating 2.3.3 Measurement of Temperature of Die 2.4 Lubrication Methods in Forging Process 2.4.1 Introduction

2.4.2 Lubricants Used for Forging 2.4.3 Types of Lubrication Systems 2.4.3.1 Lubrication system with Integrated Coolant system 2.4.3.2 Spray Applications 2.6 Conclusions

Forging involves shaping a billet to conform to the die cavity, largely via compressive loading. To transform the billet to a quality forged product, several subsystems are needed: (i) billet shearing/sizing, (ii) lubrication, (iii) billet heating, (iv) billet handling, (v) forging: tooling, (vi) forging: press, (vii) finishing operations. All these subsystems exhibit inherent variances/disturbances that directly influence the quality of the forgings and process economics. These inherent variances can be controlled only by periodically stopping a forging line to inspect the product. Inspection might need to be carried out once every hour. For a warm forging operation, stopping production means that the forging will have to be cooled for visual observation and dimensional check. For a multi-stage forging operation, this will entail scrapping all preforms because the temperature would have dropped below the acceptable forging level during press adjustment. The billets coming from the induction heating will have to be cooled down and recycled back to the induction heating subsystem. Forging operations that require frequently stopping the production line for part quality inspection and process adjustments can entail significantly increased production cost in the form of (i) loss of time, (ii) increase in energy consumption, and (iii) increase in scrap rate.

Manufacturing in the 21st century has been rapidly changing due to the advent of high-speed computers, availability of interconnectivity of machines or systems (internet of things—IoT), cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and the like. This paradigm shift led to the introduction of digital manufacturing, which can be defined as an integrated approach to manufacturing that is centered on a computer system. Digital manufacturing integrates modeling, simulation, visualization, data analytics, manufacturing, and supply chain management by a digital link to define, manage, and coordinate the overall product life cycle. Some of the benefits of digital manufacturing include (a) increased productivity across the entire value chain, from design and engineering to sales, production, and service; (b) shorter time-to-market; (c) potential to optimize part manufacturing processes within a managed environment; and (d) faster creation of factory models by being able to ensure that they are operating under optimal layout, material flow, and throughput before production ramp-up [1-10].

FIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2023 72