February 2026 Volume 8

CONTENTS

FEBRUARY 2026 | VOLUME 8

p. 24

p.29

p. 20

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT 3 President's Note WASHINGTON UPDATE 6 Bringing Your Government Dollars Back Home ENERGY 8 Don’t Miss This Big Buying Opportunity EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY 10 From Simulation to Steel 12 Turnkey Forging Lines for Lightweight Advanced Materials 14 The Impact of AI in Training and Development on Forge Shops of the Future

MAINTENANCE 17 How To Perform a Complete Mechanical Press Inspection for a Forging or Stamping Press AUTOMATION 20 Automating Billet Picking in a Forge With 3D Robot Vision 22 Quantitative Evaluation of Robotic Versus Manual Graphite Lubrication in Metal Forming 24 Hope Is Not an Operating Model MATERIALS 29 The Status and Outlook for Forging of High-Entropy Alloy (HEA) Engineered Products for Aerospace, Medical, and Energy Sector Applications OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT 34 Employee Separations 36 Getting Started in Gage Variation Analysis and Troubleshooting 40 Combating Burn-Out in the Forging Industry 42 Developing the Next Generation of Marketers in the Forging Industry 44 Tired of Dealing with Cybersecurity? You’re Not Alone 46 Leadership, Learning and the Power of Showing up

INDUSTRY NEWS 48 FIA Annual Meeting of Members 51 Marcos Mattiello Appointed President of Gerdau Special Steel North America 52 ONEX, Inc. Expands into New York with Acquisition of Upstate Refractory Services 54 Forging Producers' 2026 Performance will Vary 57 Welcome New Members 58 FIA Upcoming Events FOUNDATION NEWS 60 FIERF Donor Spotlight: GLAMA USA 61 Grace Cantrell Joins Scot Forge FORGING RESEARCH 62 Technical Director Update 64 Manufacturing Automation Systems to Solve Forging Hot Part Inspection Through an Automated Non-Contact System 66 Scientific Use Case : Advanced Microstructural Evolution Prediction MEMBERS SPEAK 72 Inside Sales, Outside Expectations AD INDEX 75 February Advertiser Index

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE FORGING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION | FORGING.ORG | FEB 2026

FORGING EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY An exploration of the various ways AI, automation and advanced technology are changing the future of forging

Photo Courtesy of Pickit3D

Turnkey Forging Lines For Lightweight Advanced Materials Page 20 The Impact of AI Training and Development on Forge Shops of The Future Page 14 Automating Billet Picking in a Forge With 3D Robot Vision Page 20

For advertising contact info@forging.org

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FIA MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2026