In shipbuilding, the reliability and durability of key components directly affect the safe operation and service life of the entire vessel. A heavy shipyard in Chongqing set strict technical requirements for core ring forgings when advancing a large ship project. As a professional forging supplier, we provide customized ring forging solutions tailored to the special requirements of this project, helping customers improve equipment performance and optimize production costs.

Project Background and Customer Challenges

The ring forgings undertaken by this shipyard are mainly used for the key load-bearing structures of the hull, which must endure long-term alternating loads and corrosive environments under complex sea conditions. During preliminary research, the customer found that ring-shaped forgings produced by traditional forging processes have issues of uneven grain structure and significant fluctuations in mechanical properties, resulting in insufficient strength in weld areas and difficulty meeting shipbuilding standards and long-term reliability requirements. In addition, customers face the following specific pain points:

• Large machining allowance: Traditional forging blanks require a large amount of machining allowance, resulting in low material utilization and increased manufacturing costs;
• Tight delivery cycles: Project deadlines are tight, requiring suppliers to have fast response and stable delivery capabilities;
• High dimensional accuracy requirements: Ring forgings must achieve high-precision fit with subsequent assembly components; otherwise, hull assembly efficiency and sealing performance will be affected.

Targeted solutions and product advantages

To address these pain points, we rely on mature hot forging technology and refined process control to tailor ring forging production solutions for our customers. The main features are reflected in the following aspects:

• Optimized forging process: Using multi-directional forging and temperature/speed control technology, grain refinement and internal looseness are eliminated, keeping the difference in longitudinal and transverse mechanical properties of forgings within 5%, meeting classification society standards;
• Near-net forming design: Based on numerical simulation analysis, reduces blank allowance by about 15%~20%, lowering subsequent machining volume and material waste; li>
• Strict process inspection: From raw material entry to finished product shipment, non-destructive testing (UT, MT) and physical and chemical tests such as hardness and tensile testing are performed, ensuring traceability and stable quality for every product;
• Flexible production scheduling and delivery: Adjusting production line priorities to meet urgent customer needs, achieving a relatively fast response from contract signing to the first delivery in about 45 days, helping projects progress on time.

Project implementation and effectiveness

In actual cooperation, we supplied multiple batches of ring forgings with specifications of φ2500mm ×500mm to this shipyard, made of relatively high-strength marine steel. After on-site customer acceptance, the product dimensional tolerance is controlled within ±0.5mm, surface roughness Ra≤6.3μm, and ultrasonic flaw detection meets the Level 1 requirements specified by ASME standards. Customers reported that after using this batch of forgings, the welding pass rate increased by about 10%, overall assembly efficiency increased by more than 20%, and rework costs were reduced. Currently, this batch of annular forgings has been successfully launched with the vessel and is in good operating condition.