A quasi-3D method used for increasing the material yield in closed-die forging of a front axle beam

The aim of the work is to increase the material yield in closed-die forging of a front axle beam meant for heavy trucks. The amount of flash obtained in production constituted 35% of the total workpiece weight, which was equal to 115.4 kg. The strategy for improving the material yield was to modify the initial forging workpiece geometry, keeping the pre- and finishing die geometries constant. Recommending new shapes for certain cross-sections of the reducer-rolled billet did this. The goal was reached by using a quasi-3D analysis. Three critical cross-sections that showed close to plane strain conditions during forging were chosen for the analysis. The FE-code Form2D was used. The losses of material in the sections caused by axial material flow were measured from full-scale experiments and added to the optimised cross-sectional areas established from the FE-analysis. Because of advice from industry the initial cross-sections used in the 2D-forging simulations were chosen to be circular. Also the final results, after compensation for the axial material flow are presented as circular cross-sections. Utilising the results from the quasi-3D approach the theoretical material yield was increased by 2.58-7.59% for the cross-sections. Results from this work have facilitated the development of adequately shaped grooves in the reducer rolling mill so that the flash volume obtained in production has been reduced. The investigation was carried out with data from IMATRA KILSTA AB.