By Ninad Oak, Senior Manufacturing Manager Magnum Forge & Machine Works
The ring of an 11” 10,000 psi annular BOP is a massive piece of metal. The outer diameter measures 153 centimeters (60.24 inches). The ring is so large that it cannot be fitted in any forging furnace or under the 16-ton hammer. The distance is 118 cm (46.5 in.) between guides on the 16-ton hammer, so it could do only 80% of the job. The remaining 20% was finished with a steam hammer.
The job was too big for our conventional forging furnaces so we put it in the D2 preheating furnace at Magnum Forge & Machine Works to finish the forging. The final weight of the ring is 4,150 kilograms (9,149 pounds). This was the most challenging open-forging job in recent times and it is perfect example of “Can Do Attitude“ and “When there is a will, there is a way.”