Flash 11.8% = ₹4.23Cr/year in wasted steel.
Die life 3,800 vs 7,500. EU audit in 4 months.

[THIS WEEK] Action

Week 1: Institute 100% billet weight check on a calibrated floor scale — reject billets outside ±0.12 kg tolerance (interim target, tighter than current but achievable now). Create a billet weight log by heat number. This alone will reduce flash on heavy billets within 3 days. Week 2: Inspect billet shear blades — if blade gap is > 0.5mm, replace blades (₹18,000/set). A tight shear gap produces clean, consistent billet cross-sections and reduces weight variation. Month 1: Commission a die modification on one die set per month — reduce flash land thickness from 4mm to 2.5mm (die modification cost: ₹12,000–18,000/die set at a local die shop in Ludhiana). Test 200 forgings from the modified die for complete fill before rolling out across all die sets. Month 2: Add a second preforming pass for the steering knuckle (complex geometry) — preforming distributes metal closer to final shape, reducing the amount that flows to flash. Benchmark CV forging: 2 preform passes for knuckle profiles.

Expected impact: Billet weight control (±0.12 kg): heavy-billet flash events eliminated — flash from 11.8% to 8.4% immediately = 3.4% × 2,800 × ₹41.6 × 300 = ₹1.18Cr/year. Flash land modification: die pressure increase fills cavity more efficiently — flash from 8.4% to 6.2% = additional ₹76.6L/year. Second preform pass (month 2): fill uniformity improvement → flash from 6.2% to 5.6% = additional ₹20.9L/year. Total recovery: ₹2.26Cr/year toward ₹4.23Cr target. Remaining gap to benchmark (5.5%): achievable via rotary furnace temperature profiling (billet-to-billet temperature variation also causes flash variation) in months 3–4.

[THIS WEEK] Action

Week 1: Immediately start pre-heating all dies to 280°C before the first forging stroke. A simple die pre-heat oven (converted conveyor oven or chamber furnace) at ₹45,000 can pre-heat 4 die sets simultaneously for 2 hours. Track die life on pre-heated dies from day 1 — expect 25–35% life improvement within the first 10 die sets. Week 2: Purchase a Rockwell hardness tester (₹28,000 bench-top unit) — test each incoming die at 5 points across the impression surface. Accept only 44–48 HRC. Reject dies below 42 HRC (soft) or above 50 HRC (brittle) back to die supplier. Month 1: Specify stress relieving in die supplier purchase order — H13 at 600°C for 2 hours per 25mm cross-section after final machining. Cost to supplier: minimal; impact on your die life: 15–20% improvement in heat-check category. Month 2: Review graphite emulsion concentration — 1:8 dilution is typically correct, but spray duration of 2 seconds may be insufficient for a hot alloy steel application. Extend to 3–4 seconds and measure die surface temperature before next stroke (target: die surface < 350°C before re-hitting).

Expected impact: Pre-heat to 280°C: heat-check cracking (52% of failures) reduced by 40% = effective die life from 3,800 to 5,200 forgings. Savings: 62 replacements/year → 45 = 17 fewer × ₹2.4L = ₹40.8L/year immediate. Hardness verification + stress relieving: additional 20% die life improvement = 5,200 to 6,240 forgings. Total: 62 → 40 replacements/year = 22 × ₹2.4L = ₹52.8L/year. Full benchmark (7,500): 62 → 31 = 31 × ₹2.4L = ₹74.4L/year recoverable with full program. Investment: ₹73,000 (oven + hardness tester). Payback: 21 days.

[THIS WEEK] Action

Week 1: Contact direct steel mills — Tata Steel, JSW Steel, SAIL — for the specific grade you supply to this customer (likely 42CrMo4 or 41Cr4 equivalent). Request mill test certificates (EN 10204 Type 3.1 or 3.2) with each heat. Place a trial order for one heat (minimum quantity: 10–20 MT typically) for EU-dedicated forgings. Direct mill supply costs ₹800–1,400/MT premium over stockist — on your volume, ₹8.4–14.7L/year extra cost vs ₹4.8Cr contract. Week 2: Physically segregate the billet bay into heat-numbered zones (painted lines + signage, ₹0 cost). Introduce a heat-number marking system at billet shear: stamp or metal tag each billet bundle with heat number before shearing. Assign one dedicated operator for EU-customer heats. Month 2: At forging press, stamp each forging with heat number using a die stamp (₹8,000 per stamp set). This is the physical traceability record the customer audit will verify. Month 3: Create the traceability register (Excel/Google Sheet is acceptable for audit if complete) — columns: heat number, mill cert reference, billet bundle, forge date, press number, inspector sign-off, final dimension report. Run FAI on 3 sample forgings with full traceability chain documented.

Expected impact: Full traceability implementation: ₹4.8Cr/year contract retained. Implementation cost: ₹8,000 stamps + ₹14.7L/year direct mill premium + ₹2.4L for a QA coordinator (if needed) = ₹17.1L/year extra cost vs ₹4.8Cr revenue. Net margin protected: ₹4.63Cr/year. Secondary benefit: IATF 16949 certification (required by most EU OEMs for long-term supply) — traceability implementation is 40% of the IATF audit requirements. Once certified, this supplier qualification unlocks 3–5 additional EU/Japanese OEM opportunities estimated at ₹8–14Cr additional revenue over 3 years.