Metal Swaging

Metal swaging or radial forging involves the forging of a work piece by use of die that exert compressive forces by impacts that act around the work's circumference. In manufacturing industry, swaging is usually performed as a cold working process. In addition to the exterior geometry imparted by the impacting die, interior part geometry can also be forged by use of a mandrel.

In metal swaging manufacture, the work material is not completely restricted by the die. This is important to note when considering the metal flow that will occur during this forging process. Many impacts from each die may be required to completely forge the work to the geometry of the die and mandrel. In a typical metal swaging process, the work may receive several forging blows per second. These forging strokes are performed and coordinated by rollers that act in a cage. The cage rotates around the part, and the rollers, in turn, enact the motion of the die.

Figure:194
Metal Swaging Operation

Figure:195
Mechanics Of Swaging

Typical parts manufactured by metal swaging include the blades of tools such as screwdrivers, furniture legs, tapered bars and tubes. This process can also be used to place fittings on cables, in which the part is swaged directly onto the cable. Another common use for swaging in manufacturing industry is for pointing the end of a work piece, this may be useful for a variety of applications.

Figure:196
Pointing

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