Pros and Cons of Forged Flanges and Cast Flanges

The forged flange and the cast flange are two common flange types in the market. Cast flanges have low cost, low technical requirements, a short mass production cycle. Forged flanges have a slightly higher price and good quality. Let's focus on analyzing the pros and cons of the two kinds of flanges. You can compare them and select them according to actual demands.

For the cast flange, it has an accurate blank shape and size, a small processing capacity and a low cost, but it has casting defects (pores, cracks and inclusions), and the internal structure of the casting is less streamlined (in case of cutting pieces, the streamline is even worse). The advantage of castings is that complex shapes can be produced and the cost is lower than the forgings.

For forged flanges, they have the advantages of uniform internal structure and no harmful defects like pores and inclusions in castings. Forging processes generally consist of the following procedures, namely, selecting high-quality billets for blanking, heating, forming and cooling after forging. Forging methods include free forging, die forging and loose tooling forging. During production, different forging methods should be selected according to the quality of forgings and production lots. Free forging has low productivity and a large machining allowance, but its tools are simple and versatile, so it is widely used for forging single-piece and small-batch forgings with simple shapes. Free forging equipment includes the air hammer, the steam-air hammer and the hydraulic press. They are suitable for the production of small, medium and large forgings respectively. Die forging has high productivity, simple operation and easy realization of mechanization and automation. Die forgings have high dimensional accuracy, a small machining allowance, and a more reasonable distribution of the fiber structure, which can further improve the service life of parts.

The above is the comparison of the two kind of flanges. You can choose the appropriate flange according to the specific construction environment, applicable pressure and affordability.