ForgeTherm

ForgeTherm monitors temperatures on a hot forging die by a FLIR ONE Pro camera.

ForgeTherm is developed for Teledyne FLIR App Development Challenge. ForgeTherm is a Teledyne FLIR Approved Application.

Important: You will need to have a FLIR ONE Pro device for this app to run.

FLIR ONE Pro can detect temperature range -20°C to 400°C, (-4°F to 752°F).

Hot forging is a type of metal forming process where workpiece is deformed at a temperature above recrystallization temperature of the material, e.g. at 1200°C for steel, 550°C for aluminium, and formed between two steel components, named upper and lower forging die, which has the negative shape of the final part. These dies are mounted on a press which is working at a high speed (0.1m/s to 2m/s) and rate (5 – 30 strokes/min).

One of the key factors affecting performance of this production process is the life of the forging die. A forging die needs to be replaced with a new one if die surface is damaged due to wear, plastic deformation or cracks. During die change, press will be stopped and this will lead to reduction of process efficiency and increase of cost/part. In addition to that, additional cost will rise due to manufacturing of new die sets and repair of the damaged ones, if possible.

Temperature of the die has a crucial role in its performance and life. Above mentioned three die failure modes become more severe if die temperature cannot be kept between 150°C and 300°C. At lower die temperature, there is a high risk of thermal shock and crack formation. When die temperature, even in a local area, goes beyond 300°C, yield and wear strength of the die material will start to drop dramatically.

Main function of ForgeTherm will be to monitor temperature distribution on a hot forging die within a defined area of interest (AoI) by using a FLIR ONE Pro camera. Forging dies roughly have a prismatic shape and there is only one active surface (surface which gets in contact with the hot workpiece) on upper and lower die.