Forging Industry Education and Research
Foundation (FIERF), Cleveland Ohio, USA
FIERF was founded in 1961 to fulfill the following tasks:
Education about forging and the forging industry
Research and development on problems facing the forging industry
Dissemination of information
Forging Industry Association (FIA),
Cleveland Ohio, USA
Forging Industry Association, with its headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, is comprised of some 151 North American producers of forged metal components,accounting for about 74% of the custom forging volume produced annually. Forged metal parts are pressed, pounded or rolled into countless configurations, and used for critical applications in the aerospace, automotive, construction, materials handling, ordnance, hand tool, argicultural and industrial equipment industries--to name a few! Seventy firms supplying equipment, materials or technical services to the forging industry are also members of FIA. The Association, with its predecessor organizations, has served the metal forging industry since 1913. You can use this site to:
locate a forging producer to fit your specifications
find a company which provides materials, equipment, services and supplies to the forging industry
learn more about the forging industry and the process
University of Bath, Bath, United
Kingdom
Professor Alan Bramley
Prof. Bramley at the University of Bath is the director of the newly established ForgeNet which is a European supported activity to provide communications among forging companies, national labs and universities within the European Common Market. He has also received funding to support ForgeNetUK which is a similar activity specifically within the United Kingdom. Forging research at Bath includes:
1) A simulation in 3-D for reverse forging (i.e. start with the final shape and predict the best preform to use.)
2) Simulations for die stress analysis on die inserts.
3) Development of guides to industry on the access, use and capabilities of simulation tools.
4) The start of a study on developing ceramic forging dies.
University of Birmingham,
Birmingham, United Kingdom
Prof. M.H. Lorretto, Director IRC in Materials
Prof. Trevor Dean, Professor Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering
The Industrial Research Center (IRC) in Materials for High Performance Applications at the University of Birmingham is in its 10th year. A new Net Shape Center is just starting with initial funding for 3 years. There is a cooperative agreement with the Net Shape Center and the National Forging Centre. This agreement allows the Net Shape Center to perform modeling work on behalf of the National Forging Centre. A £3.1M building has just been constructed for the new center. New equipment of £3.0M is being purchased and will be housed in the new building, including pilot-scale orbital forging equipment and a Gleeble. Forging research at Birmingham includes:
1) Cold forging projects.
2) Production of components with complex geometries via orbital forging.
3) The forging of lightweight, high-strength components.
4) Modeling projects using Abaqus, Forge 2D/3D and Marc in cooperation with the National Forging Centre.
University of Sheffield,
Sheffield, United Kingdom
Prof. C.M. (Mike) Sellars, Director of IMMPETUS
IMMPETUS (Institute for Microstructural and Mechanical Process Engineering: The University of Sheffield) was started about 1 year ago with a £2.75M grant from EPSRC (the UK equivalent to the National Science Foundation in the US) for the initial 5-years of the program. The aim of the institute is ‘To integrate metallurgical, mechanical and thermal considerations in developing soundly based models for process planning and control to achieve target microstructures and product properties within increasingly fine tolerances and greater efficiency.’ Forging research at Sheffield includes:
1) Projects on microstructural evolution during hot deformation.
2) Structure and properties of mill scale in relation to easy removal.
3) Influence of lubricants on friction and heat transfer in hot forging.
Leeds University, Leeds,
United Kingdom
Prof. R.C. Cochrane, British Steel Professor of Metallurgy
The School of Materials at Leeds University has 10 faculty members with 4 oriented toward metallurgy. Prof. Gladman who has retired and who has been very active in the field of microalloyed steels still has some research activities at the school. The activities in ferrous materials are primarily oriented to welding. Current research themes include:
1) Hydrogen cracking in welded steels.
2) Weldability of steels.
3) Studies of copper addition on cementite,
4) Microalloying of high carbon rail steels.
National Physical Lab,
Teddington, United Kingdom
Mr. Malcom S. Loveday
The Centre for Materials Measurement and Technology is one of nine centers at NPL. Much of the work done by the center is test method development. The DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) has also indicated that process-ability should be one of the major thrusts of NPL. They are very active in the measurement of friction during forging and rolling and in the evaluation of high temperature material properties for simulation/modeling applications.
Confederation of British Forgers (CBF),
Birmingham, United Kingdom
Neil Marshall, Director General CBF
The Confederation of British Forgers was a sponsor of a recent international forging meeting in Birmingham. The next meeting will be in 2 to 3 years. This is the industrial trade organization for British forgers.
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This information has been provided by cvantyne@mines.edu. Last updated, November 1998
© 1998, Chester J. Van Tyne