Tooling department: a company within the company
The Design Office sends the CAE drawings and data to the Tooling Department for it to create the machining programmes. Several tool assemblies are required to make your forged parts :
Inserts
Parts of the tool in which there is generally a rough forging and a finished forging. This is the part in which your parts are forged. These inserts are mounted directly on our drop hammers.
Trimming tooling or punches
These are used to cut off the flash (the part of the material remaining around the part after forging).
Specific tools
Depending on the shape of the part and the various requirements of your projects, we machine various additional items, such as machining fixtures, inspection gauges, bending tools or marking dies, etc.
And at FORGINAL industrie we go even further to optimise our production tools:
We manufacture our own insert holders, tool carriers and weights in-house, which are fitted and maintained by our own specialist personnel.
Steps in toolmaking
1/ Creation of the machining programmes
2/ Machining of the blocks of raw materials (it can take up to 30 hours to machine an insert)
3/ Testing of each component subassembly of the final tool
4/ Assembly and mounting of tooling
5/ Forging, trimming and sizing trials
Quality control of the tools and logistics planning
- The quality of the tools is checked after each forging run to ensure that production is carried out under perfect conditions.
- Each tool is cleaned, polished and stored in readiness for the next time it is used.
- Re-machining (refurbishment) is scheduled, if necessary. Planning starts in the Tooling Department. Each subassembly is planned independently. All subassemblies must be made and supplied on time to ensure that manufacturing keeps to the required schedule.
Equipment in our Tooling Department
- 2 HSM (high-speed machining) centres
- 2 3-axis machining centres
- 1 FANUC wire erosion machine
- Various milling, piercing, turning and spark erosion machines
Tooling team
This is made up of 10 people with mechanical engineering/machining qualifications. They all have at least 15 years’ professional experience, most of them at FORGINAL industrie.
Céline JUDON
FORGINAL industrie
At FORGINAL, I am in charge of implementing and monitoring internal audits, quality procedures, and continuous improvement in the tooling department and in the design office. I am also a member of the company's committee for health and safety at work. Although the atmosphere can sometimes be a big rough and ready in this very male environment, I like the frank, direct approach. When we work together, we make progress together.