BLOG · JUNE 19, 2026
From Drawing to Production: How HKM3-1000 Delivered a Brass Valve Body with 0.2mm Tolerance
A European sanitary fittings brand approached us in late 2025 with a brass valve body that had been rejected by two press manufacturers. The part: CW602N (DZR brass), 0.85 kg, with a 0.2 mm flatness requirement across the sealing face. The reject rate at their current supplier was 11%, mostly from porosity and warping.
Case Study · June 2026
A European sanitary fittings brand approached us in late 2025 with a brass valve body that had been rejected by two press manufacturers. The part: CW602N (DZR brass), 0.85 kg, with a 0.2 mm flatness requirement across the sealing face. The reject rate at their current supplier was 11%, mostly from porosity and warping.
After a Deform 3D simulation and two tooling iterations, we delivered the part at 0.15 mm flatness and 1.8% reject rate on a standard HKM3-1000 hot forging press.
This case study walks through the engineering decisions that made the difference—so you can apply the same logic to your own forged parts.
Why Other Suppliers Failed
The valve body has a complex internal cavity with an asymmetric wall thickness: 6 mm on one side, 18 mm on the other. In a hot forging process, this means uneven cooling and uneven contraction.
The previous suppliers used a conventional crank press with 400-ton capacity. The problems:
| Issue | Root Cause | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Surface porosity | Insufficient dwell at bottom dead center | Air trapped in the thin wall section |
| Sealing face warping (0.4-0.8 mm) | Inadequate parallelism during load | Machining could not clean up |
| Die breakage at 2,800 pcs | Off-center load on a single-toggle frame | Cracks at the guide pin area |
| Inconsistent wall thickness | Ram tilt under asymmetric load | +/-0.8 mm variation |
These problems are not unusual. A conventional crank press delivers high force, but when the load is asymmetric (as it almost always is in a valve body), the ram tilts and the die closes unevenly.
The HKM3-1000 Solution
We proposed the HKM3-1000 not because the part needed 1,000 tons—simulation showed the peak load was 520 tons. We proposed it because of how the HKM3 delivers force.
Key Engineering Decisions
1. Dual-Support Toggle Linkage (double support toggle link)
The HKM3 uses two parallel toggle arms instead of one. When the valve body asymmetric cavity creates a 340-ton load on the thick side and 180 tons on the thin side, the dual-support design keeps the ram parallel within +/-0.05 mm.
Result: Sealing face flatness held at 0.15 mm across all 12,000 pcs in the trial run.
2. 0.2-Second Dwell at BDC
The toggle mechanism creates a mechanical dwell at bottom dead center—the ram pauses for ~0.2 seconds while the toggle arms are fully extended. This extra dwell time allows trapped air to escape before the metal solidifies.
Result: Surface porosity rate dropped from 11% to 1.8%.
3. 70 SPM Stroke Rate
Even though we ran the valve body at 35 spm during the trial (to fine-tune temperature timing), the HKM3-1000 was capable of 70 spm. The customer is now automating the line with a robot feeder and expects to run at 55 spm in production—doubling their original output.
4. Wet Clutch for Continuous Operation
The wet multi-plate clutch runs in an oil bath, which means no clutch fade during extended runs. In the 12,000-piece trial, the clutch temperature stayed under 65C (149F) throughout.
Results: Before vs. After
| Metric | Previous Supplier | ForgePress China (HKM3-1000) |
|---|---|---|
| Flatness (sealing face) | 0.4-0.8 mm | 0.15 mm |
| Reject rate | 11% | 1.8% |
| Die life | 2,800 pcs | 8,500 pcs (+203%) |
| Wall thickness variation | +/-0.8 mm | +/-0.2 mm |
| Maximum stroke rate | 35 spm | 70 spm (55 spm automated) |
| Clutch service interval | 8 months (dry) | 36 months (wet) |
What This Means for Your Parts
If you are forging parts with any of these characteristics, the HKM3 series is worth evaluating:
- Asymmetric geometry (valve bodies, brackets, flanges with uneven wall sections)
- Tight flatness tolerances (sealing faces, mounting surfaces under 0.3 mm)
- High-volume production (the wet clutch and dwell mechanism reduce downtime)
- Automation-ready (100 mm standard ejection stroke fits robot grippers)
From Drawing to Production: The Timeline
| Phase | Duration | What Happened |
|---|---|---|
| Drawing review + Deform simulation | Week 1-2 | We received the IGES file, ran peak load analysis (520 T), identified the asymmetry risk |
| Tooling design + DFM feedback | Week 3-5 | Adjusted the flash land geometry to balance metal flow; added ejector pin relief |
| Tooling manufacturing | Week 6-9 | D2 tool steel, heat treated to 58-60 HRC |
| First article + CMM inspection | Week 10 | Flatness measured at 0.22 mm then adjusted trimmer to 0.15 mm |
| Production trial (12,000 pcs) | Week 11-12 | 98.2% yield, 8,500-pc die life achieved |
Video: Deform Simulation of the Valve Body Forging
[Video placeholder - Deform 3D simulation showing metal flow in the valve body cavity]
Get a Simulation for Your Part
If you have a part drawing and want to know whether it is a good fit for hot forging (and what tonnage you actually need), send it to us:
Email: wuq268022@gmail.com
We will run a free Deform 3D simulation and return:
- Peak load prediction (in tons)
- Recommended press model
- Estimated cycle time
- Expected die life
- Tooling cost estimate
Have a challenging part to forge? Send us your drawing.
Free Deform 3D simulation with press recommendation within 5 days.
Email Your DrawingInquiry: include part name, material, drawing (PDF/DWG), and estimated annual volume
For inquiries: wuq268022@gmail.com - +86-512-6808-6677