SMS Group, which specialises in plant construction and mechanical engineering, will provide two high-speed open-die forging presses for a project in Saudi Arabia
SMS will deliver the presses to Korea-based Doosan Enerbility, which will in turn install them in Tuwaiq Casting & Forging Facility.
The facility is being built near Jubail in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia and is a joint venture between three companies: Doosan, Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company (Dussur), and Saudi Aramco Development Company.
The open-die forging presses are of the push-down design. The four-column press has a maximum forging force of 40 MN and a maximum upsetting force of 45 MN and can process billets weighing up to 55 tons.
The smaller two-column forging press operates with a maximum press force of 20/22.5 MN. The presses will be used to forge highly stressed parts for pumps and valves for petrochemical plants, various components for shipbuilding, and forgings for wind farms and power stations. They are scheduled to go into operation in the second half of 2024.
Both open-die forging presses include auxiliary equipment, which are installed to facilitate quick forging, such as an ingot car for feeding ingots into the rail-bound manipulator, a table changing device for quick upsetting, a tool shifting mechanism, and a tool magazine.
Using the ForgeBase technology software created by SMS, Doosan can pre-calculate pass schedules for consistent forging results, boosting press productivity. The software determines the best individual forging strategy for any given forging when combined with a database of more than 200 materials. In addition to fully automatic operation, semi-automatic or manual press mode can be switched to whenever necessary.
An online measuring system that records the workpiece geometry and temperature throughout the process is installed in the two forging presses. This makes it possible for the operator to compare the desired and actual geometry parameters, which is crucial for forging more complex pieces, like stepped shafts. Each press also has nine cameras that give the press operator a 360-degree view.
The plant owner will be able to boost process transparency and plant availability while keeping maintenance expenses to a minimum with the aid of the digital package provided by SMS group. The SMS-Metrics (process data acquisition) and Smart Alarm (plant fault monitoring) software tools are included in the package, which is specifically adapted to the needs of the customer and offered as software-as-a-service (SaaS).
