With support from the government, Ohnuki Manufacturing Industry is developing technology to cold forge precipitation hardening stainless steel, the strongest of stainless steels. The company is also developing technology to join two pieces of forged metal through friction stir welding. Using these two technologies, Ohnuki will produce high-pressure sensor ports.
TheThe most important part of the port is an extremely thin section, only 0.5 mm thick with the overall thickness of 6 mm with current prototypes, so this technology is for making a membrane of 0.5 mm thickness for only that portion. Using technology known as forging in which metal is forcefully formed through plastic deformation, then the shape is formed over a number of stages and processes. This technology uses a single press machine to produce parts by stamping the steel as it is passed through.
The conventional machining approach is to machine into a large piece of base material. The process wastefully produces unused material, and the machining of complex shapes requires machining time, which results in increased costs. By forging, most of the material gets used with only a small portion of removed material wasted. Because the material is cold forged in series, the press machine can produce a forged part every few seconds, making the process excellent for mass production.
The The forged part that I discussed earlier is this. Along with this part called the port, we are going to form both of them through forging. Joining them together through friction stir welding is another of our technologies. Joining the pieces through friction stir welding involves high internal pressure, so absolutely no gaps or interfaces on the inner surface can remain. We are currently developing a new joining technology that will create a completely united piece of metal with a proper junction.
Ohnuki considers the first field of application of this technology will be automobiles. Because a single automobile uses multiple high-pressure sensors, the technology can be used to produce various types of high-strength parts. The company has its sights set on not only domestic automobile manufacturers but also the overseas market, and it is actively focusing on overseas business.