Hammer forging is a mechanical metal shaping process in which a workpiece is forcibly compressed into a shape or form by repeated hits of a hammer or mechanical ram. As this process takes place, the metal also increases its strength because the internal grain structure is continually aligned with each hammer impact.
Key Features:
- Repeated Hammer Impacts: Metal is shaped by multiple sequences of high-impact blows, either manually or with a powered hammer.
- Aligned Grain Structures: The internal grains of the metal also align along the shape, which strengthens the metal and increases toughness and fatigue strength specific to the shaped component.
- Designed for High-Strength Parts: Hammer forging is often used to produce components such as crankshafts, connecting rods, hand tools, and many other high-value components where strength is a key design criterion.
Hammer forging is critical to many applications requiring strong, high-performance metal parts. Where the process of hammer forging originally started with the blacksmith over the past century, it has become highly applicable to the automotive, aerospace, defense, and toolmaking industries. Hammer forging allows for precise metal shaping and improves mechanical properties while reducing scrap waste. Depending on the equipment, hammer forging can be done at high temperatures (hot forging) or at room temperature (cold forging). Hammer forging may not develop the type of dimensional accuracy available with press forging but is preferred as a processing method for applications when impact strength is needed.