TPT May 2019

AR T I C L E

SMS group

The pipe forging line – a novelty from a single source By Dr Hans Pelster, SMS group GmbH, technology manager, forging plants, and Dr Paul Nieschwitz, SMS group GmbH, sales manager, forging plants

below the optimal forging temperature. Therefore, the pierced block must be inductively reheated in a vertical furnace prior to forging. IAS, a company of SMS group, offers customised solutions. The used block present in the SMX pipe forging line is not forged in one heat, but is inductively reheated. The process sequence selected can be compared with the extrusion of steel pipes. Another special feature of the SMX pipe forging line is mandrel handling. The greater variety in pipe sizes requires a large number of mandrels. In an SMX pipe forging line, the mandrel change and mandrel lubrication are automated. A mandrel manipulator is integrated in the loading manipulator. Here, the mandrel is fixed to a pinlock serving as a quick-change device, enabling fast mandrel change after each pipe forging. The used mandrel is cooled with water and then sprayed with lubricant in a fixture. Afterwards, the mandrel can be reused in the next forging.

The centrepiece of a pipe forging line is the SMX radial forging machine. In addition to standard materials, sophisticated materials such as high-alloyed steels or nickel materials, titanium alloys or even composites made of centrifugal casting can be processed into forged pipes using this technology.

SMX pipe forging line The SMX pipe forging line of SMS group is particularly suitable for customers who want to produce pipes in different sizes and using a variety of grades and to add massive semi- finished products to their product list. Because it is a niche market, with small or medium-sized batch sizes produced, the classic SMX forging lines are better suited to production from an economic viewpoint. The technological difference is in the production of the hollow block. In a conventional SMX forging line the hollows are pierced outside the line in one separate heat on an open-die forming press, or produced by the centrifugal casting method or the ESR process (electro- slag remelting). In contrast, the piercing process in an SMX pipe forging line with subsequent reheating is integrated in the line. A vertical SMS piercing press pierces blocks made of steel or special metal in short cycle times. After piercing, the block loses heat energy, particularly at both ends. The temperature of the block is inhomogeneous and for high-alloyed materials also

Forged pipes 352 x 28mm, ratio of extension 2.6mm, made of UNS N 08028

Control stand

Tool-changing device

Rotary hearth furnace

Run-in roller table

Loading manipulator

Hydraulic radial forging machine

Unloading manipulator

Delivery roller table

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MAY 2019