MM 223 Manufacturing Process

MM223 Manufacturing Process

Assignment one
Manufacturing processes of a Claw Hammer

Group Name: Mechanical Magicians

Members:
 Dipanshil Charan (s11160052)
 Prashant Chand (s11146703)
 John Chief (s11158588)
 Thomas Nafaere (s11119629)
 Shivam Chand (s11145570)
 Peniasi Toganivalu (s11162033)

Page 1
MM 223 Manufacturing Process

CLAW HAMMER WITH RUBBER HANDLE

Literature Review

Hammer is a man handled tool which has a primary function of delivering substantial impact on a small area
of an object. Claw hammer is a type of hammer that is commonly used for two purposes;

1. Driving nails into a work piece

2. The claw portion of the hammer is also used to remove/pull nails from a work piece.

This type of tool is particularly common in carpentry when the main work piece is usually wood. There are
various other types of hammers, which each server different functions depending on their geometry.

Why is the claw hammer design important?

Hammers or any tool for the matter are designed to reduce human effort in doing work. The weight portion
is mainly concentrated in the front end of the hammer. When the user swings the hammer to strike an object,
the combination of weight force and the swinging force which is substantially increased by the weight of the
hammer head itself (centripetal), acts on the object resulting in a large overall striking force.

However, the higher the weight of the hammer, the more difficult it would be to swing it. Therefore, an
appropriate ratio between the hammer head weight and the handle of the hammer is necessary to determine
before the design [1]. A heavier hammer head will provide excellent force, but will be difficult to swing as
well as keeping the strike accurate over period of time. A lighter head will be a lot easier to swing and hence
reduces human fatigue, and will be comparatively easier to maintain the striking accuracy. The disadvantage
of having a fairly light hammer head is that it will require a number of blowing strikes on the object to
produce the desired effect i.e. the striking force is low compared to the striking force of the heavier hammer
head [2].

Types of striking faces

The striking surface of the hammer head is called the face. The shape/geometry of the head can either be;
 Flat (plain face)
 Convex surface (bell face): bell-faced hammer is less likely to bend a nail if the nail is struck at an
angle.
 Checkered face: crosshatched grooves are cut into the surface of the face which prevents the hammer
from glancing the nail head.
The surface of the head around the face is known as poll. The poll is linked to the main section of the head
via a slightly tapered neck [2]. The opening in the head where the handle is fitted is known as the hammer
eye. The side of the head beside the eye is referred to as the cheek. The other end of the head has claws.

Page 2
MM 223 Manufacturing Process

Types of Claw Hammers

The step of designing a manufacturing process of a claw hammer is to determine the claw type. The crown
portion/ hammer head is same for every type of claw hammer. The different type of claw hammers;
characterized by the claw type, include: [2]

 Curved Claw Hammer: The curved claw hammer has a two-sided hammer head. The face end
is used to force a nail to penetrate a surface and the claw end is used to extract embedded nails.
The Curved claw hammer head weighs approximately at 230 to 460 grams. The face side of the
head has slight curve which helps minimize the damage done to or marring the surface you are
nailing. The heavier the hammer, the more force that can be applied on the nail head.

 Straight Claw Hammer: The straight claw or Rip claw is commonly used when dismantling
items (workpiece). The straight claw is able to wedge between materials like ply boards to take
them apart without the aid of another tool. Rip claw weigh considerably more than curved claw
hammers, at approximately 570 to 920 grams. The hammer tends to leave indentations in the
wood or other surfaces being nailed.

 Framing Hammer: The framing hammers are similar to straight claws in terms of size. The
hammer heads typically weigh from 567 to 907 grams for steel heads, and 340 to 454 grams for
titanium heads. Commonly used in carpentry work and dismantling items.

Figure 1 Schematic of a curved claw hammer [3]

INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING PROCESS

The general overview of a standard hammer manufacturing process:

Forming of head
The assembling procedures are limited to the design and availability of processing equipment to the
manufacturer. Below is the overview of the processes involved in the manufacturing of a claw hammer [3].

Page 3
MM 223 Manufacturing Process

Procedure

Smooth polishing of the face, poll, claws and cheeks are then conducted to evacuates the paint in those
particular areas. As a component of this process, the angular space of the head claw is then smoothen using
an abrasive disc.

Forming of Handle
There are generally two types of hammer handles;

Handle and hammer head are connected (one piece): This form is more commonly used where the
hammer head and handle is connected i.e. forged as a single part. The steel bars are molded in the entire
hammer shape including the handle. The handle end is then placed in a mold which will be filled with
molten rubber silicon. The rubber silicone coats a portion of the hammer handle and the result is a hammer
with a rubber handle.

Steel core handle (head and handle are two separate piece): Extrusion is used in forming steel core handle.
The steel core for the handle is made by first heating a circular rod of steel to its malleable state and then
driving it through a die that has the required cross-sectional shape. Assembly: The handle is then fitted up
the adze eye of the head. Liquid epoxy is then poured through the hole on the top of the head to bond and
hold the handle in place. A hollow die is then used to mold a rubber grip to the bottom of the handle.

FORGING PROCESS

Forging is a manufacturing process which involves the shaping of metal/material using localized
compressive forces [5]. The material being forged remains at a solid state however the high temperature
makes the material softer and hence more susceptible to deformation. Hot forging is technique that is used in
the manufacturing of hammer heads; including the handle in some cases. There are two forms of hot forging:

 Open flame touches

 High-power electrical induction coil
An open flamed or electrical device is used for high-temperature heating to allow easy drop forging. Steel
bar of a particular dimension is heated up to about (1200-1300° C) and is sent for forging [5].

Page 4
MM 223 Manufacturing Process

Energy input:
Q=mc ∆ T (1)
Where; m is the mass, c is the specific heat capacity of the material, and ∆T is the temperature change [6].

Table 1 Alloys and its corresponding forging temperature ranges

Forging temperatures are important parameters that need to be considered in the process. Extremely high
heating temperatures leads to oxidation of metals and lower temperature lead to strain hardening and crack.
Hence depending on the material/metal, the heating should be optimum and uniform.

After being heated in a furnace, the steel is soft, vulnerable and can be easily deformed in the desired shape.
The steel bars are cut into shorter sections, called blanks. The blanks are then placed between a die forging
cavity which are molded in the desired shape (e.g. hammer). Drop forging is initiated, where an overhead
forging hammer drops down multiple times on the steel bar, deforming it into the mold shape. The two types
of forging are;

i. Open die forging- the metal is placed between dies that does not enclose the metal entirely
ii. Closed die forging- (die forging) utilizing high pressure, metal is compressed to fill an enclosed die.
In drop forging, the bottom die is held stationary and top die is used as a ramming hammer. The process is
continued until the steel bar blanks shapes identically to the mold.

Figure 2 Closed die forging

The specimen is forged (hammered) between two-piece hollow metal die (permanent forging steel die). The
forging takes place in between a stationary part and the moving part (dropping) as shown in Figure 2.

Page 5
MM 223 Manufacturing Process

Table 2: The velocity of different types of ramming hammers

The impact with which the forging hammer hits the workpiece is a function of the speed of the forging
hammer. The rammer speed and the force on the work piece have a directly proportional relationship. The
power input depends on the speed of rammer and the material properties i.e. density and strength of the
material.

TRIMMING PRESS

A hydraulically or mechanically operated press is used for trimming the excess portions of the parts
produced by die casting and drop forging. Excess metal in cavity flashes out at the parting plane of die
casting mold due to the high pressure created by the ramming hammer. The excess metal that escapes the
cavity is called flash. Trimming is used to cut off the excess metal(flash) from the product that it left after
the forging/casting process. The trim cuts the flash from the part/product accurately and consistently, by
using a stencil die that is accurately cut in a shape similar to the one imprinted on blanking die [8]. The
punching press also works on the same principle is shown in table 2.

ABRASIVE GRINDING

Shot/sand blasting: These machines are used to for surface cleaning after the drop forging process. The work
piece in large quantity is placed in a sand or a shot blasting equipment for removing oxidized layers and any
other sorts of uneven surfaces. There are various sorts of blasting machines around such as car bottom type,
squirrel cage type turntable, drum table and many more. This process does not only clear the work piece
surface, bit also improves the mechanical properties such as hardness.

Another method is where the steel claw hammer is taken for abrasive machining using a bench grinder, for
perfecting the shape and surface finishing on the product. Super abrasives grinding wheels is used for the
bench grinder with grains of cubic boron nitride. The grit number may range 500 to 600 to for very fine
surface finish for the claw hammer [9].

Milling machine: If the head surface is to be crosshatched, a waffle bit is used to produce the rough surface.
The head of the hammer is often chamfered as shown in figure 1. The head of the hammer is introduced to
impacting forces when it is being used, if the head has sharp corners, the head is more prone to
cracking/breaking. Because the vibration with each strike on the hammer is so high, the stress points are
likely to concentrate on the hammer heads surface. The head is chamfered when prevents any cracking to
occur. It also reduces any stress concentrations.

Page 6
MM 223 Manufacturing Process

Chamfering: removes the burrs and sharp edges, and thus makes the handling safe. Chamfering can
be done by a form tool having angle equal to chamfer which is generally kept at 45 degrees. Chamfering
tools can either be a lathe or a simple grinder. In the industry, grinders are used to chamfer the hammer
head. First a coarse grid is used to remove the material and give it a chamfered face. Then a fine grid is used
to smoothen out the surface.

RUBBER HANDLE MOLD

The handle of the hammer (head and handle are one piece) is placed in the permanent die steel mold. The
molds cavity pattern is such that it places the steel handle in the center and allows molten rubber to run and
completely surround the handle only.

The die steel mold is made of steel that is able to withstand the high temperature of the molten viscous
rubber where cracking.

Handle Manufacturing Process;

 The silicone rubber is heated to its melting point.

 Once the mold is created, it is poured into the cavity of the handle.
 The cavity is left to be hardened.
 Once the handle is made it is further worked on to get the final product.
 The handle is machined to remove the unwanted edges. The machine used is the fine grid grinder
(more than 1000 grid).

HEAT TREATMENT

Heat treatment process involves consecutive heating and cooling, to enhance the mechanical properties of
metals. In manufacturing a claw hammer, the head of the hammer must be heat treated after forging to
increase its performance.

Some examples of heat treatment processes include annealing, normalizing, tempering etc. For
manufacturing a claw hammer, hardening treatment is commonly used after forging and trimming has been
completed. Hardening procedure involves heating the steel and keeping it at an appropriate temperature for a
while to ensure the microstructure is completely austenite, then rapidly quenching it in water. This changes
the micro grain structure of the metal and hence enhancing its preexisting properties [4].

MATERIAL SELECTION

Claw hammer parameters:

According to the American National Standards Safety Requirements for Nail Hammers (ANSI), the striking
face on the head of the hammer has to have a Rockwell hardness of approx. C60 or higher. The head of the
hammer should not be brittle i.e. the head should not start cracking after a few strikes and it should not
possess any voids. The claw of the hammer must also possess a Rockwell hardness of around C40 to C60 or
higher. The claws should not be very thin and sharp as it would be prone to wear i.e. the tips will easily
breakoff. It should however be thin enough to slide under the nail head and strong enough to withstand the
stress and pull the nail out without breaking. Typically, the V-slot in the claw hammer should have a length
of approx. 30-40mm and width of approx. 3-5mm depending on the size of hammer.

Page 7
MM 223 Manufacturing Process

Hammer head material:

The properties of the material, its processing capabilities, the processing equipment availability and the cost
of manufacturing are all influencing factors of the overall manufacturing process. The material selection of a
hammer goes hand in hand on the type of hammer that is being manufactured. Certain hammers have the
heads made up of copper, brass, Babbitt metal and other materials [13]. In every case, the hammer has to be
made of a material which has relatively higher strength than the work piece (e.g. nail).

The material hammers are made up of should possess high strength and hardness and should be heat
treatable to enhance its existing qualities. Another criterion is that it should be formable; hammers
manufactured using forging and die cast molds and hence formability is a desired quality.

The most common type of material used for hammers is high carbon steel (06-0.99% C & 0.3-0.9%
manganese) mainly due to its high strength properties. High carbon steels exhibit high strength and hardness
and respond well to heat treatments. It also has high toughness and excellent formability, therefore making it
suitable for manufacturing hammers [10].

Table 3: High Carbon steel properties

Rubber Handle Manufacturing

Silicone Rubber is most commonly used in the manufacturing of the hammer handles for claw hammer.
Silicone rubber is a polymer composed of silicon combined with carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Materials
made with this synthetic rubber are extremely resistant to heat and cold, being able to withstand
temperatures ranging from -80F to 400F. During manufacturing, heat is required to vulcanize (cure) the
silicone into its rubber-like form [12].

Melting point of silicone rubber: Silicone rubber can be heated up to 300 degrees for it to melt and lead in
to the formation of mold.

Advantages of rubber Handles;

 It is able to withstand both high and low temperatures.

 Does not absorb water.
 Reduces shock and it resists opposing forces that may affect the user.
 Has a firm grip.
 Gives a good appearance to the look of the hammer
Page 8
MM 223 Manufacturing Process

Reference

[1] Wayne, J., 2018. How are Hammers Made?. Online, https://bestofmachinery.com/how-are-hammers-
made/

[2] Sonalec, J., 2017. The Parts of a Hammer- An In-Depth Look. Online, https://toughasstools.com/the-
parts-of-a-hammer-an-in-depth-look/

[3] Zinn, S., 2018. Multi-Frequency, Differential-Quench Induction Hardening of Hammers. Online,
http://www.stanleyzinn.com/induction-heating/hammer-hardening.html

[4] Manufacturing Process of Claw Hammer. Online, http://www.madehow.com/Volume-4/Hammer.html

[5] Greger, M., 2014. Forging. Online, http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2017/ph241/jones-

c2/docs/gregor.pdf

[6] Gillespie, C., 2018. How to Calculate the Amount of Heat Released. Online,
https://sciencing.com/calculate-amount-heat-released-8219426.html

[7] “Claw Hammer”, 2018, Tool bank Express. Accessed on: Aug. 17, 2019. [Online]. Available:
https://www.toolbank.com/0/c/C3109

[8] A. K. Elshennawy, G. S., Weheba, Manufacturing Processes & Materials, 5th ed. U.S: Society of
Manufacturing Engineers, 2015, pp. 287-296. Accessed on: Aug 19, 2019. [Online].
Available:https://books.google.com.fj/books?
id=c1TTCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA286&lpg=PA286&dq=trimming+press+operation&source=bl&ots=JoCg34g
o-
y&sig=ACfU3U31LRCvhHCdY5j5C6Hjho6mgXrgIQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiDvYqOxJrkAhWXf
isKHTN3Al44FBDoATAJegQICRAB#v=onepage&q&f=false

[9] “Metallographic Abrasive Machining”, 2019, Pace Technologies. Accessed on: Aug. 20, 2019. [Online].
Available: https://www.metallographic.com/MetallographicTechnical/Metallography-Technical-Abrasive-
Grinding.htm

[10] R. Ananthanarayanan, Class lecture, Topic: “Cast Iron and Steel”, MM212: Metallurgy and Material
Science, School of Physics and Engineering, University of the South Pacific, Aug., 19 2019.

[11] “Heat Treatment”, 2016, ElectroHeat. Accessed on Aug.20, 2019. [Online]. Available:
https://www.electroheat.com/heat-treatment/

[12] R. J. Schaefar, “MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF RUBBER,” in Harris’ Shock and Vibration book.
Michigan, U. S: McGraw-Hill, 2002, ch 33, pp. 1- 17. Accessed on Aug, 18, 2019. [Online]. Available:
https://www.mtec.or.th/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/mechanical-properties_rubber.pdf

[13] R. Jain, Selection of Machinery on basis of Material, Forging Process, Jul. 2015. Accessed on: Aug, 18,
2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.forging-process.com/comparison-selection-machinery-metal-type/

[14] Salaman, R.A. Dictionary of Tools.  Charles Scribner's Sons, 1975, Retrieve: August 22,
2019, http://www.madehow.com/Volume-4/Hammer.html#ixzz5xULBnI7q

Page 9
MM 223 Manufacturing Process

[15] Capotosto, Rosario. "Hammer Basics." Popular Mechanics (October 1996): 104-107

Retrieve: August 18, 2019.

[16] Vila, Bob. This Old House Guide to Building and Remodeling Materials. Warner Books, Inc., 1986,
Retrieve: August 24, 2019, http://www.stanleytools.com .

Page 10