November 2021 Volume 3

AUTOMATION

Since the first use of the pack rods (1947), hand dipping of electrodes (1950), invention of the ARM (1955) and extrusion of the 3/4” baseball bat electrodes (1965), flood welding has produced predictable weld deposit chemistry suitable to the rigors of forging cavity renewal. What began even before 1945 as a passion to improve the performance of tooling in the forging industry has, through trial and error, proven extremely successful. Even today, 76 years after that passion began to take shape, forging companies not previously exposed to the benefits of flood welding are learning to embrace the technology that many consider a routine part of a die maintenance program, counting on the predictable part production at every resink. Today, the Weld Mold Manipulator (1980) as well as robotic welding are the most prevalent application methods in use, and when teamed with the appropriate Weld Mold flux core, metal core or open arc wire are also used to repair worn or broken dies and forging equipment such as rams, sow blocks, hammer bases and columns. Press equipment like die sets and press frames are also reliably put back into service. Impact on the Forging Industry With little change since the time of Samuel Colt, the equipment and materials have morphed over time, automation, electronics and digital thermal controls have made the process faster and more consistent but, in the end, the forged material is still formed under severe impact and at high temperatures to create the end product. The introduction of flood welding to the forging industry has had a significant impact on cost control, productivity and profitability. For the forge that properly applies it, the process and material have: • Eliminated the need for large on hand stocks of new die steel because dies are no longer scrapped.

• Increased productivity of each cavity by as much as 300% through careful application and appropriate material selection. • Increased production run time, eliminating the need for multiples of even high production cavities. • Eliminated or reduced shimming by maintaining block size and mass. • Allowed for reassignment of obsolete cavities to new purposes and maintain a footprint to the existing process. • Eliminated the requirement for full face re-sinks, as only the welded area needs to be re-machined. • Made it possible to repair forging components indefinitely that at one time would have been scrapped and replaced. • Reduced tooling cost per part by 30%-50%; and more Bottom line, all forge operators can benefit by the reduction of costs and improvement in productivity. ■ References: ASM International: https://www.asminternational.org/membership/ awards/historical-landmarks AZOM: https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=2195 David Lee Technical Director

Weld Mold Company Phone: 800-521-9755 Email: DLee@weldmold.com

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FIA MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2021 29