Metal rolling is one of the most important manufacturing processes in the modern

world. The large majority of all metal products produced today are subject to metal
rolling at one point in their manufacture. Metal rolling is often the first step in creating
raw metal forms. The ingot or continuous casting is hot rolled into a bloom or a slab,
these are the basic structures for the creation of a wide range of manufactured forms.
Blooms typically have a square cross section of greater than 6x6 inches. Slabs are
rectangular and are usually greater than 10 inches in width and more than 1.5 inches
in thickness. Rolling is most often, (particularly in the case of the conversion of an
ingot or continuous casting), performed hot.

At a rolling mill, blooms and slabs are further rolled down to intermediate parts such
as plate, sheet, strip, coil, billets, bars and rods. Many of these products will be the
starting material for subsequent manufacturing operations such as forging, sheet metal
working, wire drawing, extrusion, and machining. Blooms are often rolled directly
into I beams, H beams, channel beams, and T sections for structural applications.
Rolled bar, of various shapes and special cross sections, is used in the machine
building industry, as well as for construction. Rails, for the production of railroad
track, are rolled directly from blooms. Plates and sheets are rolled from slabs, and are
extremely important in the production of a wide range of manufactured items. Plates
are generally considered to be over 1/4", (6mm), in thickness. Plates are used in heavy
applications like boilers, bridges, nuclear vessels, large machines, tanks, and ships.
Sheet is used for the production of car bodies, buses, train cars, airplane fuselages,
refrigerators, washers, dryers, other household appliances, office equipment,
containers, and beverage cans, to name a few. It is important to understand the
significance of metal rolling in industry today, as well as its integration with other
manufacturing processes.
 Rolling Mills
In metal forming industry, rolls themselves do not function in isolation. In a metal rolling
process, rolls, stands, bearings, housing, motors, and other mechanical equipment are all a
necessary part of the manufacturing operation. The place where all the equipment for metal
rolling manufacture is set up is called a rolling mill. Rolling mills often vary in the type,
number, and position of rolls. Rolling mill arrangements commonly used in manufacturing
industry today include the two high mill, the two high reversing mill, the three high mill,
the four high mill, the cluster mill, and the tandem rolling mill.
 Figure:142

In the two high reversing mill the direction of spin of the rolls can be reversed. This enables
the work to travel through in one direction, then back through in the other direction. A
series of reductions can be made using the same set of rolls, by passing the work back and
forth. Disadvantages of the two high reversing mill include the mechanical requirements and
power to constantly overcome and reverse the angular momentum of the rolls.
 Figure:143

The three high rolling mill utilizes the principle of passing the work back and forth to achieve
a series of reductions. Unlike the two high reversing mill, the three high mill has three rolls that always spin
in the same direction. An elevator mechanism lifts and lowers the work so that it can be passed back and
forth through the rolls.
It is known, in metal rolling practice, that the amount of roll
force is reduced with a smaller radius of the rolls. Smaller
radius rolls, however, deflect easier and must be supported
by other rolls. The four high mill uses this principle with two
smaller work rolls each supported by a larger backing roll.
 The cluster mill, or Sendzimir mill, uses a small work roll
backed up by many other rolls. This extremely rigid setup is
often used for cold rolling high strength material to a very
thin width.
 The tandem rolling mill consists of several stands, that the
work material constantly passes through. At each stand the
thickness of the work strip is reduced a certain amount. The
total reduction between the first and last stand can be
significant. There are technical problems associated with
tandem rolling, caused particularly by the fact that the
speed of the work material increases as it passes through
each stand. In manufacturing practice, various control
systems are used to keep the entire operation
synchronized. Once the particular technical problems and
initial setup investment is overcome, tandem rolling can
provide a great advantage in the cost and productivity of an
industrial metal rolling process. Tandem rolling can be even
 more advantageous when integrated with continuous
casting.

Defects In Metal Rolling

A wide variety of defects are possible in metal rolling manufacture. Surface defects
commonly occur due to impurities in the material, scale, rust, or dirt. Adequate
surface preparation prior to the metal rolling operation can help avoid these. Most
serious internal defects are caused by improper material distribution in the final
product. Defects such as edge cracks, center cracks, and wavy edges, are all common
with this method of metal manufacturing.
Often times a sheet is not defective, it is just not flat enough. In sheet metal industrial
practice, a sheet may be passed through a series of leveling rolls that flex the sheet in
opposite directions to flatten it. Another interesting defect that can occur in flat rolling
is alligatoring, where the work being rolled actually splits in two during the process.
The two parts of the work material travel in opposite directions relative to their
respective rolls.

In shape rolling manufacture, a work piece will often experience different amounts of
reduction in different areas of its cross section. One of the goals of roll pass design is
to properly design a series of reductions in such a way as to mitigate the relative
differences in shape change between areas, in order to avoid material defects.
Improper reductions of the product can cause warping or cracking of the material.
Metal rolling practice is not always the cause of warping or cracking, sometimes
defects in the metal being rolled may be the reason.
Methods to overcome the defects in metal
EDGE CRACKS REMEDY
The preparation and rolling of ingots of metal subject to edge cracking, by providing the edges
with integrated portions of softer metal. If we use a hard material than this problem could be
solved.
ALLIGATORING EFFECT REMEDY
Method of reducing the thickness of a slab of metal in which alligatoring defects tend to occur,
the method comprising the steps of:
determining an amount of reduction in thickness and a thickness value that tend to produce a
longitudinal fracture in one or both ends of the slab
directing a relatively thick slab of metal through one or more rolling mills to incrementally
reduce the thickness of the slab until its thickness approaches said thickness value that tends to
produce a longitudinal fracture in one or both ends of the slab.
MACHINERY USED IN METAL ROLLING
1. Steel rerolling mills
2. Metal processing rolling mills
3. Cold rolling machines

FORGING
Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of a metal through hammering,
pressing, or rolling. These compressive forces are delivered with a hammer or die. Forging is
often categorized according to the temperature at which it is performed—cold, warm, or hot
forging.
A wide range of metals can be forged. Typical metals used in forging include carbon steel,
alloy steel, and stainless steel. Very soft metals such as aluminum, brass, and copper can also
be forged.

Forging Types
There are several forging methods with different capabilities and benefits. The more
commonly used forging methods include the drop forging methods, as well as roll forging.
Drop forging
Drop forging derives its name from the process of dropping a hammer onto the metal to mold it
into the shape of the die. The die refers to the surfaces that come into contact with the metal.
There are two types of drop forging—open-die and closed-die forging. Dies are typically flat in
shape with some having distinctively shaped surfaces for specialized operations.
Open-die forging (smith forging)
Open-die forging is also known as smith forging. A hammer strikes and deforms a metal on a
stationary anvil. In this type of forging, the metal is never completely confined in the dies—
allowing it to flow except for the areas where it is in contact with the dies. It is the operator's
responsibility to orient and position the metal to achieve the desired final shape. Flat dies are
used, with some having specially shaped surfaces for specialized operations. Open-die forging is
suitable for simple and large parts, as well as customized metal components.
Advantages of open-die forging:
 Better fatigue resistance and strength
 Reduces chance of error and/or holes
 Improves microstructure
 Continuous grain flow
 Finer grain size
Closed-die forging (impression-die)
Closed-die forging is very economical for mass production
See how closed-die forging works in this video as near net shapes are produced with minimal
finishing.
Closed-die forging is also known as impression-die forging. The metal is placed in a die and
attached to an anvil. The hammer is dropped onto the metal, causing it to flow and fill the die
cavities. The hammer is timed to come into contact with the metal in quick succession on a
scale of milliseconds. Excess metal is pushed out from the die cavities, resulting in flash. The
flash cools faster than the rest of the material, making it stronger than the metal in the die.
After forging, the flash is removed.
In order for the metal to reach the final stage, it is moved through a series of cavities in a die:
1. Edging impression (also known as fullering or bending)
The first impression used to mold the metal into a rough shape.
2. Blocking cavities
The metal is worked into a shape that more closely resembles the final product. The metal is
shaped with generous bends and fillets.
3. Final impression cavity
Final stage of finishing and detailing the metal into the desired shape.
Advantages of closed-die forging:
 Produces parts up to 25 tons
 Produces near net shapes that require only a small amount of finishing
 Economic for heavy production
Roll forging
Roll forging consists of two cylindrical or semi-cylindrical horizontal rolls that deform a round or
flat bar stock. This works to reduce its thickness and increase its length. This heated bar is
inserted and passed between the two rolls—each containing one or more shaped grooves—and
is progressively shaped as it is rolled through the machine. This process continues until the
desired shape and size is achieved.
Advantages of automatic roll forging:
 Produces little to no material waste
 Creates a favorable grain structure in the metal
 Reduces the cross-sectional area of the metal
 Produces taper ends
Press forging
The slow and continuous force of the forging press shapes metal uniformly.
Press forging uses a slow, continuous pressure or force, instead of the impact used in drop-
hammer forging. The slower ram travel means that the deformation reaches deeper, so that
the entire volume of the metal is uniformly affected. Contrastingly, in drop-hammer forging,
the deformation is often only at the surface level while the metal's interior stays somewhat
undeformed. By controlling the compression rate in press forging, the internal strain can also
be controlled.
Advantages of press forging:
  Economic for heavy production
 Greater accuracy in tolerances within 0.01–0.02 inch
 Dies have less draft allowing for better dimensional accuracy
 Speed, pressure, and travel of the die are automatically controlled
 Process automation is possible
 Capacity of presses range from 500–9000 tons
Upset forging
Upset forging is a manufacturing process that increases the diameter of the metal by
compressing its length. Crank presses, a special high-speed machine, are used in upset forging
processes. Crank presses are typically set on a horizontal plane to improve efficiency and the
quick exchange of metal from one station to the next. Vertical crank presses or a hydraulic
press are also options.
Advantages of upset forging:
 High production rate of up to 4500 parts per hour
 Full automation is possible
 Elimination of the forging draft and flash
 Produces little to no waste
Automatic hot forging
In automatic hot forging, mill-length steel bars are inserted into one end of the forging machine
at room temperature, and hot forged products emerge from the other end. The bar is heated
with high-power induction coils to a temperature ranging from 2190–2370°F in under 60
seconds. The bar is descaled with rollers and shared into blanks. At this point, the metal is
transferred through several forming stages that can be coupled with high-speed cold-forming
operations. Typically, the cold-forming operation is left for the finishing stage. By doing so, the
benefits of cold-working can be reaped while also maintaining the high speed of automatic hot
forging.
Advantages of automatic hot forging:
 High output rate
 Acceptance of low-cost materials
 Minimal labor required to operate machinery
  Produces little to no material waste (material savings between 20–30% over
conventional forging)
Precision forging (net-shape or near-net-shape forging)
Precision forging requires little to no final machining. It is a forging method developed to
minimize the cost and waste associated to post-forging operations. Cost savings are achieved
from the reduction of material and energy, as well as the reduction of machining.
Isothermal forging
Isothermal forging is a forging process where the metal and die are heated to the same
temperature. Adiabatic heating is used—there is no net transfer of mass or thermal exchange
between the system and the external environment. The changes are all due to internal changes
resulting in highly controlled strain rates. Due to the lower heat loss, smaller machines may be
used for this forging process.
1.) Unfilled Section:
As the name implies in this type of defect some of the forging section remain unfilled. This is
due to poor design of die or poor forging technic. This is also due to less raw material or poor
heating. This defect can be removed by proper die design, proper availability of raw material
and proper heating.
2.) Cold Shut:
Cold shut includes small cracks at corners. These defects occur due to improper design of
forging die. It is also due to sharp corner, and excessive chilling in forge product. The fillet
radius of the die should be increase to remove these defects.
3.) Scale Pits:
Scale pits are due to improper cleaning of forged surface. This defect generally associated with
forging in open environment. It is irregular deputations on the surface of forging. It can be
removed by proper cleaning of forged surface.
4.) Die Shift:
Die shift is caused by misalignment of upper die and lower die. When both these dies are not
properly aligned the forged product does not get proper dimensions.
This defect can be removed by proper alignment. It can be done by provide half notch on upper
die and half on lower die so at the time of alignment, both these notches will matched.
5.) Flakes:
These are internal cracks occur due to improper cooling of forge product. When the forge
product cooled quickly, these cracks generally occur which can reduced the strength of forge
product. This defect can be removed by proper cooling.
6.) Improper Grain Growth:
This defect occurs due to improper flow of metal in casting which changes predefine grain
structure of product. It can be removed by proper die design
7.) Incomplete Forging Penetration:
This defect arises due to incomplete forging. it is due to light or rapid hammer blow. This defect
can be removed by proper control on forging press.
8.) Surface Cracking:
Surface cracking occurs due to exercise working on surfaces at low temperature. In this defect,
So many cracks arise on work piece. This defect can be removed by proper control on working
temperature.
9.) Residual Stresses in Forging:
This defect occurs due to improper cooling of forged part. Too much rapid cooling is main
causes of this type of defects. This can be removed by slow cooling of forged part.

These are all main types of forging defects. If you have any query regarding this article, ask by
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TYPES OF EQUIPMENT’S USED FOR FORGING:

1. HAMMER’S
2. SCREW PRESSES
3. HYDRAULIC PRESSES