In the machinery manufacturing industry, metal forgings as an important basic component, its maintainability and repairability for product quality and user experience is of great significance. This paper will combine the maintainability and repairability of metal forgings, and discuss how to consider these two characteristics in the design.
First, maintainability design
Maintainability refers to the ability of a product to easily repair, service and replace components throughout its life cycle. For hardware forgings, the improvement of maintainability can be considered from the following aspects:
Reduce the use of parts: In the design process, the number and type of parts should be reduced as much as possible to simplify the maintenance process and improve interchangeability.
Focus on appearance quality and durability: Good appearance quality and durability can reduce the frequency of product maintenance and extend its service life. Therefore, designers should pay attention to details in material selection, structural design, surface treatment and other aspects to improve the durability of the product.
Consider the strength and toughness of the material when designing: the selection of high-strength and high-toughness materials can ensure the performance of the product while improving its maintainability. For example, the use of alloy steel with high strength can improve the hardness of the product while maintaining its toughness, thereby improving the fatigue resistance and durability of the product.
Try to avoid or reduce operations that have an impact on maintainability such as cutting processing: cutting processing may lead to problems such as thinning of parts and structural changes, which will affect the maintainability of the product. Therefore, designers should try to choose the forming process, such as forging, stamping, etc., to ensure the structural and dimensional stability of the parts.
Second, repairability design
Repairability refers to the ability of a product to be repaired or replaced after failure or damage. For hardware forgings, the improvement of repairability can be considered from the following aspects:
Study the repairability of different materials: the repair difficulty of different materials after damage is different, and designers should choose materials that are easy to repair according to the actual situation of the product. For example, some high-strength aluminum alloys have good repairability and can be repaired or replaced after damage.
Design considering the degree of vulnerability and resilience of the product: in the process of product design, full consideration should be given to the type and degree of damage that the product may receive, and how to repair it. For example, for some parts that are prone to wear, they can be designed as replaceable parts so that they can be replaced after wear.
Avoid or reduce excessive damage to the product: irreparable damage should be avoided as much as possible in the design. For example, avoid excessive use of welding between components to avoid irreparable damage.
The use of high-strength, high-toughness materials: the use of high-strength, high-toughness materials can increase the damage resistance of the product, thereby improving its repairability. For example, the use of high-strength stainless steel can increase the durability and fatigue resistance of the product, thus reducing the likelihood of damage to the product.
In order to better illustrate the maintainability and repairability design of metal forgings, we selected the following two successful cases for analysis:
High pressure valve: High pressure valve is one of the important equipment in petroleum, chemical and other fields, which needs to withstand high temperature, high pressure, corrosion and other harsh conditions. In order to improve its maintainability and repairability, designers used high-strength stainless steel as the main material, while simplifying the valve structure and reducing the number and variety of parts. In addition, the designer also designed a simple disassembly and maintenance process for the equipment, which is convenient for users to carry out daily maintenance and overhaul.
Automotive brake calipers: Automotive brake calipers are an important part of the automotive brake system, which needs to have high strength and high temperature resistance. In order to improve its repairability, the designers used high-strength aluminum alloy as the main material, and designed easy-to-replace friction materials and spring parts. In addition, the designers have adopted a modular design for the part to facilitate rapid replacement after damage.
Based on the maintainability and repairability of metal forgings, this paper discusses how to consider these two characteristics in design. The maintainability of products can be improved by reducing the use of parts, focusing on appearance quality and durability, and selecting suitable materials and processes. At the same time, the repairability of the product can be improved by studying the repairability of different materials, designing products with high damage degree and recovery ability, avoiding excessive damage to the product and using high strength and high toughness materials. Through the above measures, it can effectively improve the maintainability and repairability of hardware forgings, extend the service life of products and reduce maintenance costs, and improve the overall quality of products and user experience.
