自由锻都是以生产批量不大的锻件为主，采用锻锤、液压机等锻造设备对坯料进行成形加工，获得合格锻件。 自由锻的基本工序包括镦粗、拔长、冲孔、切割、弯曲、扭转、错移及锻接等。自由锻采取的都是热锻方式。
Free forging is in the production of ***all quantities of forgings, the forging, hydraulic press forging equipment is carried out on the blank forming process, obtain qualified forgings. The basic process of free forging including upsetting, stretching, punching, cutting, bending, torsion, displacement and welding etc.. The free forging is all hot forging.
若因温度和变形程度选择不当而得到粗大晶粒时，可利用热处理相变细化晶粒***，但对于热处理中不发生相变的钢种，如奥氏体钢，就必须在锻造过程中获得细小而均匀的晶粒***，因此对这样的材料在锻造时须加倍注意。
If the temperature and degree of deformation and improper selection of coarse grains, the grain refinement phase change heat treatment, but for the steel phase transition does not occur in the heat treatment, such as austenitic steel, it must be in the forging process h***e fine and uniform grains, so this kind of material in the forging must pay more attention to.
碾环是指通过专用设备碾环机生产不同直径的环形零件，主要用来生产汽车轮毂、火车车轮等轮形零件。特种锻造包括辊锻、楔横轧、径向锻造、液态模锻等锻造方式，这些方式都比较适用于生产特殊形状的零件。
Roller ring refers to the production of circular parts with different diameters through the roller ring machine of special equipment, which is mainly used to produce wheel hub, train wheel and other wheel shaped parts. Special forgings include roll forging, cross wedge rolling, radial forging, liquid forging and so on. These methods are suitable for producing parts with special shape.
随着电动机的发明，十九世纪末出现了以电为动力的机械压力机和空气锤，并获得迅速发展。直线往复锻造设备1、动载撞击的锻造设备2、动静载联合的锻造设备3，***能冲击的锻造设备。第二次以来，七十五万千牛的模锻水压机、一千五百千焦的对六万千牛的板料冲压压力机、十六万千牛的热模锻压力机等重型锻压机械，和一些自动冷镦机相继问世，形成了门类齐全的锻造机械体系。
With the invention of motor, the mechanical press and air hammer powered by electricity appeared at the end of nineteenth Century, and developed rapidly. Since the Second World War, the forging water press, one thousand and five hundred thousand char, the punching press of Liu Wanqian cattle, the hot forging press of sixteen thousand thousand cattle, and some automatic cold heading machines h***e come out in succession, forming a complete system of forging machinery.