What Is Forged Brass & Brass forging?

What is forged brass and where is it commonly used? In a nutshell, forged brass is an alloy of copper and zinc that is heated up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit before it is squeezed into shape in precision-machined closed die presses. This gives the resulting material more tensile strength as compared to its molded counterparts.

Depending on the amounts of copper and zinc used, the resulting alloy can provide varying degrees of electrical and thermal conductivity, corrosion resistance, ductility and machinability. The unique metal combination can also determine its joining and plating characteristics, non-magnetic and non-sparking properties and its polishing and finishing characteristics as well.

Forging is the metal processing process that puts pressure on metal billets, which will occur plastic deformation to achieve a certain mechanical properties and desired shape by the use of forging press machinery. Brass is the most common material in copper casting.

• Brass Forging Aims To :
• Compared with machining, forging brass billets can form various shapes with metal flows, which will save material and time.
• Refine the inner structure to improve its density and mechanical properties.

Brass Forging is usually operated under high temperature, we call this hot forging. Brass can have good plasticity both under room temperature and high temperature, but it has better mobility, which will reduce metal deformation resistance. This will not only increase the forgeability of brass, but also make brass easy to flow and form.

Although brass has good plasticity at room temperature and high temperature, there is a medium temperature brittleness zone, so the forging temperature range is narrow. Temperature control is of vital importance. Taking HPb59-1 for example, the proper forging temperature should be at 680-750℃

The Brass Forging Process

At KANHAIYA BRASS INDUSTRIES uses the application of heat and pressure in the forging and forming processes to shape and enhance metallurgical properties, ensuring every brass component meets or exceeds the design requirements. The forging process ensures durability of safety critical components in the most severe service conditions.

Cutting And Heating Of The Raw Material.

Ordering brass bar stock to the specified alloy composition in one of the many forms and shapes available is the typical first step in the brass forging process. Saw cutting provides blanks, sometimes called slugs, that then enter the forging or forming process. Some grades of brass alloy may be processed at room temperature, but it is most common for slugs to be heated to improve formability. Temperature for hot forging is usually in excess of 1000 degrees F but both the alloy and complexity of the configuration will determine the exact process requirements.

The heating process involves slugs that have been extruded from ingots into rods of the proper length for filling the die cavity. The cut slugs are heated to the forging temperature, which is between 1350°F up to 1700°F (732°C up to 927°C). The heating process is carefully controlled to ensure that the slug is properly prepared for forging. If it is too cold or not hot enough, the final product will be poorly formed and flawed.

Close Die Hot Forging

In the brass forging process, the cut slugs are placed between dies and force is applied as the dies are pressed together. This forces the brass slug to flow, while remaining solid, to fill cavities in the dies creating a new shape configuration and enhancing the material properties.

With hot forging, the billet, ingot, or sheet of copper or brass is heated to a specific temperature such that when compressed by the force of the ram it will fill both halves of the die. The hot forging of brass produces parts with exceptional density and without flaws and with repeatable dimensional accuracy. Similar to cold forging, the surface of hot forged brass has a clean lustrous finish.

Trimming

To assure a complex die cavity is filled, excess material flowing out of the cavity is trapped in a narrow “flash land”. This assures sufficient pressure to force material to fill the cavity but not damaging the die, the forging equipment or the part being forged. The excess material, called “flash” extends around the forging at the “parting line”, the location the dies meet when pressed together. A process called “trimming” removes this flash.

The weight of the copper or brass slug is slightly higher than that which would be required to completely fill the die cavity. The die halves have a gutter that allows the access metal from the die cavity to escape as flash that needs to be trimmed and removed during finishing. Dies are precision engineered such that the amount of flash is limited to avoid any damage to the forged piece.

The thickness of the flash varies in accordance with the pressure from the ram, the quantity of excess metal, the temperature of the slug, and the temperature of the die. Although trimming is the common practice for removing flash, parts with tight outside dimensions require closer trimming using a process known as shaving.

Cleaning Of Brass Forgings Parts

Typically, residual oxides formed during heating or lubricants used during the forging process will discolor the surface of the brass forged component. Discoloration is often removed by vibratory or blast cleaning with abrasives, depending upon the surface finish required. These processes may also remove or smooth any remaining burrs from trimming operations.

Why Brass Forging and Benefits Of Brass Forging

• There are a number of advantages that comes with forging metal alloys such as brass. These include the following:


• Greater material strength. Forged materials have closer grains and are virtually free from porosity. Subjecting the alloy under extreme pressure and temperature produces an extremely tensile material with a very dense grain structure.


• Leak resistance. Due to its extremely dense grain structure, forged brass is virtually leak-free, no matter how thin it may be.


• Higher production rate. As compared to casting, forging provides higher production rates.


• Less amount of scrap. The absence of porosity reduces waste and generates significant material savings.


• Easier to shape. Brass can be extremely ductile at forging temperatures. This makes it easier to form into complex components. By using forging techniques, incorporating intricate details into the design can also be quite easy.


• Superior surface finish. Forged brass components do not require grinding or sanding. As such, it can easily be applied a variety of finishes.


• Lower tool cost. Forging tools are relatively cheaper and have longer machine tool life as compared to casting tools.


• Directional Strength is a direct result of the forging process. In the forging process, controlled deformation results in greater metallurgical soundness and improved mechanical properties of the material. In most cases, forging stock has been pre-worked to remove porosity resulting from the solidification process. This produces directional alignment, or “grain flow”, for important directional properties in strength, ductility, and resistance to impact and fatigue. These properties can be deliberately oriented in directions requiring maximum strength. Grain Flow is defined as fiber-like lines appearing on the polished and etched sections of material that are caused by orientation of the constituents of the metal in the direction of working during forming. Grain flow produced by proper die design can improve the mechanical properties of forgings.

Forged brass products have a wide variety of uses and applications in our everyday lives. You may not be aware of it but you usually encounter them as you go along your normal daily routine.

Why Choose KANHAIYA BRASS INDUSTRIES For Brass Forging?

Why do customers choose KANHAIYA BRASS INDUSTRIES at their supplier for high quality brass forgings? We furnish assistance at every stage in the process of creating excellent custom-designed forgings. Our goal remains complete customer satisfaction.

By selecting our company, you’ll obtain an outstanding selection of brass alloys to use in the creation of forging components meeting your specifications. We support a wide variety of applications.

Additionally, our well-equipped manufacturing facility enables us to draw upon high-precision equipment to assist the creation of forgings meeting customer requirements. We’ll complete projects using modern machinery. We perform rigorous quality control procedures to help maintain part consistency.

We take great pride in supplying high quality customized brass forgings at competitive prices. Looking for a reliable brass forging company in India?
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