Forging simulation lets you predict material flow, defect formation, die wear, and press loads before tooling is cut. Done well, it kills two of the most expensive failure modes in forging programmes: tooling rework and scrapped trial parts.
Capabilities
- Hot, warm, and cold forging simulation.
- Multi-stage process planning — billet → blocker → finisher → trim.
- Die-stress and die-life prediction.
- Microstructure evolution (grain size, recrystallisation).
- Press-load and energy estimation across the full sequence.
- Material database calibration for unusual alloys.
Tooling
We deploy QForm — a specialised forging simulation suite focused on metal-forming problems — alongside Simcenter where structural validation of dies is needed. QForm handles the geometry adaptation, contact, and large-deformation issues that general-purpose explicit solvers tend to choke on for forging-specific workflows.
Where simulation pays for itself fastest
- New-part introduction where the geometry is genuinely unfamiliar.
- Material substitutions (e.g., switching billet alloys for cost or supply).
- Die-life optimisation on high-volume parts.
- Press-load reduction studies for capacity-constrained shops.