WAFOR
COMPANY PROFILE
WAFOR, a short name for West African Forgings Limited, is promoted by Tema Steel Co. Ltd. Group during the year 2007, for the exclusive production of Steel Grinding Balls. This plant is a Fully Automated Plant and is provided with the State of the Art equipment using the Canadian Forging Press, American Induction Heating System, Russian Raw material, and Indian Heat-Treatment Process. The production processes are especially custom-built for the Gold Mining Industrial applications. WAFOR started its commercial production during the month of September 2009.
WAFOR is situated in Tema, next to Tema Steel Co. Ltd and employs a local labor force. Now, all sizes and grades of steel balls are forged and ‘Made in Ghana’.
WAFOR forges various sizes of balls such as:
30 mm, 40 mm, 50 mm Dia Balls
60 mm, 70 mm, 80 mm Dia Balls
90 mm, 100 mm, and 125 mm Dia Balls
WAFOR employs American Technology for the production of steel balls. In this technology, the balls are forged in forming dies from round rods, thereby imparting a lot of energy into the balls to get a better product compared to balls produced by the ‘Rolling Process’.
Higher Wear Resistance compared to balls produced by ‘Rolling’
No Breakage in Service in these balls almost
Highest hardness
WAFOR PRODUCTION PROCESSES
Cold round bars of various sizes, depending on the sizes of balls to be forged, are heated by an Induction heating system and then fed into the forging press to produce steel balls at very high production rates. These hot balls are conveyed to Heat Treatment Chambers and water quenched, tempered, and stress relieved at controlled temperatures for a predetermined duration of time to achieve the required surface and in-depth hardness. High automation and advanced quality control checks ensure a high degree of consistency in the wear and hardness properties of the resultant steel balls.
WAFOR Grades of Steel and the Sizes of Balls Forged
| Grade | C | Mn | Si | P | S | Cr | Ni | Cu | Ball Sizes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FORGEHARD 60 | 0.6-0.8 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.2-0.3 | 0.035 Max | 0.25-0.35 | 0.3 Max | 0.3 Max | 50 mm and 60 mm |
| FORGEHARD 80 | 0.65-0.85 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.2-0.3 | 0.035 Max | 0.30-0.40 | 0.3 Max | 0.3 Max | 70 mm and 80 mm |
| FORGEHARD 100 | 0.8-0.95 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.2-0.3 | 0.035 Max | 0.40-0.50 | 0.3 Max | 0.3 Max | 90 mm, 100 mm, and 125 mm |
WAFOR Forged Balls Sizes, Tolerances, and Hardness in HRC
| Size Dia | 30 mm | 40 mm | 50 mm | 60 mm | 70 mm | 80 mm | 90 mm | 100 mm | 120 mm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Size Tolerance, mm | +1.0 | +1.0 | +1.5 | +1.5 | +2.0 | +2.0 | +2.5 | +2.5 | +3.0 |
| Hardness, HRC, Surface | 64-68 | 64-68 | 63-66 | 63-66 | 62-66 | 62-66 | 62-65 | 62-65 | 62-64 |
| Hardness, HRC, ¼ Radius | 62-64 | 62-64 | 63-67 | 63-67 | 62-64 | 62-64 | 60-63 | 56-60 | 56-60 |
| Hardness, HRC, 1/2 Radius | 60-63 | 60-63 | 63-67 | 63-67 | 60-62 | 60-62 | 58-60 | 52-56 | 52-56 |
| Hardness, HRC, Centre | 58-62 | 58-62 | 63-67 | 63-67 | 58-60 | 58-60 | 54-58 | 50-54 | 50-54 |
QUALITY ASSURANCE
WAFOR Forged Balls Quality Control Tests
In order to assure consistent quality of steel balls manufactured by WAFOR, the following tests are designed to accurately estimate the quality:
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION: Material specification is checked by Spectrometer, calibrated as per International standards.
HARDNESS TESTS: Hardness tests (HRC) are conducted as per ASTM Standard procedures.
MICROSTRUCTURE TESTS: Microscope test facility available to check and control the microstructure as required.
IN-DEPTH HARDNESS TESTS: Special Type EDM (Electrical De-arcing Machine) is used to take out a core of diameter 8 mm across the Steel Ball to check the hardness without disturbing the microstructure of the parent material. This machine is procured for the exclusive use of hardness testing across the ball.
DROP TESTS: A test jig to raise the ball and drop it from a height of 6 meters repeatedly for 2000 to 3000 times continuously is provided. All sizes are tested on a regular basis to check the integrity of these balls.
WAFOR assures and guarantees a maximum of 1% breakage of balls in service.
PRODUCTION CAPACITY
WAFOR is designed for a production capacity of 20,000 Tons per annum in one shift operation and about 35,000 Tons per annum in two shift operations. The requirement for steel balls can be met at short notice depending on raw material stock.
DELIVERIES
WAFOR can supply the mining companies’ requirements in a timely manner directly, making deliveries to the sites in their trucks either in Loose form or in Sealed Drums weighing 1 Ton each. During 2013, WAFOR dispatched 12,800 tons of forged grinding media to the mining sector in West Africa, with over 3,500 tons being exported to Mali, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
EXPORT AWARD
WAFOR received the Export award (Silver) for 2012 from Ghana Export Promotion Authority and expected to receive the Gold award for 2013, since the exports were much higher during 2013 than in 2012.
ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFICATION
WAFOR is an ISO 9001: 2015 certified company.