November 2020 Volume 2

FORGING RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY

How Forging Simulation Saves Time and Money By Tom Ellinghausen, Forge Technology, Inc., Woodstock, IL, Stanislav Kanevskiy, QForm Group, Moscow, Russia and Sergey Stebunov, QuantorForm, Oxford, U.K.

Among the basic simulation capabilities shared by most simulation software, QForm simulation software offers forging engineers exactly the balance they are looking for. The interface has been carefully designed so that users can easily set up, run, and analyze simulations, and the accuracy of the simulation results is not dependent on the user’s skills, so even new users will get accurate and useful results. One time-saving feature is that the interface allows for multi-variant analysis so that any variable in a simulation can be set up with multiple variants to see how they affect the outcome of the forging without the need to manually alter the variable between each simulation. Amulti-stage forging can be easily modified by copying, adding, or inserting operations anywhere in the process chain. One of the most basic functions of a simulation is verifying material fill and reducing material consumption. The example pictured in Figure 1 shows a simulation of aluminum climbing hardware run with two variations of billet size. The simulation was completed automatically in multi-variant mode. The smaller billet reduced material by 20% and still maintained a defect-free and completely filled forging.

Abstract: Simulation is significantly more cost-effective than the outdated trial and error method of forging design, and simulation ensures the shortest time from the start of design to the delivery of the optimal product. Simulation eliminates the need for shop floor verification of designs, which takes a press out of production and also eliminates the high cost related to trial tools and potential tool modifications. Simulation of the entire forging process ensures that the final product will be delivered quickly and defect-free with the dimensional and mechanical properties required by the customer. This article will evaluate several forging operations and show how simulating various methods can eliminate defects and optimize production very quickly without any shop floor trials. Real-world examples will compare actual forgings with simulated results from QForm simulation software. Special tools in QForm will be used to identify laps, non-fill, and other material flow issues. Article: Forging simulation software is no longer a specialized application to be used only by advanced forge shops. It is widely used at many forge shops around the world to help them produce the highest quality forgings at the lowest possible cost. Even the most basic forge shops run simulations prior to die production to ensure that material will flow correctly with no laps, flow-through defects, and non-fill defects, to determine the load required for forging, and to optimize tool life. The effectiveness of simulation software requires the ability to solve essential tasks quickly and easily. The ideal simulation program should offer high performance, flexibility, speed, and accuracy with a well-balanced combination of being easy enough for new, inexperienced users to get good results while also allowing for profound analysis capabilities for the most advanced users and researchers. Forging engineers are busy and don’t have time to waste hours tweaking a simulation to get the required results. They demand a program that allows them to quickly set up simulations that will give them the most accurate results. They want to spend less time setting up simulations and have faster simulation speeds and more interface flexibility, so that experimenting with various scenarios is quick, fluid, and intuitive.

FIA MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2020 52