Forging Processing Quality Identification Method: 4 Steps to Accurately Judge Superiority from Appearance to Performance

Forging Processing Quality Identification Method: 4 Steps to Accurately Judge Superiority from Appearance to Performance

Forging quality directly determines the reliability and service life of end equipment. Especially in high-end fields such as aerospace and automotive, the requirements for forging quality are extremely strict. Accurately identifying the superiority of forgings requires considering both appearance integrity and internal performance, to avoid potential safety hazards caused by surface defects or substandard mechanical properties. This article sorts out 4 core identification methods, progressing from appearance to performance, to help quickly and accurately judge the quality of forging processing.

Step 1: Intuitive appearance inspection to check for surface defects. Adopt visual inspection combined with a magnifying glass to focus on checking whether there are cracks, folds, residual scale and other defects on the forging surface. High-quality forgings have a flat and smooth surface, without obvious unevenness, scratches or disordered metal flow lines; if linear cracks, local folded protrusions or scale embedding marks are found, attention should be paid to the damage to material continuity, and such forgings are strictly prohibited from being put into use. At the same time, verify the dimensional accuracy, measure key dimensions with calipers and micrometers to ensure that the deviation meets the design tolerance requirements.

Step 2: Non-destructive testing to detect internal hazards. For internal defects that cannot be detected by appearance, non-destructive methods such as ultrasonic testing or magnetic particle testing are required. Ultrasonic testing can accurately identify internal defects of forgings such as pores, shrinkage cavities and inclusions. High-quality forgings should have no obvious reflection signals inside and uniform and dense material; magnetic particle testing is suitable for ferromagnetic forgings and can effectively detect microcracks on the surface and near-surface. No obvious magnetic particle accumulation during testing indicates qualification, avoiding internal defects affecting bearing capacity.

Step 3: Mechanical property testing to verify core indicators. Test the mechanical properties of forgings through tensile tests, impact tests, etc., focusing on core indicators such as tensile strength, yield strength and impact toughness. Different working conditions correspond to different performance requirements for forgings. For example, construction machinery forgings need to have high tensile strength (≥800MPa), and forgings used in low-temperature environments need to ensure excellent impact toughness; the test results must meet the corresponding material standards, and substandard performance will directly affect the safety of forgings in use.

Step 4: Metallographic analysis to confirm microcosmic quality. Conduct metallographic analysis when necessary to observe the microstructural morphology of forgings. The microstructure of high-quality forgings should be uniform and fine, without abnormal structures such as coarse grains and Widmanstatten structure; if there are problems such as uneven grains, structural segregation or excessive thickness of the oxidation and decarburization layer, it indicates that there are problems in the forging process or heat treatment link, which will lead to fluctuations in forging performance, and further evaluation is required to determine whether it meets the use requirements.