For more than 90 years, Cornell Forge Company has been a family-owned business and leader in the forging industry. By keeping up with the latest advances in this field, we have become experts in microalloy steel forging.
In traditional forging, large quantities of alloying elements are added to the steel to alter its physical and mechanical properties, such as strength and weldability. In the microalloy forging process, very small amounts of alloying elements are added to the steel to enhance its microstructure. This process creates steel products with a high level of precision and consistency.
Microalloy forged steel was long regarded as experimental until, in 1992, it was recognized by ASTM A-909 as an official type of steel grade. Prior to this designation, U.S. automobile companies refused to use microalloy steel due to legal issues that would likely arise from using experimental materials, regardless of how reliable they actually were.
Cornell Forge Company offers the following services and capabilities for your microalloy forging project:
- In-house tooling
- Forging design
- Metallurgical consulting
- Value-added manufacturing services
Advantages of Microalloy Forging
ASTM A-909 specifies microalloy compositions at four hardness and strength levels. This standard helps engineers and designers choose the best combination of steel processing, composition, and properties. Here are the main benefits of microalloy forging:
- No heat treatment necessary: Properly designed and forged microalloy steels will not need additional finishing processes like heat treatment, since microalloy forging already enables fine-tuning of the metal’s physical and mechanical properties.
- Cost savings: With fewer steps in the forging process, your operation will benefit from lower overall production costs.
- Tight tolerances: Because microalloy steel does not require heat treatment, which could create warpage in the forging, it is possible to hold tighter tolerances. We can look at your application to determine if this is the case.
Common Applications
Microalloy steel makes up about 12% of the world’s total steel production. It is used in nearly every major industry, including oil and gas, transportation, construction, and automotive.
Microalloy steel automobile parts include connecting rods, crankshafts, drivetrain parts, chassis components, wheels, rims, and hand tools. Microalloy steel components are usually medium-sized and produced in high volumes, two features that the automotive industry particularly values.
Microalloy Steel from Cornell Forge
Cornell Forge manufactures a wide array of products—including refined microalloy forged steel—with short lead times and consistently high quality. We also handle design, tooling, and material selection so that your project is streamlined from start to finish.
With over 90 years of forging experience, we have helped customers significantly reduce forging time, eliminate costly production steps, minimize waste, and manufacture products that are strong, cost-effective, and reliable.
Order quantities are flexible and customized delivery solutions are available. To learn more about our forging capabilities and solutions, contact us or request a quote today.