Step 1) Slug Cutting — The raw material size is determined by the Technical Staff and slugs are cut to length.
Step 2) Heat — There are two methods of heating slugs. Induction heating, which uses electricity through a coil that is sized very closely to the diameter of the slug being heated, and gas heating where parts are placed on a belt and fed through a furnace at a speed allowing the slugs absorb heat. In both cases the temperature of the material prior to forge is verified by an optical pyrometer which ensures your part is heated properly. (View Slug Heating video to the right.) Step 3) Forge — A heated slug is placed onto the lower die and the press is actuated. The die halves close together to force material into the top and bottom die. The forging is then ejected from the tooling using ejector pins which push against the flash outside of the die cavity and eject the part. (View Forge video to the right.) Step 4) Trimming — Excess material is clipped off of the forging in a trim press. A punch will force the part through a die with a sharp edge around the entire profile of the part. Clippings are returned for recycling while the part is transferred to the finishing step. (View Trimming video to the right.) Step 5) Finishing — The different surface finishes available are blasted finish, vibratory finish, and in the case of aluminum forging, an etched finish to remove oxides from the surface.