Method for automated pass schedule calculation in radial forging

A radial forging machine for the radial forging of long products made of metal workpieces, comprising:

• at least four forging tools arranged around a circumference of a workpiece, the at least four forging tools being configured to simultaneously carry out a forging operation over at least a partial length of the workpiece;
• and
• a control and/or regulation unit,
• wherein the control and/or regulation unit is configured to perform the following steps:
• entering start parameters for the radial forging into a pass schedule calculation program;
• defining target parameters for the radial forging;
• and
• calculating a pass schedule or a forging sequence based on the start parameters and target parameters by the pass schedule calculation program,
• wherein the pass schedule calculation program takes into account a temperature variation and a temperature distribution over a cross section of the long product and a change in shape during the radial forging;
• and
• issuing control commands to the forging tools during the radial forging based on the calculated pass schedule or forging sequence.