February 2023 Volume 5

Official Publication of the Forging Industry Association

February 2023 forging.org

TheLighter Side of ForgingMetals pg. 26

PREVIEW!

Undergoingof Different Cooling Systems for Aluminum Alloys pg. 8 ThePotential for MagnesiumForgings in Automotive pg. 36

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PRESIDENT'S NOTE

President's ote

Happy New Year to all of our FIA members! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and recharged your batteries. It appears we have an interesting start to this new year. The press and many economists pretty much have declared manufacturing’s already in recession, and yet most forgers and forging suppliers are keeping plenty busy. It’s early and tougher months

enjoying this challenge and we hope you’ll stick around Forge Fair on Thursday, May 25 to meet all the teams and cast your own vote for a team’s tuning fork! Also meet Ben Abbott of the History Channel’s Forged with Fire programduring his keynote presentation at Forge Fair. Ben will present the awards to the winning student teams and is super pumped to attend his first Forge Fair. Special thanks to Amanda Dureiko, Senior Manager – Foundation & Workforce Development, for working with our members to create this first contest and first summer manufacturing camp! Bravo! One more first for the FIERF! Our own FIERF Executive Director, Angie Gibian, has put together a children’s book focused on forging! Forging with Freddy is currently being illustrated and you will meet Freddy later this year. Many of our forgers are simply brilliant reaching young people to get them into manufacturing…Scot Forge andWalker Forge come tomind. Nobody is going to solve our lack of workforce challenges except us, so let’s get after it early - and just know your FIERF Board of Trustees has been discussing this mission and leading the staff into action. More firsts!This should be the year FIA learns that we’re approved by Congress for a significant multi-year forging improvement program administered by the Department of Defense to 1) fund research and equipment at our partner universities and 2) fund curriculum and equipment at community colleges and trade schools to create more students skilled at automation, maintenance, and mechatronics. Read more about this in our Government Affairs column on page 4. Now starting my 6th year as your President & CEO, I remain as energized as ever and so proud of your FIA staff and FIA Board of Directors that works so hard for you all. We have a great team here and as always, the highlight of our year is spending time with members at our many programs. Let’s have a great year everyone! Best regards,

may hit us mid-year or later. For its part, the FIA enterprise is rolling and our own economic indicators – Forge Fair booths, attendance at events, membership growth, sponsorships etc. – appear on track. Many times, lack of support for FIA membership and activities is a leading indicator of not good economic times on the horizon. We are just not seeing yet what most economists are talking about. I do hope we’ve seen the last of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes. Seems most of the economic indicators show inflation retreating, so what’s the point of further increases? Especially if there is any truth to recession hitting manufacturing and broader economy. A Year of Firsts The FIA Team is back at it executing our many projects tagged to the FIA-FIERF Strategic Plan. With the struggle to find qualified employees or anyone willing to work, the staff here is laser-focused on how we can best help the membership. This summer we’ll run our first pilot summer manufacturing camp – Forge The Future! – at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland. Activities will include students (middle school to freshman high schoolers) using their hands and tools/machines at the college to manufacture an item, some education from faculty and our members, and finally some forging plant tours. Future goals are to 1) secure a donor for an endowment to quickly expand the camp programs and 2) host a camp in every community college or trade school where we have members. Let me ask you something: What happens if you slap a tuning fork? It hertz . Ha-ha! Isn’t that a good one!? No, I have not gone more bonkers than I already was, but I am happy to share that FIERF is hosting its first school forging competition at Forge Fair. Eleven universities are competing – forging an acoustic resonator (tuning fork) to an assigned frequency. We hear the students are really

James R. Warren President and CEO Forging Industry Association

PUBLISHER James R. Warren jwarren@forging.org MANAGING EDITOR Angela Gibian angela@forging.org Editorial Staff

Board of Directors

Antonio Alvarez Perry Bennett Peter Campbell

Mark Derry JimKravec Mike Morgus Scott Naar James Romeo

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Amanda Dureiko amanda@forging.org DESIGN Lorean Crowder lorean@forging.org

CHAIRMAN Dan Ulven VICE CHAIRMAN Chelsea Lantto

Mark Candy John Coward

FIA MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2023 1

CONTENTS

FEBRUARY 2023 | VOLUME 5

46 Reducing Employee Turnover by Focusing on Mental Health 48 My Manufacturing Journey 50 Upping Your Energy Game: Transparent Energy Partnership with FIA Delivers Member Savings INDUSTRY NEWS 52 North America’s Largest Forging Event Returns to Cleveland 59 Thomas Buckley to Become New Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Electralloy 60 Marry Promoted to President & COO – Charter Manufacturing; Casterton Named President – Charter Steel 61 Morse Acquires UK Warehouse and Welding Center 62 Finkl Steel Helps “Forge” the Future of Our Youth 63 Onex, Inc. Appoints Patrick Laskey as President 64 Schuler Installs Fully Automated Aluminium Forging Line for Strojmetal 65 Remembering Mark Goodman of Eaton Steel Bar Company 65 Weber Purchases Former Viking Metallurgical Facility in Verdi, NV 66 Enprotech Corp Announces the Acquisition of American Hydro, a Business of Wärtsilä Corporation 67 Welcome New Members 72 FIA Upcoming Events FORGING RESEARCH 74 Fabrication of Forging Preforms via Additive Manufacturing Methods 76 An AFRL Student’s Experience 77 FIERF Donor Spotlight: Weber Metals MEMBERS SPEAK 78 The Essential Tool: The Golden Rule AD INDEX 80 February Advertiser Index

p. 36

PRESIDENT'S NOTE 1 President's Note

p. 26

WASHINGTON UPDATE 4 FIA Washington Update 5 The Forging Industry Has Spoken, Mr. President, Is Your Trade Representative Listening? EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY 6 Forging Lubrication Tribology 8 Undergoing of Different Cooling Systems for Aluminum Alloys 10 Opportunities for Additive Manufacturing in Casting and Forging MAINTENANCE 13 Preventive Maintenance Helps Keep Induction Systems in Peak Condition 18 Air Counterbalances: A Matter of Pressure 21 Boosting Your Equipment Reliability 24 Total Productive Maintenance in the Forging Shop MATERIALS 26 The Lighter Side of Forged Metals 32 Best Practices in Rockwell Hardness Testing 36 The Potential for Magnesium Forgings in Automotive OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT 40 Hiring? You May Be Required to Share Salary Up Front 41 Forging Product Orders Still Strong Despite Slowing Growth 42 Leadership and Management FAQ 44 The Language of Supplier Segmentation

DEPARTMENTS 1 President's Note 4 Washington Update 6 Equipment & Technology 13 Maintenance 26 Materials 40 Operations & Management 52 Industry News

74 Forging Research 78 Members Speak 80 Ad Index

Official Publication of the Forging Industry Association

February 2023 forging.org

TheLighter Side of ForgingMetals pg. 26

PREVIEW!

Undergoingof Different Cooling Systems for Aluminum Alloys pg. 8 ThePotential for MagnesiumForgings in Automotive pg. 36

North America’s Largest Forging Industry Trade Show

Images courtesy of Ajax TOCCO

For advertising contact info@forging.org

FIA Magazine (ISSN 2643-1254 (print) and ISSN 2643-1262 (online)) is published 4 times annually, May, August, November and February by the Forging Industry Association, 6363 Oak Tree Blvd., Independence, Ohio 44131. Telephone: (216) 781-6260. Only (1) copy of the print version distributed at no charge only to members of the Forging Industry Association. Digital version distributed at no charge to qualified individuals. Subscription requests available at www. forging.org. Printed in the U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid in Independence, OH and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Forging Industry Association, 6363 Oak Tree Blvd., Independence, Ohio 44131. Copyright © 2023 by the Forging Industry Association in both printed and electronic formats. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or part without the consent of the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for product claims and representations or for any statement made or opinion expressed herein. Data and information presented by the authors of specific articles are for informational purposes only and are not intended for use without independent, substantiating investigation on the part of potential users.

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WASHINGTON UPDATE

What a great and busy start to 2023! From the USTR Section 301 tariffs four-year review to ForgingPAC fundraising to Lobby Day, we have been anything but idle. Thank you to all our members who submitted a comment(s), contributed to the PAC, and attended Lobby Day. All of the activities mentioned above have been crucial to expanding our advocacy efforts and protecting the domestic forging industry. A key focus area the last couple of months here at FIA has been ensuring the Section 301 tariffs remain in place for a somewhat level playing field. Now we all know that with the 25% tariffs on Chinese forgings, there is still a disproportionate price difference compared to domestic parts. However, it keeps the economic pressure on China and illustrates that the United States will not be held hostage to their outlandish tactics. Thank you to our twenty-six member companies that submitted forty comments supporting the tariffs in addition to FIA’s comment on behalf of the industry. The comments demonstrated a unified front, which will hopefully show the United States Trade Representative there is a significant need to keep the tariffs on Chinese forgings intact. The ForgingPAC has been on an upward and successful path for the last six months as we have raised just under $11,000. FIA relaunched its Forging Political Action Committee halfway through 2022 and has consistently collected money through the months of its existence. We began by hosting the ForgingPAC’s first-ever fundraiser at our Fall Meeting of Members in Washington D.C. with a dinner cruise and continued raising money with a Wine Pull at our Midwest Meeting of Members in January of this year. Between the two events, the PAC successfully increased its funds by $3,000. Thank you to all the members who have contributed up to this point. Furthermore, we already have additional fundraising activities planned at this year’s Annual Meeting of Members and Fall Meeting of Members as our goal is to build out the ForgingPAC further and gather an additional $20,000. The intention of the PAC is to increase awareness and promote elected officials whose policy goals resonate with our industry’s priorities. The PAC is critical to the success of our advocacy agenda and to furthering the education of Congress as it can offer the domestic forging industry a seat at the table. The personal contributions help develop relationships and get candidates elected that support our key priorities, such as fair trade and workforce development. Our advocacy efforts, through the help of the PAC, shed light on the policy priorities with lawmakers across the country. Individual contributions do not make as great of an impact as a united one from the ForgingPAC; the power lies within the numbers. Lobby Day 2023 was a great success due to our members who attended! FIA had 16 members representing companies from coast to coast join us in Washington D.C. on February 1st and 2nd. FIAWashington Update By Megha Patel

In partnership with our lobby firm, The Franklin Partnership, members and staff participated in over 25 meetings on Capitol Hill. Attendees shared current challenges and policy priorities of the domestic forging industry, like increasing the tariff rate from 25% to 50% on Chinese forgings and additional funding for training programs. In addition to our normal lobby day, we had a few members stay another day to help us engage in meetings with the offices of Appropriators. FIA, aided by SMI lobby firm, is embarking on an opportunity for $25 million in government funding. The Forging Improvement Program has two components. The first is a $10 million congressional programmatic increase for university technical projects and members. The second is a $15 million Department of Defense core funding for member focused community colleges and trade schools. There are no guarantees on whether we will receive funds, but FIA has been guided by officials that this is a year great year to go after government monies. Overall, the Congressional offices were receptive to the issues and requests, and open to further dialogue. FIA is busier than ever in the government affairs realm and will continue to be so as we elevate our advocacy agenda in Congress. We are very excited to continue promoting the USTR Section 301 tariffs, the ForgingPAC and our priorities in Washington D.C. We appreciate the ongoing support and encouragement of our advocacy efforts! Megha M. Patel

Government Affairs Manager Forging Industry Association Phone: 216-781-6260 Email: megha@forging.org

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WASHINGTON UPDATE

The Forging Industry Has Spoken, Mr. President, Is Your Trade Representative Listening? By John Guzik

Forty manufacturers of forgings in the United States filed formal comments with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) calling on the Biden administration to retain and increase the current tariff rate of 25 percent on imported Chinese forgings. USTR accepted nearly 1,500 comments from the public on the tariffs as it undergoes a statutory requirement to review the Section 301 tariff action after four years. Themessage toUSTR is that the tariffs are helping America’s forging industry. In a December 2022 Forging Industry Association (FIA) survey, 71 percent of respondents indicated they added business directly due to the tariffs on Chinese forgings. The survey also indicated wages and capital expenditures increased since the duties were imposed. The duties led to more manufacturing in America. The White House and Department of Defense identify U.S. forgings as a critical part of the supply chain, this is why FIA and its member companies filed comments with USTR, to send a message to President Biden to keep the tariffs in place. The tariffs increased domestic forgers’ global competitiveness and led to international focus on China’s continued violation of U.S. and international trading laws. FIA members also provided invaluable input to USTR with their own filings, reinforcing the role the industry plays in economic and national security. U.S. forging businesses have the capacity and ability to meet current and future demands, as highlighted in comments filed by individual companies. As stated by FIA member company Trenton Forging Company in their filing, “the level of competition we face from State-Owned Enterprises [in China] remains one of the largest threats, not just to our company and industry, but to all of American manufacturing.” Members report that following imposition of the tariffs on Chinese forgings, they saw a significant increase in the number of companies interested in reshoring their supply chain to America. This is the concern raised by FIA and its members, if USTR lifts the tariffs, interest in U.S. forgings will wane and customers will return to mainly buying fromChina. Furthermore, the tariffs are a deterrent helping to prevent bad actors in China from stealing our intellectual property. Walker Forge in their filing said that, “the Section 301 actions are absolutely necessary and should remain in place at current or even higher levels because the actions are the best leverage the U.S. has to counteract

the unfair trade practices, and intellectual property theft China has been conducting against the U.S. businesses for more than twenty years.” Even with the tariffs in place, China maintained a price advantage over U.S. forgings. Under the tariffs, 82 percent of the survey respondents indicated that they lost business to China in the past twenty-four months. FIA is urging the Biden administration to keep the tariffs on Chinese forgings and should consider doubling the tariff rate on forgings from China to 50 percent. The tariffs are an effective tool to help level the unbalanced playing field. Since the imposition of tariffs, survey respondents indicated 76 percent increased their workforce in an industry, which represents 20,000 well-paying jobs. While there is no statutory deadline for USTR to act, we hope the Biden Administration is listening. The FIA will continue to work with the administration and lawmakers on Capitol Hill to educate them on the benefits of the Section 301 tariffs on the U.S. forging industry. We have the capacity and know how to deliver. Mr. President give us the opportunity to compete. John Guzik Partner The Franklin Partnership Phone: 202-285-9987 www.Thefranklinpartnership.com

FIA MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2023 5

EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY

Forging Lubrication Tribology By Frank Sobnosky Jr.

Throughout our last three articles, we have covered the topic of ‘Troubleshooting and FAQ’. While solving practical forging lubrication problems is a deep and worthy endeavor that we will revisit; in this edition we want to detail a little more about forging lubricants themselves. While it may be understood why certain operations use a specific type of lubricant, we feel that there is much more to be covered on this subject. The tribology of lubricants during forging is a vast subject and we feel that forging professionals will benefit from a deeper understanding. Without further ado, let us get into the science of forging lubricant tribology! There are three primary forging lubricant types used for modern forging.These include graphite inwater, synthetic (salt solution), and graphite in oil. There are other types of forging lubricants used for specialty processes such as forging non-ferrous alloys using graphite and oil in water emulsions, but we will stick with the three highest volume types of products for this discussion. It is widely known that graphite based forging lubricants are used for difficult operations, but it is also important to understand how these products function. The reasoning ultimately lies in the tribology, or according to Webster, the “lubrication of interacting surfaces in relative motion”. This mediation between the two interacting surfaces, the die and tooling, ultimately dictates the choice of lubricant needed. Let us get a little deeper into these interactions.

The three modes of lubrication used in forging lubricants are well illustrated in the Stribeck Curve, shown in Figure 1. Graphite in water, the most common forging lubricant, is known as a boundary lubricant, or ‘dry-film’ lubricant.This means that when the lubricant is applied to the die at high temperatures, the water (carrier) is driven off immediately, and what remains is lubricating media (graphite) and organic binders that allow the lubricating media to stick to the die. As shown on the far-left side of the Stribeck curve, this dry film forms a thin barrier between the tooling and the workpiece, the graphite-based film serves as a lubricious medium that allows metal to flow to all parts of the die and form a properly forged part. In boundary lubrication, the carrier has no functionality between the die and workpiece other than delivering the lubricating media. Boundary lubrication has a high coefficient of friction, which is preferrable for near net, deep impression forging jobs. This careful coefficient of friction control allows metal to flow to all parts of the die in the proper amounts. Some may think that a lower coefficient of friction is always preferrable, but this is not always the case. These factors make graphite in water the choice for near net forging shapes with intricate geometries. An oil-based forging lubricant, usually containing graphite, works in quite a different manner. As the lubricant is applied to the die, the oil carrier is not driven off because its boiling point is much

Figure 1: The Stribeck Curve, showing different lubrication regimes that operate during forging for different types of lubricants.

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EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY

higher than water. Therefore, the carrier remains, and provides parting (physical separation between surfaces) and hydrodynamic lubrication between the die and the workpiece. This low coefficient of friction hydrodynamic lubrication, along with the boundary lubrication of the graphite allow very large, long metal flow pieces to be formed at high temperatures. A similar action occurs in synthetic forging lubricants to that of graphite in water boundary lubricants, however the action between the workpiece and die is slightly different during forging. Similar to graphite in water lubricants, once the fluid is applied to a hot die it ‘wets out’ or dries onto that die forming a dry film of salt and the water carrier is driven off. However, unlike a lubricant that strictly operates on the boundary, synthetics exhibit a sort of ‘middle ground’ between hydrodynamic and boundary lubrication regimes known as ‘electrohydrodynamic’ or ‘mixed’ lubrication. This means that the solid film formed by the salt solution is liquified at high temperatures and gives partial hydrodynamic lubrication, which is shown in the middle of the Stribeck curve at coefficients of friction between boundary and hydrodynamic lubrication. This type of lubricant is used often for simpler forging operations which involve rolling or flattening rather than intricate metal flow in deep impressions forming near net shapes. Each of these lubricants acts differently tribologically in the die, and each has a specific purpose for different applications.

These tribological principles which govern how forging lubricants operate are important for forging professionals to understand. If these functionalities are well understood, principles of proper lubricant application become a priority and the correct choices of lubricant based on the process can be made. This will lead to an improved forging process, reduced scrap rate, and better forging die life. The experts at AML would love to help you choose the right lubricant for your forging process. We keep things running smoothly!

Frank Sobnosky Jr. Chemical Engineer AML Industries, Inc Office: 330-399-5000 Email: fsobnosky@amlube.com www.amlube.com

References: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/lubricant-film thickness https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tribology

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FIA MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2023 7

EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY

Undergoing of Different Cooling Systems for Aluminum Alloys By Francisco J. Flores Gatica

Recently, aluminum alloys have become an important part in the supply chain of lightweight materials, especially in the automotive industry because of several factors that include decreased body weight, fabrication of internal parts, or increased power efficiency. Regardless of the situation, one important matter must be kept in mind: the material’s mechanical performance needs to qualify automotive standards. One way to keep these standards is by increasing the material’s properties by heat treatment applications. Wrought aluminum alloys can be heat-treated, which is accomplished in a three-stage cycle: solution, cooling, and aging (Figure 1).

have enough time to precipitate during cooling, which will affect the properties required for the work that will be submitted for the piece, in other words, the solid solution will not remain at room temperature, hence the controlled precipitation will not be effective as we would like. On the other hand, it will be possible for alloys of complex geometry to exhibit distortion or, in some cases, fracture when a high-cooling rate is applied, so a true understanding of heat flux is needed to predict and understand the physical andmechanical behavior of workpieces at different cooling rates. Air quenching is used to limit the residual stresses as well as the brittleness that occurs during the quenching process. To improve fatigue life, some residual stress can play a significant role, and this can be achieved through the comparatively slower cooling rate of air quenching. Cooling rates are ruled by the Heat Transfer coefficient ( h ), which is a function of the heat flux and the temperature gradient. Since the h is a critical factor in achieving desired material properties while air quenching, it is necessary to understand some of its influences. Some of these influences include size and material that is to be quenched, air velocity, air temperature, the type of gas being used for quenching, and the orientation of the material in the stream of air. However, using air quenching is not very useful because of the lower h gather (100–200 w/m2K), which results in very slow cooling rates that allow enough time for precipitation to occur during the cooling process, restraining the aging step. To achieve better cooling rates and higher h , Nutec Bickley, developed an early stage design of a cooling system that gathers the benefits of an air quenching while minimizing distortion and residual stress but also introduces water in the form of mist to increase the cooling rates by means of heat flux extraction through the tiny water droplets. The present case of study seeks to evaluate the results carried out to evaluate the h that arises when a wrought aluminum alloy is cooled by a developed air-mist cooling system prototype and calculate the h by means of finite element analysis using computer simulations in 2-D transient analysis, and to determine the minimum cooling rate needed to ensure adequate physical and mechanical properties of an aluminum alloy in order to establish good cooling strategies with the air-mist cooling system to achieve higher cooling rates that will provide better understanding for more complex geometries. Design of Experiments and Heat Treatment Process for h Analysis To make the comparison straightforward, the experimental and numerical set-ups were kept simple. The cooling system prototype consists of an enclosure where air is coming up from nozzles with atomized water. Solution heating for a 6000-series aluminum

Figure 1: Heat treatment cycle for a wrought aluminum alloy Solution treatment is conducted at temperatures above or close to the solvus, allowing intermetallic to enter in the aluminum matrix and form what’s called a solid solution; in the case of the aluminum alloy 6000 series, it is above 500°C. After solution, a fast cooling or quenching is performed to ensure that the supersaturated solid solution formed in the solution process, may stay at room temperature. The last stage is where we try to obtain the desirable mechanical properties by means of controlling the mechanism of precipitation hardening . This is when the intermetallic at solid solution, starts to appear out of the aluminum matrix with a heat treatment that is called aging that depends on both time and temperature since the mechanical properties of the material depend on the size and distribution of the precipitates being formed. The improvement of mechanical properties in aluminum alloys by heat treatment is restricted to precipitation as no solid allotropic transformation takes place in the alloy. So, why the interest in cooling systems? One of the factors that affects aging response is the cooling rate that a piece previously experienced after the solution, a phenomenon that is associated with the supersaturation of elements inside the aluminum matrix. The cooling rate to which the heat-treated parts are subjected is a critical parameter. If this rate is below a critical rate (depending of the alloy series), the dissolved elements will

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EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY

alloy cylinder was the chosen heat treatment process. In addition, a simple but effective simulation approach was performed using a commercial software to perform the finite element analysis. The measured information was obtained from the aluminum alloy cylinder wired with several thermocouples at different depths (Figure 2).

When the simulation´s results resemble the measured information, the added value of using a software tool is not only to approach the measured data, but the calculation of heat transfer coefficients that are very difficult to measure (Figure 5).

Figure 5: Heat transfer coefficient of two testing conditions (a) forced air low velocity (b) forced air high velocity. Conclusion An air-mist cooling system prototype was designed, and its cooling performance was evaluated with different air velocities and water volumes. The calculated h demonstrated a cooling improvement of 20 – 70 %when a high volume of water mist was used. Using an air-mist cooling system could lead to improvements on equipment design and cooling rates, which could apply not only in aluminum alloy’s quenching applications but also to a wide variety of other types of heat-treatable alloys that need their cooling performances to be controlled in an accurate way to prevent undesired precipitations, phase changing, residual stress, or even distortion. Francisco J. Flores Gatica

Figure 2: Aluminum cylinder placed over the cooling system’s nozzles and sketch of thermocouple positions. Using the mentioned arrangement, information was obtained from the surface where the heat transfer takes place mostly by forced convection and from the interior, where heat transfer is due to conduction. For the simulation, establishing the boundary conditions (Figure 3) is important to ensure the calculation is performed within the limits of our system in this case, the simplicity of our set-up helped to have the consideration of a vertical flow for the convective part only.

Francisco has worked in Research and Development for the heating solutions industry and process engineering for the aluminum industry. Holds a B. Sc. in Chemistry from the Technology of Monterrey. He is currently a Doctor of Engineering candidate at Autonomous University of Nuevo León. He can be reached by e-mailing franciscoflores@nutec.com

Figure 3: Scheme configuration used for the 2-D axis symmetrical analysis and boundary conditions used. Analysis in the 2-D axis symmetrical was performed to simulate the cooling curves gathered by air quench conditions and the temperature behavior over the cooling period was compared (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Temperature propagation in the workpiece and calculated vs. measured cooling curves.

FIA MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2023 9

EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY

Opportunities for Additive Manufacturing in Casting and Forging Identifying Opportunities, Challenges, and Gaps for Additive Manufacturing Research and Development By Brandon D. Ribic, Ph.D.

The development of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies for casting and forging applications has been investigated for more than 10 years. AM has demonstrated viability for spares production and supply chain gap-bridging manufacturing for casting applications. The efforts of the AMcommunity have led to various point solutions (qualified AM products for a single part number, often from a single serial number AMmachine) for a limited number of applications in production today. Some of the most noteworthy applications to date have been in the case of defense and sustainment applications. AM components for forging applications are less prevalent or often prohibited due to the criticality of these applications. The need remains for expansive understanding and data to address gaps and challenges that foster AM to complement or augment casting and forging operations, as well as to accelerate certification of AM parts for select casting and forging applications. Addressing these gaps and challenges will cultivate exploration of the unique design and material characteristics of AM which can address application geometric, integration, and performance requirements. Much like other manufacturing technologies, AMoffers conditional utility. Factors that may influence the utility of AM include:

In 2016, America Makes initiated a three-phase effort called Maturation of AdvancedManufacturing for Low-Cost Sustainment (MAMLS). The effort was qualification-focused and generated

material and product-specific data including: • AM process and post-process development • Material characterization and test data • Product scale demonstrations and proof testing • Material and product inspection data

Forging applications were not in the scope of the effort. In addition, large-scale AM technologies were not extensively explored. The program showed potential for further analysis of AM technologies to augment manufacturing operations and demonstrated utility for AM to produce casting tooling. Opportunities exist for further analysis of AM product certification, which was not the primary focus of the program. Motivations and opportunities for strategic AM R&D relevant to casting and forging manufacturing and applications are summarized. Motivations for AM for Casting Manufacturing and Applications In the case of casting applications, approaches exist to quantitatively verify and validate AM product quality, but there are opportunities for improved efficiency. Requalification is also a known challenge for AM processes. The long-term success of AM operations and supply chains depends on the ability to readily certify products. R&D to further understand the certification and airworthiness of AM components for casting applications are necessary. AMtechnologies are known to offer other benefits for low-rate, high mix casting production. A preliminary investigation was executed with the MAMLS program. The design limits and performance of these products manufactured using AM technologies need further evaluation. AM offers benefits not only for tooling design but also exhibits opportunities to augment productivity rates in upstream or downstream operations from the casting process. The ability to augment workflows and limit risks of downstream bottlenecks should be explored. To date, most of the work has focused on

• Current limits to AM capabilities • AM process productivity rates • Application criticality and operating environment • Demand volumes and timelines • Costs

These factors demonstrate that a successful transition is not dependent upon quality and technological feasibility alone. Cost, productivity, and time-dependent economic viability must also be considered. In addition, it is important to regularly assess the utility of manufacturing technologies, especially in the case of maturing technologies such as additive manufacturing, to maintain research and development (R&D) targets are aligned with appropriate transition opportunities and goals.

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EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY

aluminum casting applications, but the need remains for the demonstration of nickel and titanium alloy castings. AM for Forging Applications It is known that AM exhibits significant benefits if it can be reliably utilized for safety of flight applications. Qualifying AM products for forging applications represents a significant challenge due to performance and criticality requirements. Limiting AM product performance debits in comparison to wrought material can be difficult and cost prohibitive. The need exists for data and understanding to assess how AM technologies scale for forging applications from both a quality and cost perspective. The development of large-scale AM technologies in the last five years offers opportunities to explore the limits of these manufacturing capabilities and demonstrate how these technologies may benefit AMfor forging applications.The quality, performance, productivity, and costs associated with these materials and processes are not well understood and warrant further investigation. Future Research Opportunities Given the opportunities and gaps summarized and to support the maturation of AMtechnologies for the benefit of casting and forging manufacturing and applications, the following areas of future R&D are proposed: • AM for casting and forging manufacturing and applications strategic road mapping. • Certification of AM products for casting applications that address application-relevant performance, probability of detection, and costs. • Demonstration of the utility of AM technologies for advanced casting design to augment casting operations, productivity, and cost. • Demonstration and characterization of AM technologies for casting tooling for nickel and titanium alloys. • Demonstration of AM for forging applications to assess reliability, design trade-offs, and cost. • Evaluation of large-scale AM processes for forging applications to demonstration design guides, material mechanical and physical properties, processing capabilities, and cost. Next Steps America Makes will be working with FIA and the broader forging and casting supply chain to execute a series of workshops in the spring of 2023, to be hosted in the greater Cleveland, OH, and Milwaukee, WI, regions. The purpose of the workshops is to gather input from the AM, forging, and casting supply chain to identify and prioritize needs for R&D as well as define successful demonstrations where AM technology offers the opportunity to enable yield and productivity improvements for casting and forging manufacturing operations and/or applications. Workshop outcomes and findings will be integrated into a national, time-phased strategy which will be leveraged for identifying and prioritizing funded activity by

America Makes in the summer of 2023. The benefit, value, and impact of these efforts will heavily rely on various organizations and expert participation. Further details about when and where these workshops will be conducted will be coming soon. For information on how to become a member or get involved with America Makes, please contact us at info@americamakes.us. About AmericaMakes America Makes is the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute. As the national accelerator for additive manufacturing (AM), America Makes is the nation’s leading and collaborative partner in AM and 3DP technology research, discovery, creation, and innovation. Structured as a public-private partnership with member organizations from industry, academia, government, non-government agencies, and workforce and economic development resources, we are working together to innovate and accelerate AM to increase our nation’s global manufacturing competitiveness. Based in Youngstown, Ohio, America Makes is the first Institute within the Manufacturing USA infrastructure and is driven by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM). For more information about America Makes, visit americamakes.us. Brandon D. Ribic, Ph.D. Technology Director America Makes Phone: 330-622-4305

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Accelerate

We Convene... Themost brilliant minds from industry and academia

We Coordinate... Transformative technical and workforce data

We Catalyze... High-value, high-impact collaborative projects

America Makes is the nation’s leading collaborative partner in additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing (3DP) technology research, discovery, and innovation. Structured as a public-private partnership, we innovate and accelerate AM/3DP to increase our nation’s global manufacturing competitiveness. Focused on additive manufacturing, America Makes is the first institute of the Manufacturing USA® network.

Join us at SPRING TRX March 7 & 8, 2023 El Paso, Texas Visit booth 1851 at RAPID+TCT May 2-4, 2023 Chicago, Illinois

Learn more at www.AmericaMakes.us

MAINTENANCE

Preventive Maintenance Helps Keep Induction Systems in Peak Condition By Joe Stambaugh

Dual Zone Induction Billet Heater / Photo Courtesy Ajax TOCCO

Maintenance of induction equipment can easily be ignored by assuming that everything is fine if the equipment is operating. Ignoring original equipment manufacturers' (OEM) recommended maintenance schedules can create problems that are not apparent from just looking at the system. It has long been understood that as much as 90% of induction-system problems are water related. High-conductivity water usually is the culprit that causes cooling system erosion and blockage due to electrolysis. This reaction causes the erosion of vital copper components resulting in the collection of contaminating material, which reduces water flow. Lower water flow results in the system devices that are being cooled to overheat and fail prematurely. This is most common in water-cooling systems where high electrical potentials are present, such as power supplies using silicon-carbide rectifiers (SCRs), diode heat sinks, chokes (reactors) and/or transformers. Use of lake, well and city tap water to cool an induction power supply can reduce the service life of an induction system by 30 to 50%.

Electrolysis causes erosion, resulting in a hose leak failure.

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MAINTENANCE

Water-cooling Systems These usually are closed-loop systems that cool the power supply, capacitor (or heat station), water-cooled leads and bus, and the induction coils. It is important to remember that about 90% of the problems with induction systems are water related. This also is the most neglected item in induction, causing the most down time and damage. The following preventative maintenance will minimize water-related problems in an induction system.

Every spring. For maximum cooling efficiency, all cooling water systems should be drained and flushed with fresh clean water for a few hours, drained again, then recharged. Make sure to clean the "Y" strainers in the system. Remove a few hoses during draining and cleaning, especially where hoses are looped, and inspect for erosion and deposits on the copper fittings and inside the hoses at both ends. Clean hoses indicate good system maintenance. The presence of corrosion and deposits indicates the need for more frequent conductivity testing, flushing, and cleaning. Corrosion usually is due to water solutions that have degraded, allowing the conductivity to rise. Spring and fall. If necessary, adjust the temperature control sensor for the recirculating water-cooling system to prevent condensation from forming. The water-cooling controls usually have an adjustable set point connected to a solenoid valve that controls the temperature of the cooling water. Inwinter conditions, cooling water is controlled to operate at a temperature of about 75F (24C). Summer conditions often require a higher temperature (about 85F, or 30C) to operate above the higher dew point (higher summer humidity) and prevent damage caused by condensation. The presence of condensation in the power system can create destructive paths around high-voltage components. Every other year in the spring. Remove the water to water heat exchangers for the water-cooling system. Use a solution of humidifier cleaner or citric acid and a low-pressure pump to circulate the fluid through both paths of the heat exchanger to remove calcium scale build-up, which can restore full cooling efficiency of the heat exchanger. This requires using a small valve to regulate flow and some hoses for connection. Pumping for two hours usually is sufficient. However, the heat exchanger and the cleaning fluid may need to be replaced if there is a large amount of calcium inside. Cooling Towers Cooling towers are designed to remove heat fromwater and dissipate the heat into the atmosphere. Two common types are dry towers and evaporative towers. Dry tower systems consist of a motor and pump with an expansion tank and tower, which is made up of cooling tubes, fins, and fans. They are minimal maintenance systems compared with evaporative systems but lack the cooling capabilities of the latter. Yearly maintenance of a dry tower requires the following: • Drain the water in the spring, flush with clean water and recharge with a 30 - 40% ethylene glycol-water solution (depending on geographic location) to prevent damage due to corrosion and freezing. • Remove dirt from the surface area of the cooling fins using a high-pressure power washer to restore the tower to maximum cooling efficiency. • Lubricate the pump and motor as required and check seals and gaskets for leaks. • Lubricate the fan bearings and bushings as required.

Photo of an Ajax TOCCO Dual Pump Closed Loop Water Recirculation System Daily. Check the level of the water in the cooling system and top it off if necessary using only approved high-quality water. Never use well water, city tap water or high-conductivity water in the system as these will damage the system in a matter of weeks due to erosion or corrosion. OEMs recommend the type and qualities of water and additives (ethylene glycol, for example). Distilled, deionized (DI) and reverse osmosis (RO) are approved types of water, but usually require a glycol addition. The glycol addition prevents the water from freezing and serves as a buffer to corrosion. A 30 to 40% ethylene glycol (uninhibited type) addition should prevent freezing in severe freezing weather conditions, even during power outages. Glycol also prevents the water from becoming too aggressive to the materials in the system components. DI water by itself usually is too low in electrical conductivity (< 1 K mho/cm) and is called "hungry." Always add glycol to plain DI water. Every three months. Check the conductivity of the recirculating water using a hand-held conductivity meter. When the conductivity reaches or exceeds the OEM-recommended threshold, drain, flush and refill, then drain and refill the system again. Purge the system to remove trapped air. (See OEM manual for recommended cleaning and flushing practices.) Damage caused by poor water quality and system charging can result in tens of thousands of dollars in repair costs. Some power supplies have replaceable targets (anodes), which should be checked and replaced if necessary. An example of the cooling water specification for recirculating water used to cool induction power supplies is 15 ppm total water hardness (CaCO3), 25 ppm total dissolved solids, 20 - 70 Kmho/cm conductivity, 10 ppmmaximum suspended solids and 7.0 - 7.5 ph. Restricted flow results in damaged components due to overheating.

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MAINTENANCE

Evaporative tower systems, consisting of a recirculating pump, heater, sump pump, fans, and cooling fins, require more maintenance than dry types. Yearly maintenance is the same as for dry tower systems plus the following: • Lubricate the pump(s), motor, bearing and bushings. • Check seals and gaskets for leaks. • Remove dirt that has accumulated in the sump pump and reservoir. • Check to ensure that the sump pump heater is functioning properly. This is especially important because the heater prevents freezing of the sump pump water during winter operation. Suggested water quality requirements for both dry and evaporative cooling towers are 100 ppm total water hardness (CaCO3), 200 ppm total dissolved solids, 20 - 300 K mho/cm, 10 ppm suspended solids and 7.0 - 7.5 ph.

• Tighten loose connection using only a screwdriver; never overtighten. • Visually inspect for overheating (discoloration) of bus connections, SCRs, diodes, and other components including transformer and capacitor connections, and tighten using appropriate tools. Do not over- torque SCRs. If the system has mechanical contractors, inspect the contact pads and springs, and adjust or replace worn components. • Perform an infrared scan of the internal components looking for hot spots. Include mechanical gear boxes and control panels as well to find hot spots.

Power Supplies and Heat Stations The power supply and heat station, which are the most expensive parts of a production induction heating system, are the most likely to be ignored. Maintenance requirements and frequency schedules

The infrared image of a transformer shows the center winding being hotter than the outer windings. Yearly inspection: • Test all door interlocks. Check the OEM manual as each manufacture has its own requirements for this particularly important safety test. • Inspect the power supply and heat station using infrared thermal imaging, which identifies hot spots and provides information that can be used to identify potential problems during operation. • Check power-supply battery backups used for logic memory; most batteries require replacement annually, while others have a five-year life. Check the OEMmanual. • Check water-cooling hoses. Hoses become brittle and are susceptible to leaks and complete failure. Depending on factors, such as ambient heat and humidity, water-cooling hoses may need replacement every five to ten years. Use only the same type of nonconductive hose as originally supplied, and never shorten the length of any hose when replacing it.

are given below. Daily inspection:

• Inspect inside the cabinet for water leaks, drips, and condensation. This must be done with the cooling pump on, at the beginning of the shift after the unit has been idle all night, and again at the end of the shift while the system is warm. If tightening a hose clamp cannot stop a leak, replace the hose. Never reduce the length of a hose; hoses have a specified length and may have loops to prevent electrical conduction and subsequent electrolysis of the copper tube at the end of high voltage dc potentials. • Test the ground leak detector; see the OEMmanual for details. Monthly inspection: • Check for loose connections of all ribbon connectors and wires on terminals.

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