GFM 412 Rotary Forge

High Performance Alloys, Inc. has installed a GFM 412 rotary forge machine for producing bar stock. This machine is capable of producing bar in the hot or cold worked condition. A lot of the work that is done on the machine is processed at room temperature. Hot processing can also be performed, at temperature, or at a specified temperature.

Rotary forging allows for a wide array of mechanical properties. From annealed, precipitation hardened condition, to cold reduced, and the hot worked-as worked conditions.

The GFM rotary forge uses 4 dies to reduce. This design produces more force in the center of the bar than a 2 die or drawing methods.

	Dies in the fully open position.
	Dies in motion. Rotational speed and feed can be optimized for the type of material processing.
	Dies in the fully closed position.

The length of the stroke from open to close is 1 Inch. With new sets of dies, the equipment can take material from 3" Diameter to 0.5" Diameter with 3 die changes. Die changes occur very quickly, using the modular design of shoes, or holders.

Input Size

3" max. diameter, or a 2-1/8" maximum square bar can be used for starting stock. 36" min length - unless a holding "tang" can be welded on, and later removed. The ability to use small input stock can be utilized to yield the most material possible. We can even accept as extruded bar, and work down to give better grain structure than the extrusion. Cast products have also successfully been reduced on our equipment, as we can closely monitor the progress through the machine.

Output Size

Materials can be reduced to finish at 1/2" diameter. 12' max. length for material to be annealed at HPA. Longer bars produced can be annealed at other facilities, or left in the high strength condition.

36 foot lengths of high strength bar have been produced, even longer rod lengths are possible.

Forging Specifications

Our GFM produces 120 Ton of force per die, 900 times per minute. We can reduce hot stainless up to 1/4" per pass. Titanium can be reduced up to 1/2" per pass. The GFM can adjust the dies in and out up to 1", so our 2" die set will forge a 3"Dia to 2"Dia. This working range on the material can be used in the advantage of the production of small to medium lots. While the material is being annealed for further processing, the dies can be changed rapidly.

Cold working material takes the longest time. Heat input into the material can be closely monitored with an optical pyrometer, to assure the working temperature range is kept within limits.

We are specializing in the small production of barstock to support our needs, and the needs of our customers. Quantities less than 2000 Lbs., and we can produce down to a single bar or length of the material and size that our customers require.

Advantages Include:

• Changing customers material to a desired finished size without expensive turning or grinding away of excess stock on the outside diameter.
• Can process small to medium lots of materials, excellent for prototype, research, and other small quantity requirements.
• We are capable of producing bar lengths over 36 feet in the unannealed condition.
• HPA can move fast to help customers achieve results, and get their material as quick as possible.
• Convert our customers slow moving inventory items into profitable [or useful] sizes, or lengths that can be used for other applications. For instance, "stretch" short bars such as 3"Dia. x 30"Long to a size of 1.5"Dia. x 120"Long, with very little material loss due to pointing, breakage and short furnaces producing unsatisfactory yields.

Hot Worked or Cold Reduced Bar
Key Benefits

• Improve a metals mechanical strength.
• Finer grain structure
• More uniform properties in cold reduced bar at larger diameters
• Cold reduced bar can reach 195 KSI Tensile strength at as early as 2" Diameter

GFM Rotary Forged Product (more info)

Key Benefits

• Produce a size of stock that has run out, or is normally not available. Ideal for short production runs.
• Convert stock that is not moving to a useful size. This is smart use of raw material, rather than scrapping or remelting.
• Can be supplied as: Aged, cold worked, hot rolled as rolled, cold worked "strain hardened" and aged, cold drawn and stress relieved.

Use HPAlloys to produce bar when:

• The project requirement does not warrant "a mill quantity." Our production quantities are normally quite low, allowing production closer to what is actually needed for a project.
• The job does not have 12-18 weeks (or sometimes longer) to wait for delivery. Most projects cannot wait for a break in a 16 week production.
• Due to the high cost of inventory in these grades, shortages often occur - but HPA has a very short turnaround time for production of small quantities.
• A particular size is needed, and the next size available is over half an inch oversize. These Nickel and Cobalt based grades are too expensive to turn into machining scrap.
• Hot worked or strain hardened is a special condition of bar temper in some alloys, that can only be attained though a special production.
• Sizes from 0.062" to 12" Dia available, depending on the material and condition, from HPA stock for immediate shipment!

HPA is capable of producing cold reduced bars to customer's requirements in less than two weeks with our stock materials, and customer's material conversions are also welcome.