Applications of Cold Heading

The cold heading process manufactures fasteners with high efficiency and good quality, saving costs and materials. However, this process requires high quality raw materials.

Cold heading requires a certain type of steel used for making fasteners and joints, called cold heading steel. Cold heading can also form tempered alloy steels, structural steels, and ferritic-martensitic duplex steels.

Advantages of Cold Forming

The various advantages of cold forming include:

Fast Production

The cold forming process is a high-speed operation; some manufacturers use it to produce about 100 parts per minute. The speed creates consistent quality and precise results.

Added Strength

Cold forming adds cold-hardened strength to the part. When a material is shaped without being cut or heated, it keeps its original structure. The grains flow in line with the contours of the part, adding strength to the part.

Reduced Energy Consumption

The cold forming process needs no additional energy in order to heat the material for production, unlike hot forging.

Drawbacks of Cold Heading

Some of the drawbacks of cold heading include:

Size Limitations

The larger the diameter of a fastener, the more pressure is required to drive the material into the required shape. A very big machine could produce fasteners of any size. However, it’s not usually feasible to do so as they are more suitable for the machining process.

Material Limitation

Some materials are better for cold forming than others. Although it's possible to use a variety of metals, using the most effective types will create greater products.