When an aircraft carrier or submarine is deployed on or beneath the ocean, every one of the million-plus components must perform flawlessly. Failure could jeopardize the mission and put lives at risk.
Due to the safety critical nature of the components, many are produced via forging. Only the forging process can achieve the durability needed to meet the requirements of our Navy and to ensure failure doesn’t happen.
This blog explores how forging is used in defense manufacturing, not just in ships and submarines, but in ground combat vehicles, aircraft, weapons systems, and support equipment. It starts by introducing this forming and property-enhancing process, after which we discuss the properties forging imparts and how those benefit defense materials.
Shaping & Strengthening
Forging is a plastic deformation process. During the impression die forging process a metal billet, bar, or blank is heated in a furnace, and then compressed between two halves of a die to produce the shape needed.
Unlike machining and casting, forging alters the structure of the metal. Pressure from the die causes the grains to align in the direction of maximum strength. Additionally, the resulting dynamic recrystallization reduces grain size, which also contributes to increased strength. The benefits of this for forgings for defense and other safety critical applications include:
- Part strength and toughness can be optimized to match the orientation of the applied loads.
- Resists fatigue and brittle fracture.
- Less porosity, further increasing strength.
- Redistribution of residual stress.
- Increased impact resistance.
- Greater intergranular corrosion-resistance, even with stainless steel.
Naval Uses
Shafts, gears, valves, pump components, and many other parts used in naval applications need great strength and durability, along with good corrosion resistance. This last point is particularly important because saltwater environments tend to be hard on stainless steel.
Forging is ideal for producing parts like these. The process can shape a wide range of hard-to-machine alloys, resulting in tough, fatigue-resistant parts. In addition, the ability of forging to enhance intergranular corrosion resistance makes it an especially useful process for producing components for maritime applications.
Ground Combat Vehicles
Tracked vehicles are marvels of engineering, but the failure of a single track component will leave one vulnerable. That’s why these are almost always produced by forging. Forging raises strength, hardness, and impact resistance while reducing susceptibility to fatigue. Collectively, these characteristics give our armed forces complete confidence in the durability of the components used.
Forgings are used extensively throughout ground vehicles, from brackets and struts to suspension, axle, and steering components. Superior impact resistance ensures they can absorb the shocks experienced while operating over a range of terrain, and the ability to withstand fatigue provides the durability that’s essential.
Aerospace Applications
The forging industry’s ability to produce near-net shape parts supports mass reduction goals while also minimizing secondary machining. The higher tensile strength resulting from forging also means parts can be smaller and sections thinner, further driving down weight.
Another consideration for aerospace parts is corrosion resistance. Forging’s effect on grain structure helps enhance corrosion resistance and increase fatigue resistance, which is why it’s preferred for many military aerospace components.
Weapons Systems
When military personnel are placed into challenging situations, they need complete faith in the weapons systems they are equipped with. Forging is absolutely essential for providing this. The high tensile strength of forged steel components, combined with the process’s precision shaping capabilities, delivers the expected rugged durability while helping minimize weight.
Besides strength, many of the parts used in firearms, artillery, and missile systems need high levels of resistance to heat and corrosion. Again, forging is the right process to achieve this. Forging’s effect on stainless steel and alloy steel increases corrosion resistance while yielding high hardness surfaces with excellent finish.
Support Equipment
Lastly, cranes, loaders, and other logistical equipment used in our armed forces must be engineered for more challenging environments than civilian equipment can expect to see. It may also be used in ways designers never anticipated. Dependable operation dictates that only the strongest, toughest, most impact- and fatigue-resistant components be used.
Forging is the only manufacturing process that’s both practical and economical for such heavy-duty parts. It brings hard-to-machine alloys to near-net shape condition, which minimizes costly machining and raises mechanical properties to otherwise unattainable levels through grain structure modification.
Trenton Forging Is a Trusted Forging Company for the Defense Industry
Trenton Forging has been manufacturing robust forgings for the defense industry since our founding in 1967. We’re proud to be a trusted U.S.-based manufacturer. We specialize in impression die forging and can create symmetrical and asymmetrical forgings from stainless, carbon, alloy, and microalloyed steel. Our resilience, innovation, and industry-leading turnaround times set us apart from our competitors.
In addition to our forging capabilities, we offer other in-house resources, including 3D laser scanning, die welding, and machining.
Visit our website for more resources, or contact us today to learn more about our capabilities.
