Metal Forming Industries

Cold Formed Parts

Cold Formed Parts are parts produced through processes known as cold heading, or impact extrusion, which are both types of cold forming. Cold forming is a manufacturing process, where a metal blank is shaped into a part by using various types of presses. This is a unique parts manufacturing process that results in no loss of material, which saves a significant amount of money. The basic cold forming process uses a simple metal blank that is cut from solid wire or bar stock, then placed in a punch and die set that is mounted on a vertical, mechanical or hydraulic press. Then the metal blank is simply pressed into the desired shape using extreme pressure. The mechanical force of the punch causes the metal to literally “flow” around the punch and take the shape of the die. Since this process is performed at room temperature, with no heat applied to the metal blank, the process is called “cold forming” and the parts produced are referred to as “cold formed parts.”

Deep impact extruded parts are produced using a type of cold forming (deep impact extrusion), which is used to produce parts with deep, hollow centers. Cold formed parts and extruded parts can be used to produce both low and high volume parts, as well as parts manufactured from higher cost materials such as copper, bronze, and aluminum. Cold formed parts deliver low-cost production advantages, and combined with our precision, secondary CNC machining, it allows our customers to achieve total part cost savings of 35% or more compared to conventional machining, with material cost savings of up 50% and machine cycle savings of over 60%.