National Forge said Newtron Mining would represent its products in the Australian marketplace with technical support so that mining industry needs are met both from a service as well as technical perspective. See QME update for product review.
The ASX-listed company manufactures products for both domestic and export markets and has produced a wide range of forgings for various segments of the market, which include aerospace; automotive; mining and many others. National Forge has produced products for the mining industry over many years for a wide range of original equipment manufacturers for both longwall and other underground applications.
“Due to several enquiries direct from mining industry, National Forge Ltd is now seeking to produce and supply the industry with locally manufactured products, which meet the stringent requirements demanded by the mining industry. Also due to the current value of the Australian dollar, the opportunities exist to export product,” said a company spokesperson.
“The company is totally autonomous with its own design and tooling manufacturing capabilities. This allows us to work with our customers closely to optimize their needs in the final design of the end products,” he said.
National Forge Limited is ANS/NZ ISO9001 accredited and has its own NATA approved laboratory capability. The company operates the latest Unigraphics software and Forge 2/3 forging simulation software to verify designs prior to tooling manufacture. The company said this allowed it to reduce tooling lead time and product development time substantially.
“The products that National Forge produce for the Aerospace and Automotive Industry demand the highest level of product integrity, as the safety of the end user is paramount. This level of expertise is what National Forge can offer to the Mining Industry,” the company said.
The materials used for these industries include titanium, aluminium, nickel, chrome cobalt, various grades of stainless steel, as well as the more traditional materials such as SAE4140, SAE4340, EN25, and many other alloyed materials. Normal carbon grades of material are also forged.
The company said this diversity of materials made National Forge unique here in Australia and overseas and has provided it with an excellent understanding of how to handle a wide range of materials and their capabilities.
“This background allows us to share with our customers the knowledge that we have accumulated over many years of forging some very complex componentry, such as steering knuckles for automotive and fan blades for jet aircraft engines.”
The equipment National Forge has varies from 300T forging press to a 4500T forging press, the largest in Australia. It also has the largest drop hammer in Australia - equivalent to a 6000T press - which allows it to forge small and up to the large flight bars sections.
The company has its own heat treat facilities supplemented by outside heat treat contractors, providing flexibility in meeting customer’s lead times.
The company’s research and development team is headed by Dr Gabriella Tausig with the focus on advancing capabilities.
