A review of developments in the forging of connecting rods in China

The connecting rod is among the most important parts used widely in various engines. With the increasing demands from the automotive and motorcycle industries for geometrical dimensional accuracy and internal quality, new precision forging technologies and equipment have been introduced recently to China to improve the production of connecting rods. Based on the experience of the development of several forging lines in recent years, the authors sketch new progress in the precision forging of connecting rods in China: this includes automatic billet feeding and a temperature control system, 3D-CAD/CAM applications in cross-rolling and reducer rolling for preforms and precision forging equipment, as well as a compound die combining trimming, punching and calibrating operations.