Author: DB : 02/21/11

ELLWOOD Texas Forge Navasota on December 10, 2010 commissioned its Mueller-Weingarten DG 80 counterblow hammer at its Navasota, TX plant. Powered by compressed air, the hammer– delivering 800 kJ of forging power– is housed in a new 27,500 square foot building equipped with two 50 ton overhead bridge cranes. Other new equipment includes a 5500 ton pre-form press, a 3000 ton trim press, a 63 meter-ton hammer, two robotic manipulators and numerous new furnaces, inter alia. The hammer is called “counterblow” because its two forging rams (“tups”) are of similar mass and move synchronously toward each other, reaching their optimum speed at the moment of forming. The opposing thrusts of the top and bottom tups nearly balance their impact forces, such that very little force is transferred to the hammer’s foundation.

The counter blow hammer complex is state of the art and will deliver industry-leading quality and productivity, resulting in greater customer value. The forging complex is capable of producing a wide variety of alloy systems and product geometries up to 120? in length and 8500 pounds in weight.

ETFN uses DeForm software to model strain during the forging process, here in the case of an aircraft structural part. The DG80 hammer controls permit the delivery of a precise, pre-programmed rate of strain to the workpiece and for the documentation of that strain.

Shown in front of the DG80 are some of the forgings produced by ETFN on the press (from the left): bulldozer idler wheel, compressor crankshafts, bulldozer equalizer bar and rims for rubber-tired loader. Standing behind the forgings is the team of managers who built and who operate the new hammer shop (from the left): Louis Zietz, Pete Yorek, Ruben Valadez, Robert Lachney, Charles Thompson, Robert Lutkenhaus, Thaly Palanismay and Tim Williams. Behind; Jose Amaya.