Forging process characteristics of hot forged aluminum alloy
Aluminum alloy has become the core material for key load-bearing components in aerospace, high-end equipment, new energy vehicles, and other fields due to its low density, high specific strength, and excellent comprehensive performance. The hot forging process of aluminum alloy gives aluminum alloy hot forgings excellent mechanical properties and complex structural forming ability by precisely regulating the temperature field, stress field, and flow field, and the in-depth fusion of its process characteristics and engineering applications is leading the change of lightweight in modern industry.
Guangdong XPF Die Forging & Forging Co., Ltd: Leading the Innovation of Hot Forging Aluminum Alloy Process, Empowering the Future of High-end Manufacturing and Lightweight
As a leading enterprise in China’s die forging industry, Guangdong XPF Die Forging & Forging Co., Ltd. has plowed into the field of hot forging aluminum alloy for 20 years. Relying on the in-depth understanding of the characteristics of the aluminum alloy material and the continuous innovation of the process technology, we have provided the whole chain of solutions of “material – process – equipment – testing” for the aerospace, new energy automobile, power energy and other high-end manufacturing fields. We provide “Material – Process – Equipment – Inspection” solutions for high-end manufacturing fields such as aerospace, new vehicles, and power energy. With the core of “precise forming and excellent performance”, we transform the technical difficulties of aluminum alloy hot forging into customer value and promote the large-scale application of “replacing steel with aluminum” in key load-bearing components.
XPF’s core process advantages: decoding the technical code of aluminum alloy hot forging
1. Narrow temperature range accurate temperature control technology, breaking through the limit of the deformation window.
XPF is equipped with intelligent temperature-controlled heating furnace group (temperature control accuracy ±3℃) and mold preheating system (maximum preheating 450℃), which can realize heating of blanks to the upper-temperature limit (error ≤±5℃) for the narrow temperature range of 350~450℃ for the 7-series high-strength alloys (e.g., 7055, 7075) and extend the adequate deformation time by 40% through the multi-fire segmented forging process (single-fire operation time ≤90 seconds), ensuring that the adequate deformation time of complex structure forgings can be extended by 40%, which is also a good way to ensure that the deformation window of complex structure forgings is not limited. 40%, to ensure the organization’s uniformity of complex structure forgings.
Case: The 7055 aluminum alloy landing gear pivot customized for an aviation customer has a tensile strength of 650MPa and a fatigue life of 30% higher than the industry standard through precise temperature control and graded forging.
2. Low-rate and smooth deformation process, escorting high-reliability molding.
The company introduces 2000-5000 tons servo-hydraulic presses (strain rate ≤ 0.05/s) with self-developed compression stress billet-opening molds to realize low-speed and smooth deformation in the whole process from ingot to finished product:
Billet opening process: Adopt extrusion – upsetting compound process to break the cast dendritic organization and increase the plasticity of billet by 25%;
Die forging process: Optimize the deformation path through Deform-3D simulation, and control the deformation amount of a single step by graded loading ≤ 30%, and the crack incidence rate is less than 0.3%.
Advantage of equipment: the first forging production line in China equipped with real-time temperature measurement by an infrared thermal camera, which dynamically monitors the change of surface temperature of forgings (accuracy ±2℃) to avoid the risk of over-burning.
3. Interface behavior control technology to overcome the problems of mold filling and sticking.
XPF Die Engineering Center independently develops “Die Design – Coating Treatment – Lubrication Process” trinity solution:
Die Optimization: Adopting high strength H13 die steel (hardness HRC48-52), increasing the radius of die cavity rounding to 10-15mm, optimizing the slope of die pulling to 8-12°, and increasing the filling rate of complex structure forgings to 98%;
Coating technology: applying PVD/TiN coating (film thickness of 3-5μm) and nano graphite-based lubrication film (temperature resistance of 500℃), the coefficient of friction is reduced to 0.12, the die life is extended by 50%, and the surface roughness of aluminum alloy hot forgings is controlled at Ra≤1.6μm.
Typical application: 6061 aluminum alloy subframe for a new energy vehicle manufacturer, realizing 12 complex cavities in one forming, the material utilization rate of 78%, weight reduction of 35% compared with the traditional process.
4. Full-process crack control system to ensure zero-defect delivery
The company has established an industry-leading quality control center, equippa ed with fluorescence penetration inspection line (minimum crack detection 0.1mm), ultrasonic flaw detector (detection sensitivity Φ1.2mm), and real-time monitoring system of forging force-displacement (load fluctuation warning ±10%):
Pre-treatment: billet by uniform annealing (holding time ≥ 8 hours) to eliminate coarse crystal rings and composition segregation;
Post-treatment: rapid quenching after forging (water temperature 420 ± 10 ℃), grain size control within 30 μm (grain size ≥ 6), fatigue resistance through 10 ^ 7 cycle test.
Typical application areas of XPF: empowering high-end manufacturing core components
1. Aerospace: helping domestic airplanes take off
We provide 2-series/7-series aluminum alloy hot forgings for C919, ARJ21, and other domestic airliners, covering key load-bearing parts such as wing ribs, fuselage frames, engine mounts and so on:
2195 Aluminum-lithium alloy wing ribs: density is 8% lower than traditional aluminum alloy, stiffness is 15% higher, which contributes to 12% weight reduction of the whole aircraft;
7075-T651 undercarriage joints: formed by multi-directional die forging in a 3000-ton hydraulic press, with a tensile strength of 580MPa, and passed the aviation-grade salt spray corrosion test (1,000 hours without rust).
2. New Energy Vehicles: Driving the revolution of lightweight technology
We provide in-depth services to Tesla, BYD, ,Azera and other automobile enterprises, and provide integrated chassis hot forgings solutions:
Battery pack bracket (6061-T6): adopting closed die forging + aging treatment, the load capacity reaches 60kN, protection grade IP68, helping to increase the range of a certain model by 20%;
Motor shell (A356 aluminum alloy): through the extrusion casting process to achieve “forging and casting integration”, the heat dissipation efficiency is 30% higher than traditional castings, and it supports the stable operation of 800V high-pressure platform.
3. Power energy: support green energy equipment upgrading
Provide large megawatt wind power transmission parts for Goldwind, V,estas and other enterprises:
16MW wind turbine main shaft (7075-T6): through 5000 tons free forging press upsetting – drawing process (forging ratio 6:1), internal defect rate <0.1%, fatigue life exceeding 2.5 million cycles;
Photovoltaic bracket joints (6063 aluminum alloy): hot forging + anodized treatment, salt spray corrosion resistance up to 1500 hours, suitable for coastal high humidity environment.
XPF’s Value Commitment: Define die forging quality with technological innovation
Customized service: from material selection (covering 30+ grades such as 2024, 6061, 7055, aluminum-lithium alloys, etc.) to process design, we provide full-process technical cooperation;
Delivery capacity: annual production capacity of 8,000 tons of various types of aluminum alloy hot forgings, supporting single piece small batch (starting from 50 pieces) to large-scale mass production (monthly production of 100,000 pieces);
Green Manufacturing: Introducing medium-frequency induction heating technology (energy consumption reduced by 40%) and water-based lubrication process (VOC emission reduced by 60%), practicing sustainable manufacturing under the “dual-carbon” goal.
Conclusion: XPF — Letting aluminum alloy forgings unleash the ultimate potential of materials
At the intersection of “Manufacturing Power” and “Dual Carbon” strategy, Guangdong XPF Die Forging & Forging Co., Ltd. takes technical deep cultivation as the pen and customer demand as the ink to write the manufacturing legend of “Lightweight, High Strength, High Reliability” in the field of aluminum alloy hot forging. “ in the field of aluminum alloy hot forging. We always believe that every precision forging piece is a combination of technology and art, and every technological breakthrough is the cornerstone to promote the progress of the industry.