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How to Choose a Forging Supplier: What to Check Before You Send an RFQ

September 20, 2026

Most forging quotes that go wrong were sent to the wrong kind of shop. A supplier that runs a 4,000 t press for 80 kg crankshafts will not quote a 300 g lever well, and a cold forging shop will not touch a 2 t shaft. Choosing a forging supplier starts with matching the part to the process and the size range, and only then looking at price.

This guide walks through what to check, in the order that saves the most time.

Start with the process your part needs

Forging is several different trades under one name. The process decides which suppliers can even quote.

• Open die forging shapes metal between flat or simple dies. It suits shafts, blocks, discs and step bars, from a few kilograms up to many tonnes, in quantities from one piece upward.
• Closed die forging fills a cavity cut into a pair of dies. It makes near-net shapes such as connecting rods, flanges and yokes, and it pays off from a few hundred pieces a year.
• Seamless rolled ring forging pierces a blank and rolls it out into a ring. Bearing races, slewing rings and large flanges come from ring mills.
• Cold and warm forging form small round parts close to finished size at high volume.

If you are not sure which one fits, write down the finished weight, the yearly quantity and the basic shape. Those three facts settle it in most cases. Our open die vs closed die comparison goes deeper on the most common choice.

Check the weight and size range

Every forge shop has a sweet spot set by its equipment. Press and hammer capacity limit how large a part can be forged in one heat. Ring mills have a maximum outside diameter and height. At the small end, a large press is slow and expensive for light parts.

Ask each supplier for the weight range they forge every week, not the largest part they have ever made. A shop that tells you “0.5 to 60 kg, mostly 5 to 20 kg” is giving you a useful answer.

Confirm alloy experience

Carbon and alloy steels are forged almost everywhere. Stainless steel, aluminum, titanium and nickel alloys narrow the field quickly, because each has its own working temperature window and its own die wear.

Name the exact grade and any spec in your RFQ, such as ASTM A105, A182 F316, 4140 to a hardness range or AMS 4928 for titanium. Then ask:

• How often do you forge this grade?
• Where do you buy the bar or billet, and do you get mill certificates?
• Do you control heating with recorded furnace data?

A supplier that forges your grade every month will answer these in one line.

Look at heat treatment and testing

Many forgings are useless without the right heat treatment. Normalizing, quench and temper and solution treatment are common requests. Ask whether heat treatment is done in house or sent out. Both can work, but outsourced heat treatment adds transport, lead time and one more party to chase when a hardness result fails.

List the tests you need on the RFQ: tensile and impact tests, hardness, ultrasonic testing to a named standard, magnetic particle inspection or dye penetrant. Ask which of them the supplier runs itself and which go to an outside lab. Also ask what certificate you will receive. EN 10204 3.1 is the usual request for pressure and structural parts.

Decide how the part should be delivered

A raw forging, a rough machined forging and a finished part are three different quotes. Be clear which one you want.

If you want a finished part, ask whether the forge shop machines in house. Some do it well. Others send it to a nearby machine shop and add a margin. Neither is wrong, but you should know who holds the tolerance on your drawing.

Ask about dies and ownership

For closed die work, the die is usually a separate line on the quote. Ask three questions:

1. What does the die set cost and what is included, for example trim dies?
2. How many pieces should the die last before rework?
3. Who owns the die, and can it be released if you move the part?

A lower piece price with an unclear die agreement can cost more over the life of the part.

Compare quotes on the same basis

Forging quotes are hard to compare because suppliers build them differently. Before you pick one, line them up on:

• Die cost and expected die life
• Piece price at your real yearly quantity
• Input weight and material surcharge terms
• Heat treatment, testing and certificates included
• Machining scope
• Lead time for first articles and for repeat orders
• Incoterms and packing

The cheapest piece price often hides a missing test or a lighter machining scope.

Where a matching service helps

Finding two or three forging suppliers that fit a specific process, alloy and weight range takes time. That is the job we do. You send one RFQ with the drawing, alloy, weight and quantity. We pass it to up to three suppliers whose equipment fits, and they quote you directly.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

• Forging Drawing Approval: Who Signs the Blank and the Finished Part
• Forged Parts for Mining and Earthmoving Equipment: What to Specify and How to Buy