Sheffield Forgemasters has signed a GBP 2.5 million order to supply crucial castings for one of the world's largest counter blow hammer presses.
The contract, with American forging company ATI Ladish Forging, is the fourth order placed with Forgemasters and brings the sales total with the client to almost GBP 5 million.
Weighing in at 165 and 155 tonnes respectively, the upper and lower rams for ATI Ladish Forgings' number 85 press will be delivered to Milwaukee’s Cudahy Forging plant, which services the aerospace industry with titanium forgings.
ATI Ladish works with Forgemasters for the company’s technical expertise in this field and to continue a close working relationship developed between the two companies.
Mr Michael Holloway, senior sales manager at Sheffield Forgemasters, said that "I have been working with ATI Ladish for three years on the detail of this contract and through our great partnership, consider them one of our best clients. The new order is the fourth in a series of contracts for cast forging hammer components, with previous components valued at GBP 2.4 million."
He added that "The size of this latest batch of castings requires them to be finish machined in a vertical boring machine which is capable of operating up to five and a half meters in height. Sheffield Forgemasters has the only facilities in the UK with the physical capacity to machine finish the components, following a ten million pound investment in our new North Machine Shop. In addition, Forgemasters' foundry is also the only one in Europe which can produce castings of this size and weight."
Forgemasters will conduct two pours to create the castings, requiring four ladles of molten steel for each, weighing in at 380 tonnes for the upper ram and 360 tonnes for the lower ram. Counter blow presses operate two hammers, or rams, which work in opposition to deliver huge forces required for specialist forgings.
The castings will form the main rams which drive the counter blow hammer faces together and will measure 4.8 meters in height x 3.3 meters wide x 4.0 meters deep for the upper ram and 3.5 meters in height x 3.3 meters wide x 3.0 meters deep for the lower ram. The rams for the number 85 press will deliver 125,000Mkg of forging pressure once in operation.
Forgemasters will burnish the main diameter of the upper casting with a specially designed tool. The tool's roller is applied to the diameter of the piece under pressure. This will consolidate the journal surface to enable it to run freely along bearings. The contract is due to complete for dispatch to the US in October 2012.
ATI Ladish Forging supplies highly engineered forgings, primarily to the aerospace industry and specializes in large forgings, in standard and complex shapes.
