SMS group received an order from China’s Sichuan Liuhe Forging Co. for a high-speed, 50/55 MN open-die forging press. The press is a two-column, push-down design and features a table shifter and die shifting unit. Operating with a press force of up to 50 MN and a maximum upsetting force of 55 MN, it is suited to forging high-quality products with finished dimensions within the close tolerance range of ±1 mm.

Sichuan Liuhe Forging manufactures semi-finished forge products, reinforcing rings, shafts, parts for turbine blades and supercritical components for gas turbines made of high-temperature, corrosion-resistant special steel and superalloys. The press will allow the company to offer a consistently high level of product quality to its customers in the aerospace industry and to operators of large-scale steam turbines.

The order also includes an XFB (X-Forging Box), which is a newly developed radial forging tool for open-die presses. Commissioning of the forging press and XFB is scheduled for late 2019.