Cold Headed Fasteners
Cold headed fasteners are connective mechanisms manufactured by the cold heading process, a procedure that uses pressure to form metal parts without heat. The cold heading process has many advantages over the traditional metalworking processes, as it offers consistency, a low quantity of wasted metal, and a quick production rate.
Cold headed fasteners are formed by the tool and die process. During this process, a gripping die holds the cylindrical metal blank while an indented punch is used to form the metal into the desired shape. In order to bend the metal blank into the head, the force must exceed the elastic limit or the metal material.
The cold heading process is used to make the heads on cylindrical parts, like screws and bolts, that are called fasteners. These parts have this name because they secure two components together.
Cold headed fasteners have been formed by a similar process for over a century. Today's cold headed fasteners are manufactured by automated equipment that can produce numerous fasteners per minute. Cold forming is not practical for the manufacture of complex parts, but it is an economical solution for producing simple parts like metal fasteners.