Metal tool forgings occupy an important position in industry and daily life, they are usually made of metal materials, with high strength, hardness and durability. These forgings are widely used in various tools and mechanical equipment to provide convenience for people’s production and life. This article will introduce the manufacturing process and quality inspection of hardware tool forgings in detail, in order to help readers better understand this field.
First, the manufacturing process of metal tools forgings
Selection of raw materials
The first step in manufacturing metal tool forgings is to choose the right raw materials. The quality of raw materials directly affects the quality of forgings and production costs. When selecting raw materials, it is necessary to consider the chemical composition, mechanical properties, cost and other factors of the material. Under normal circumstances, metal materials commonly used in metal tool forgings include carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless steel and titanium alloy.
Processing technology
After the raw materials are selected, the next step is the processing process. The processing process includes multiple steps, such as cutting, heating, forging, cooling, etc. These steps have a crucial impact on the quality and production efficiency of forgings.
(1) Cutting: The metal raw materials are straightened and cut for subsequent forging and processing.
(2) Heating: the metal raw material is heated to the temperature required for forging to reduce its hardness and improve plasticity. During the heating process, attention should be paid to controlling the temperature and heating time to prevent the material from overheating and oxidation.
(3) Forging: The heated metal raw materials are forged to form forgings of the desired shape and size. In the forging process, it is necessary to adopt reasonable forging methods and technological parameters to ensure that the forging has high precision and excellent performance.
(4) Cooling: cooling the forgings to prevent excessive deformation and cracking. The cooling speed needs to be controlled during the cooling process to prevent defects such as quenching cracks.
Heat treatment
Heat treatment is one of the important links in the manufacturing process of metal tool forgings. Heat treatment can change the internal structure of the material and improve its mechanical properties and durability. In the heat treatment process, it is necessary to pay attention to the control of heating temperature, holding time, cooling speed and other parameters to ensure that the forging obtains the ideal performance.
- Quality inspection of metal tools forgings
In order to ensure the quality and reliability of metal tool forgings, strict quality testing is required. Quality testing includes the following aspects:
Appearance detection
Appearance inspection is the first step of quality inspection, mainly for visual inspection of the appearance of the forging, such as whether there are cracks, pores, inclusions and other defects. The appearance inspection can be carried out by visual inspection, dyeing, magnetic particle inspection, etc.
Size detection
Dimensional inspection is the process of checking whether the forging size meets the design requirements. Measuring tools such as calipers, micrometers, gauges can be used to measure the length, width, height and other dimensions of the forging. At the same time, it is necessary to pay attention to check the relative relationship between the sizes of each part to prevent large cumulative errors.
Surface quality inspection
Surface quality inspection mainly checks whether there are rough, scratches, peeling and other defects on the surface of the forging. Surface quality can be measured by roughness meter, scanning electron microscope and other instruments. For some important surfaces, hardness testing is also required to ensure that they have sufficient hardness and wear resistance.
Physical and chemical property test
Physical and chemical properties testing is the process of testing the chemical composition and mechanical properties of forging materials. It can be tested by spectral analyzer, hardness tester, tensile testing machine and other equipment. The test results of these devices can reflect the inherent quality and performance of the material, so as to ensure that the forging has good stability and reliability in the long-term use of the process.
Iii. Case analysis
In the actual production process, hardware tool forging manufacturing and testing may encounter various problems. The following is a practical case: a batch of wrenches in the process of customer use appeared fracture phenomenon, need to conduct cause analysis and solution discussion.
After the appearance inspection and size inspection, it is found that there are problems of size deviation and surface roughness of the broken wrench. The physical and chemical properties of this batch of wrenches were further tested, and it was found that the material hardness of this batch of wrenches was low, which led to their failure to withstand large loads during use.
After in-depth investigation and analysis, it is found that there are insufficient heating time and insufficient forging in the manufacturing process of this batch of wrenches, which leads to its mechanical properties failing to meet the design requirements. In order to solve this problem, the following measures can be taken:
(1) Strictly control the quality of raw materials and select metal materials that meet the requirements;
(2) Strengthen the control of the processing technology to ensure that the process parameters of each step meet the requirements;
(3) For important surfaces and bearing parts, fine processing and heat treatment are needed to improve their hardness and wear resistance;
(4) Strengthen the quality inspection, and conduct a comprehensive test on each batch of products to ensure its quality and reliability.
Iv. Summary
This paper introduces the manufacturing process and quality inspection of metal tool forgings, including the selection of raw materials, processing technology, heat treatment, appearance, size, surface quality and physical and chemical properties. Through the analysis of practical cases, the importance of problems and solutions in manufacturing process and the necessity of quality inspection are emphasized. By continuously improving the level of manufacturing and testing, we can produce high quality hardware tool forgings for people
