Closed-die forging process and rotationally incremental forging press

A forging press, comprising:

• a stationary die having a stationary die face;
• a movable die having a movable die face in facing-but-spaced-apart relation to the stationary die face along a press axis, the space between the stationary die and the movable die defining a workpiece volume, the movable die face comprising
• a base level region lying generally in a workpiece plane perpendicular to the press axis, and
• at least one segment raised above the base level region, each of the segments comprising an angular segment of a disk having a disk axis parallel to the press axis and having an included segment angle relative to the press axis, each of the segments being angularly separated from the other segments;
• an exterior constraint extending circumferentially around the workpiece volume, the exterior constraint preventing radial expansion of a workpiece in the workpiece volume when the workpiece is pressed between the stationary die and the movable die;
• and
• a press mechanism comprising
• an axial drive operable to move the movable die in a direction parallel to the press axis, and
• an indexing drive operable to rotate the movable die about the press axis by an indexing rotational angle, the axial drive and the indexing drive being operable only in an alternating fashion.

A forging press, comprising:

• a die set comprising
• a stationary die;
• a movable die in facing-but-spaced-apart relation to the stationary die along a press axis, the space between the stationary die and the movable die defining a workpiece volume, and
• an exterior constraint extending circumferentially around the workpiece volume,
• at least one of the stationary die and the movable die having a raised feature thereon;
• and
• a press mechanism comprising
• an axial drive operable to move the movable die in a direction parallel to the press axis, and
• an indexing drive operable to rotate the movable die about the press axis by an indexing rotational angle.

A forging press, comprising:

• a stationary die having a stationary die face;
• a movable die having a movable die face in facing-but-spaced-apart relation to the stationary die face along a press axis, the space between the stationary die and the movable die defining a workpiece volume, the movable die face comprising
• a base level region lying generally in a workpiece plane perpendicular to the press axis, and
• exactly three rotationally symmetric segments raised above the base level region, each of the segments comprising an angular segment of a disk having a disk axis parallel to the press axis and having an included segment angle of from about 45 to about 65 degrees relative to the press axis, each of the segments being angularly separated from the other segments;
• an exterior constraint comprising a wall extending circumferentially around the workpiece volume and integral with the stationary die, the exterior constraint preventing radial expansion of a workpiece in the workpiece volume when the workpiece is pressed between the stationary die and the movable die;
• and
• a press mechanism comprising
• an axial drive operable to move the movable die in a direction parallel to the press axis, and
• an indexing drive operable to rotate the movable die about the press axis by an indexing rotational angle.