Sichuan Liuhe Forging Co., Ltd., based in Jiangyou in the province of Sichuan, China, has placed an order with SMS group to supply a high-speed, 50/55 MN open-die forging press. The press is of the two-column, push-down design and features a table shifter and die shifting unit. The open-die forging press operates with a press force of up to 50 MN and a maximum upsetting force of 55 MN. The press is suited for forging high-quality products with finished dimensions within the close tolerance range of ± 1 millimeters.

Sichuan Liuhe Forging is a specialist manufacturer of forged semi-finished products, reinforcing rings, shafts, parts for turbine blades, and supercritical components for gas turbines made of high-temperature, corrosion-resistant special steel and superalloys. The new press allows Sichuan Liuhe Forging to continue to offer a consistently high level of product quality to its customers in the aerospace industry and to operators of large-scale steam turbines.

“With this investment in the open-die forging press, developed and built by SMS group in Germany, we are raising our quality standards to an even higher level,” says Hong Yuchun, Vice-General Manager of Sichuan Liuhe Forging. “We are also pleased that the enhanced press control system will mean lower production costs for us.”

The order also includes an XFB (X-Forging Box) 650/50 MN, which is a newly developed radial forging tool for open-die forging presses. The XFB transforms the movement of the top tool in the open-die forging press into a radial movement of the four tools in the X-Forging Box. At the same time, the maximum permissible force of 50 MN is evenly distributed among the four tools. The maximum initial pass section is 650 millimeters. The X-Forging Box is capable of forging a wide range of high-quality round products with variable cross-sections. The use of the XFB enables Liuhe Forging to expand its product mix and quickly change between different types of products; no modifications to the tool chamber or to the hydraulic-electrical connections are required to install an XFB.

Commissioning of the 50/55 MN open-die forging press and 650/50 MN X-Forging Box is scheduled for Q4 2019.