Induction and furnace lines
Hit forging temperature at the least kWh without overheating or decarburization, and carry the loop into heat-treat. Metric: energy per heat and thermal-defect scrap against the baseline.
Heatrixagent.heat_billet
Solutions
Start where the scrap is.
Every forge already measures scrap, die changes, energy per heat, inspection escapes and new-part ramp time. Forgiron lands on one of those numbers, on one cell, with a baseline agreed in writing, and expands when it moves.
Illustrative scenario: Cell F-2 · 2,500 t closed-die press · 42CrMo4 connecting rod, one lot, one approval gate
By outcome
Six wedges, each with a metric the forge already has
The first paid pilot targets one of these. The metric column is what the pilot would be judged on.
Press, hammer and ring-mill cells
Predict fill and lap risk before the stroke and run the schedule that hits them at minimum blows and energy, under engineer approval. Metric: scrap, rework and energy per forging against the baseline.
Forgeonagent.forge_press
Closed-die and upsetting cells
Dose spray and cooling between strokes and schedule the die change before the first underfill. Metric: forgings per die and unplanned die changes against the baseline.
Diesmithagent.die_lube
Any safety-critical forging
Fuse vision, thermal, ultrasonic, MPI and dimensional data, catch and predict defects, disposition with cited evidence. Metric: inspection escapes, scrap and downgrade against the baseline.
Flawnexagent.defect_inspect
Furnace to press to trim to heat-treat
Move hot billets, forgings and dies by robot on takt, validated in simulation first. Metric: transfer time, temperature loss in transfer and manual handling removed.
Forgebotagent.robot_handling
Whole forge
Rehearse heating, stroke and die recipes on the twin, discard candidates that breach die load or lap risk, sequence the line. Metric: new-part introduction time and ramp scrap.
Forgetwintwin.forgetwin
Where it pays
Four loops, four metrics
Forgiron is not a dashboard. Each agent closes a loop a forge already measures in scrap, die changes, kilowatt-hours and inspection escapes. The tables show what each loop watches and what it is allowed to move.
Heating and energy
Hit forging temperature at the least kWh
Thermal imaging, pyrometry and coil telemetry are fused at the edge into a live estimate of surface temperature, core-to-surface spread and soak. Heatrix adapts induction power and furnace zones to land the window without overheating or decarburization, and prices every heat in kilowatt-hours.
- Surface and core state estimated continuously, not from a spot thermocouple
- Per-alloy thermal windows enforced at call time
- Every heat labelled with its downstream fill and property outcome
agent.heat_billet SUCCEEDED
| Signal | Watches | Moves |
|---|---|---|
| Billet temperature | Pyrometer and thermal camera | Induction power, furnace zones |
| Core-to-surface spread | Estimated from heating curve | Soak time |
| Energy per heat | Coil and burner telemetry | Stage power inside the window |
Fill and grain flow
Decide the stroke before the ram drops
Force curves, ram position and high-speed vision are fused with the incoming heat state. Forgeon predicts fill, grain flow and lap or underfill risk per piece and proposes the stroke schedule that hits them at minimum blows and energy, validated on the twin and approved by the forging engineer until the part family is qualified.
- Fill and lap risk predicted from heat and geometry, not judged after cooling
- Blow energy and ram speed moved together
- Press-schedule changes supervised by a named engineer
agent.forge_press SUCCEEDED
| Signal | Watches | Moves |
|---|---|---|
| Die fill | Force curve and high-speed vision | Blow energy, ram speed, under approval |
| Lap and underfill risk | Scored per piece | Energy trim inside the approved envelope |
| Grain flow | Modelled from stroke schedule | Schedule candidates ranked on the twin |
Die life
Pull the die before it scraps a part
Die surface temperature, heat-check growth and lubricant coverage are modelled from thermal and vision between strokes. Diesmith doses spray and cooling to hold friction and fill and schedules the die change in a planned window instead of after the first underfill.
- Die life predicted per cavity
- Spray and cooling controlled between strokes
- Die changes scheduled, not reacted to
agent.die_lube SUCCEEDED
| Signal | Watches | Moves |
|---|---|---|
| Die temperature | Thermal camera between strokes | Spray dose and cooling |
| Heat-check growth | Vision per cavity | Die-change window |
| Lubricant coverage | Vision | Spray pattern and timing |
Laps, cracks and internal defects
See the defect and the stroke that made it
Vision, thermal, ultrasonic, MPI and dimensional data are fused into one model of soundness. Flawnex detects and predicts laps, folds, underfill, cracks and internal defects, routes suspect parts to the right check, and couples each finding back to the heat, stroke and die state behind it.
- Five modalities, one estimate of soundness
- Defects localised to part, lot, die cavity and stroke
- Disposition grounded in AS9100, IATF 16949, NADCAP and ASTM with citations
agent.defect_inspect SUCCEEDED
| Signal | Watches | Moves |
|---|---|---|
| Surface laps and cracks | Cameras and MPI | Energy trim via Forgeon, part routing |
| Internal defects | Ultrasonic station | Lot hold, root cause to heat and stroke |
| Dimension after cool-down | Dimensional scan | Spec envelope to the control agents |
Segments
Where forges start
Automotive and driveline, aerospace and defense, energy, industrial forgings, ring rolling and open-die. Most forges pick one cell and one wedge, prove the number, then expand.
Automotive and drivelineVolume, scrap and die cost
Automotive and driveline
Crankshafts, connecting rods, gears, axle and suspension parts at rate. Heatrix and Diesmith on the highest-volume cell first, where scrap and unplanned die changes are already counted.
Aerospace and defenseQualification burden
Aerospace and defense
Turbine and engine discs, landing gear and structural forgings under AS9100 and NADCAP. Flawnex on the inspection line, with genealogy and cited disposition from day one.
EnergyHigh part value
Energy
Turbine, oil and gas and nuclear forgings where a single internal defect is catastrophic. Flawnex and Forgetwin on the part family with the longest qualification cycle.
Industrial forgingsValves, flanges, fittings
Industrial forgings
Closed-die and upsetting lines making industrial parts in many alloys. Forgeon and Diesmith on the press cell with the most changeovers.
Ring rolling and open-dieLarge sections, long heats
Ring rolling and open-die
Rings and open-die forgings where billet heating is the energy bill and the stroke count is high. Heatrix first, then Forgeon on the mill.
Run timeline · scenario
One scenario run, step by step
Every Forgiron run is an ordered, inspectable sequence. This is run_7c2e41 on Cell F-2 · 2,500 t closed-die press · 42CrMo4 connecting rod. Scenario completes in 10 steps with one approval gate. Surface temperature held at 1,205 °C with a 14 °C core-to-surface spread, fill predicted and confirmed complete, one lap precursor at the flash land cleared by a blow-energy trim, lot L-80412 released with full genealogy.
run_7c2e41
Cell F-2 · 2,500 t closed-die press · 42CrMo4 connecting rod
illustrative scenario
SUCCEEDED
-
01
ingest.order
SUCCEEDED
0.6 s
Plant Orchestrator · Pulled the part spec for the 42CrMo4 connecting rod from MES: forging window 1,180 to 1,230 °C, two-blow closed-die schedule, flash land 2.4 mm, temper to 28 to 32 HRC, 1,200 pieces. Locked the qualified process envelope.
-
02
twin.simulate
SUCCEEDED
52 s
Forge Twin · Simulated 24 candidate heat-and-stroke recipes on the as-forged twin for soak time, blow energy and spray timing, ranked on predicted fill, lap risk at the flash land, die load and kWh per piece.
-
03
heat.soak
SUCCEEDED
2 m 10 s
Heat-and-Billet · Induction power on IH-2 stepped down 4% in the final soak stage as the pyrometer read 1,205 °C at the surface. Core-to-surface spread estimated at 14 °C against a 20 °C limit, no overheat, scale growth inside the window.
-
04
die.spray
SUCCEEDED
48 s
Die-and-Lube · Lower-die spray dose raised 6% and cooling extended 0.3 s as die surface temperature climbed through 240 °C. Heat-check growth on cavity 2 flagged at 0.31 of the die-change threshold.
-
05
approve.human
APPROVAL
46 s
Plant Orchestrator · Recipe #9 moves second-blow energy 3% below the standing schedule. Press-schedule changes stay supervised on this part family, so the step was held for the shift forging engineer and approved at 05:47:31.
-
06
forge.stroke
SUCCEEDED
1 m 36 s
Forge-and-Press · Two-blow schedule executed with the approved energy. High-speed vision and force curves confirmed complete fill on the first ten pieces; predicted lap risk at the flash land fell from 0.27 to 0.08.
-
07
inspect.fuse
SUCCEEDED
continuous
Defect-and-Inspect · Eight cameras, two thermal cameras and the ultrasonic station fused at the edge. One lap precursor at the flash land on piece 212 flagged and cleared by a 1.5% blow-energy trim inside the approved envelope; the piece was routed to MPI and passed.
-
08
handle.transfer
SUCCEEDED
continuous
Robot-and-Handling · Press-to-trim transfer planned and executed by the handling robot at 11 s per piece, temperature loss in transfer 38 °C against a 60 °C limit, interlock zones clear throughout.
-
09
heat.treat
SUCCEEDED
continuous
Trim-and-Heat · Temper furnace HT-1 zone 2 trimmed 5 °C against the predicted hardness from the recorded heat and stroke history. First hardness checks read 30 HRC, inside 28 to 32.
-
10
lot.release
SUCCEEDED
1 m 20 s
Quality-and-Conformance · Lot L-80412 released: genealogy written (billet lot, heat curve, stroke record, die cycles, inspection map, approvals, temper record) and dispositioned against IATF 16949 criteria with cited evidence for the quality engineer's sign-off.
Who it is for
Built for the people who run the forge
We have no customer quotes to show yet and will not invent any. These are the three roles in a forge we build for, and the problems they bring to the first meeting.
Owns production rate, quality, scrap and yield, die life, energy and safety.
What this person is dealing with today
- Fixed heating and press setpoints that cap fill, grain flow, rate and consistency
- Scrap, downgrade, die changes and energy eroding margin in a brutal, hot environment
- A severe, retiring forge-operator and die-engineer shortage that caps rate
Owns heating, press schedules, die design and heat-treat recipes, process windows and yield.
What this person is dealing with today
- Laps, folds, underfill, cracks and internal defects driving scrap and downgrade
- Die wear and thermal fatigue forcing costly die changes and downtime
- Heating, forging, die management and inspection siloed and reactive
Owns forging quality to AS9100, IATF 16949, NADCAP and ASTM, defect and grain-flow conformance, genealogy and qualification traceability.
What this person is dealing with today
- Overheating, decarburization and heat-treat faults degrading properties and safety
- Spot inspection by a scarce NDT workforce, with escapes that become field failures
- Qualification evidence assembled by hand after the fact
Autonomy
Four levels, set per agent and per tag
A forge does not go from manual to unattended in one step. Forgiron makes the level explicit, auditable and reversible at any time. The first release runs shadow mode, then assist mode, then bounded autonomy on low-risk actions. Press control stays supervised until the part family is qualified.
| Level | What the agent does | What the human does | Where it sits in a pilot |
|---|---|---|---|
| L1 · Shadow | Reads thermal, vision, ultrasonic, MPI, press, die, robot and MES signals; predicts and recommends; writes nothing | Runs the cell as today; compares predictions to inspection and engineer outcomes | Shadow mode, baseline 30 to 60 days |
| L2 · Assist | Proposes heating, press, die-lube, routing and handling actions with evidence, confidence, envelope and rollback path | Approves each action in the review console | Assist mode, the remainder of a 90 to 180 day pilot |
| L3 · Bounded | Executes pre-approved low-risk actions: inspection routing, lube timing, heating and soak adjustments, robot path variants, inside PLC and safety limits | Approves press-schedule changes, die changes and lot release | Graduated autonomy, after audited accuracy and ROI |
| L4 · Scaled | Supervised press-schedule adaptation for qualified part families, across cells and sites | Sets the envelope; reviews the shift record and the evaluation results | Planned; after golden-dataset evaluation, simulation validation and quality sign-off |
Pricing
Priced per cell, per plant, per group
Land on one workflow with a measured baseline. Expand by cell, module and autonomy level. Outcome components are available on yield, scrap, die life and energy. Annual prepay carries a 15 to 20% discount.
Heating or forging control, die management, or inspection AI for one cell. For forges validating ROI on the wedge.
- One cell, one agent module
- Plant-edge inference node included
- Controller and sensor reads, guarded writes
- Run log, audit trail, forging genealogy
- Business-hours support
The whole forge: heat and billet, forge and press, die and lube, trim and heat-treat, defect, quality and property, yield and takt, robotic handling and the twin.
- All control agents on every cell
- Fused inspection on every line
- Quality, property, yield, takt and conformance
- Robotic billet, forging and die handling
- As-forged twin and line sequencing
- 24/7 support, quarterly model review
Multi-site forging groups standardising on Forgiron, with custom alloy, die and qualification models.
- Multi-site fleet management
- Custom alloy, die and qualification models
- Plant edge fleet with on-prem option
- Group autonomy policy and approval chains
- SLAs, SSO and RBAC, dedicated engineer
FAQ
Straight answers
The questions plant directors, forging engineers and quality engineers ask in the first meeting.
Yes, but only within an explicit tag allow-list with per-tag rate and magnitude limits, inside the qualified process envelope, and only at the autonomy level your plant has set. Design partners start in shadow mode, where Forgiron writes nothing. Press-schedule changes stay supervised by a named forging engineer until the part family is qualified.
Control returns to the furnace, press or die controller's last known-good state. Forgiron is a supervisory layer on top of the PLCs and interlocks you already run, never a replacement for them, so an outage degrades the cell to its current way of running, not to a stop.
Advisory recommendations start from the physics-based twin and the part spec in the first weeks. Defect, die-wear and heating prediction improve as cell history and labelled outcomes accumulate per part family. The first training sets are sized at 2 million labelled frames and signals, 20,000 heat and press cycles and 10,000 die-life events per design-partner cohort, all design targets.
Only if you choose cloud training. Die designs, part drawings, recipes, process models and quality records are isolated per tenant and never used to train another customer's models. A fully on-prem deployment at the plant edge is available for sensitive producers, and federated learning across sites is planned and waits on data-rights agreements.
You are, the same as with any control strategy, which is why every write is policy-checked, bounded, logged and reversible, and why anything above your risk threshold waits for a named approver. The audit log records the request, the evidence, the envelope applied and the human decision.
A paid pilot of 90 to 180 days on one cell, scoped to a single wedge with a success metric written into the order form: defect-detection accuracy, scrap reduction, die-change reduction, energy reduction or first-pass-quality improvement. The first 30 to 60 days baseline scrap, die life, energy, inspection escapes and takt in shadow mode.
Get started
Name the cell that costs you the most
Start with one heating, press, die or inspection cell and one measurable baseline. A paid pilot on billet heating and press fill, die life or ultrasonic and MPI defect detection shows the number before you commit further.