Progressive forging with the Hatebur process forms heated steel or aluminum billets through multiple tooling stations, producing precise near‑net‑shape parts. Its durable dies and high automation make it ideal for automotive gears, hubs, bearings, and fasteners.
Progressive forging using the Hatebur process is a high‑speed, automated forming method for producing near‑net‑shape parts from steel or non‑ferrous alloys. The process feeds cut billets through multiple forming stations arranged in a horizontal press, where each station performs a defined step such as upsetting, preforming, bending, and final shaping. Material is heated to hot or semi‑hot forging temperatures to ensure optimal formability and controlled grain flow. Tooling, usually made of high quality Hot Work Tool Steels, consists of precision‑machined dies, punches, transfer fingers, and guiding systems, designed to withstand high loads, cyclic impacts, and thermal stress. Integrated lubrication and temperature management improve tool life and surface quality. Typical processed materials include carbon steels, alloy steels, and aluminum alloys. The Hatebur process is widely used for high‑volume production of automotive components such as gears, bearings, hubs, fasteners, and drivetrain elements, achieving excellent dimensional accuracy, mechanical performance, and material efficiency.
BÖHLER W302 ISOBLOC is a 5% chromium steel and corresponds to material number 1.2344 (X40CrMoV5-1). Produced via the electroslag remelting process (ESR), this tool steel has very high hot toughness as well as very high hot hardness and a very good resistance against heat-checkings. The combination of these properties makes it a top performer in closed- and open-die forging as well as in high- and low-pressure die casting. In addition, this material has very good polishability and is therefore also often used as a molding material for plastic injection molds.
Read MoreBÖHLER W302 ISODISC is a 5% chromium steel and corresponds to material number 1.2344 (X40CrMoV5-1). This common tool steel has good hot toughness as well as a high hot hardness and a high resistance against heat-checkings. The combination of these properties makes it a standard choice in extrusion, forging and low-pressure die casting. This material is also available as W302 ISOBLOC which is a remelted grade with improved cleanliness, homogeneity and toughness.
Read MoreBÖHLER W403 VMR is a vacuum remelted material which was developed as a problem solver for tools for where a standard solution is no longer sufficient. The steel can be assigned to the 5% chromium steels and has a very high purity due to the special manufacturing technology. In addition, the increased molybdenum content leads to improved thermal resistance as well as wear resistance, which makes BÖHLER W403 VMR an all-rounder that is often used for highly stressed dies in the die casting sector. In addition, Böhler W403 VMR has outstanding polishability. For this reason, the steel is also popular as a molding material for plastic injection molds.
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