With the release of our brand new forged line, we felt this is the perfect time to explain:
• What are forged wheels
• How are they made
• What are the benefits to a forged wheel
• What are the differences to other manufacturing wheel processes
What Are Forged Wheels?
Forging refers to the manufacturing process of the product. When a wheel is forged it means it has undergone massive pressure and heat to condense the structure of the metal resulting in a much stronger final product.
What Is The Forging Process?
Starting with an aluminum billet, it is placed under a 10,000 ton press that has a mold on it. The billet is pressed to take the shape of a wheel. The metal at that point has been condensed to a much finer grain structure which means the metal is more durable and has greater elongation. A CNC machine is then used to extract any additional material and starts to make the design of the wheel. The wheel is then finished with final details and then packaged up and ready to deliver to the customer.
What Are The Benefits To Forged Wheels?
Forged wheels will give you the most durable product possible and will allow for the wheel to take repetitive stress for a longer period of time before fatiguing. Since the material of the wheel is stronger, less material is necessary to keep the wheels strong to be put under load which means you are also left with a lighter weight and stronger product. Forging allows for more fine details and thinner spokes.
Forged vs. Flow Forming vs. Cast
Forged wheels result is the strongest product of all the manufacturing processes. In comparison, forged wheels are going to be stronger and lighter weight than flow formed wheels which are already stronger and lighter weight than a traditional cast wheel. A flow formed wheel will be stronger than a cast wheel mainly in the flow formed barrel but still features an aluminum cast face. Our forged wheels feature a fully forged barrel and face which strengthens the wheel beyond a flow formed product.
Cost is something to take into consideration when shopping for wheels. Cast wheels will be the least expensive, flow formed wheels are looked at being the best bang for your buck and a forged wheel is going to run a premium price due to the intense manufacturing process needed to construct the product.
