Normally work relating to iron is known as blacksmithy. Forging means to give the desired shape to any job of metal by heating or cooling it and then striking it either with an ordinary hammer or by using any special machine meant for this purpose.
Small forging jobs can be done by striking it with a hammer but heavy jobs for forging are done only by machines. Forging can be done in three different ways.
Types of Forging Methods:
Following are the three types of forging methods:
- Hand forging
- Machine forging
- Drop forging
1 Hand Forging
To give shape to a job by striking it with a hammer is called hand forging or smithing.
2 Machine Forging
To give the desired shape to a job with the help of a forging machine is called machine forging. Press machine, rolling machine and various kinds of power hammers are included in this category.
3 Drop Forging
For jobs of the same size and similar shape, drop forging process is used. The top dye is raised to adequate height through the mechanical device and then dropped to hit the hot metal kept at the bottom dye. Thus, the hot metal takes the shape of the dye. Wrench and other ordinary things are made through drop forging.
It is not possible to change the shape of metals when they are cold. It is, therefore, necessary to heat the metal in fire. By heating the metal, it becomes soft and acquires the property of plasticity. As such, it can be bent or moulded in any shape.