Reshoring is gaining momentum as a response to shifting global economic conditions, and U.S. forging operations are squarely in the spotlight. Aerospace, defense, transportation, and heavy mobility are leading the charge in this trend, as each of those sectors relies on a steady flow of high-quality forged components.
U.S. tariffs on imports of steel, aluminum, and other metals have raised the cost of those materials, making domestic forging operations more competitive. In addition, federal trade measures are incentivizing companies to source domestically, both to remain compliant with regulations and to reduce the uncertainty that comes with fluctuating tariffs and duties on foreign goods.
The incentive to reshore forging activities also reflects a fast-moving and unpredictable global environment where conflicts and rising tensions are requiring the U.S. to deepen its investment in military ordnance.
Forged components are found in virtually every defense program, from rifle triggers to nuclear submarine drive shafts. Heavy tanks, missiles, armored personnel carriers, shells, and other heavy artillery require forged components.
Forging is also the critical manufacturing process for a multitude of parts, from engine mounts, brackets, beams, and shafts to landing gear cylinders, and struts and wheels in military aircraft and spacecraft.
To understand how forging operations are responding to their expanding need for production equipment, we interviewed
Bill Goodwin, Vice President of Sales with Ajax-CECO-Erie Press, described how forging operations are responding to their expanding need for production equipment. ACE is the largest forging equipment supplier in North America, founded in 1875, and has more than a century of experience in custom designing and building presses and forging machines, including horizontal, vertical, mechanical, hammer, and hydraulic forging presses for various applications.
Q: What options do forgers have to keep up with higher production demands?
A: With these pressures increasing demand, manufacturers are now facing longer lead times for new or customized forging presses and hammers. Fortunately, manufacturers have more than one path forward and investing in brand-new equipment is not the only solution.
Today, many forgers are choosing the option to revitalize idle or underutilized machinery, commissioning complete rebuilds from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs.) This approach allows them to scale-up production far more quickly while new forging equipment is still on order.
Q: How can rebuilding forging machines help manufacturers get up and running more quickly?
A: Rebuilding is often the fastest, most economical means to get worn or mothballed equipment back into production when purchasing new equipment may not be feasible. It entails removing all of a machine’s parts and repairing or replacing them with OEM components, to return them to manufacturer specifications. Recognizing that the high-impact nature of forging takes its toll on parts over time, a rebuild typically includes replacing high-wear items such as bearings, bushings, seals, and liners and inspecting and repairing the frame.
Often more efficient and cost-effective than purchasing new forging equipment, rebuilding is ideal for quickly getting equipment operational again, often in as little as just a few months.
Rebuilding can even be an effective option for older forging equipment, including updates and modifications for new product lines or restoration to original specifications. A rebuild also can increase the production capacity of slow and inefficient equipment.
Manufacturers can choose to contact the OEM to rebuild the equipment or contract with a third-party rebuilder. That choice is significant, given the need for a complete, dependable rebuild that will perform as expected for many years.
Q: Are there any disadvantages to turning to third parties for a rebuild, instead of the OEM?
A: Rebuilders often use a reverse-engineering process to create their parts or have them machined at local CNC shops. Although this approach may work in the short term to get equipment “up and running” it ignores the long-term view. Even rebuilders with experience working on various other types of equipment, such as stamping presses or injection molding machines, may only partially appreciate the forces exerted during the forging operation.
Moreover, critical engineering design data is lost when an independent rebuilder reverse-engineers a part, resulting in substandard part construction and premature wear or component failure. Often, they are rebuilding a machine without truly understanding the original design intent, or the loads that will be placed on the parts and equipment.
Q: What are the advantages to working directly with the forging equipment OEM?
A: The OEM has the original design specifications, critical materials, and clearance specifications to jump on rebuilds and finish the work quickly.
A vast range of information is required for a quality rebuild, such as critical data on high-wear parts, the material grade of the steel, the heat-treating process utilized, and the required clearances used in that forger’s engineering.
When working with the OEM, a rebuild is not limited to restoring the original design capabilities to current standards but also may include significant automation upgrades.
Q: Once a company commits to a rebuild, what are the next steps?
A: A rebuild can be approached in several ways. The forging equipment can be sent to us for rebuilding, we can send repair personnel to the manufacturer’s facility to rebuild equipment on-site, or we can supervise a rebuild by their maintenance staff.
Whichever option a manufacturer selects, revitalizing old and unutilized forging equipment with an OEM can reclaim much-needed capabilities from existing and dormant assets in a timely and cost-effective manner to meet increased demand for domestic forging capacity in the years ahead.
Contact Ajax/CECO/Erie Press for more information, or call 814-455-3941.
About the Author
Jeff Elliott
Jeff Elliott is a Torrance, Calif.-based technical writer. He has researched and written about industrial technologies and issues for the past 20 years.