November 2025 Volume 7

FOUNDATION NEWS

online, participants can work on it when they have time available, making it accessible regardless of schedule. This course is the first one from METAL to focus on the forging industry. METAL’s previous course centered around metal casting, and it was met with enthusiasm from the casting industry and by people with interest in pursuing a casting profession. This course is intended to spark that same interest and excitement in the forging industry and by people interested in pursuing a forging related profession. This course does not limit forging to entry-level operator jobs, though; it considers the entire forging ecosystem, from the operator through the engineer and plant manager. Its topics range from forging processes and presses through data analysis and digital simulations, ensuring that the information is useful to people at all levels. Foundational Materials Science & Engineering This course begins with modules focused on introductory materials science, engineering, and metallurgy to ensure that participants have a strong foundation on which to build their knowledge. Forging requires this underlying knowledge, which is why the course begins with this refresher. Though most people in the forging industry will already have an understanding of these topics, these initial modules are designed to bring participants to the same level so that the subsequent modules on forging processes and Industry 4.0 are understandable, regardless of professional background. Dr. Glenn Daehn, Director of HAMMER and Mars. G. Fontana Professor of Materials Science at The Ohio State University, presents this content across four lectures. Forging Processes, Tools & Presses Forging is central to the course, and content on hot, warm, and cold forging, tool and die design, and forging presses are provided. These sections are intended to be understood by people without prior experience in forge houses and by experienced forgers. Like the modules on materials science and engineering, these modules are intended to develop strong foundational knowledge and build

upon it by presenting increasingly more advanced topics. Dr. Erman Tekkaya, professor at TU Dortmund University, provides detailed information about different forging processes, their benefits and drawbacks, and their uses. Dr. Tekkaya explains why a specific temperature may be chosen for a forging process and considers which temperature is best for forging a particular shape. These modules also describe how tools and dies are designed and what causes them to fail or break. Additionally, these discussions of tools and dies preview the content presented in later modules on digital simulations and how they help support the forging industry. Dr. Tekkaya gives a sneak peak of a finite element method digital simulation—a topic which is explored in depth later in the course. Industry 4.0 & Digital Simulation Software A large portion of the course dives into aspects of Industry 4.0 and how the forging industry can incorporate advanced technologies to improve efficiency. These modules explain what Industry 4.0 is and how it grows out of previous industrial revolutions that have changed how manufacturing is done. Although sensors and robotics have been used in the metal forming industry for decades, the integration of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) is a more recent development—one which these modules explore in detail. Additionally, increased use of these Industry 4.0 and IoT technologies allows for informed decision making and complex data analysis. Dr. Alex Bandar, Director of the Innovation Ecosystem for HAMMER, presents this information in a series of short lectures, each designed as an introduction to aspects of Industry 4.0 in the forging industry. Digital simulations are essential to Industry 4.0, and this course provides foundational information on how to set up finite element method (FEM) simulations to support forging operations. The modules focused on digital simulation software provide overviews on FEM, how to use them, and how to analyze their results to improve forgings so that they are strong, reliable, and optimized for intended use.

Figure 2: Image from METAL forging course lecture.

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