Cold Headed Parts

About Cold Headed Parts and Cold Headed Part Manufacturers Including: Cold Formed Steel, Cold Forming, Cold Headed Fasteners, Cold Heading, Impact Extrusion & Steel Pins.

Cold heading, a procedure also known as upsetting, is the process of forming a head on a fastener or a bulge on a cylindrical part that is being headed. Upsetting is a cold forming process, meaning that it is accomplished without the application of heat. The procedure essentially involves applying force with a punch to the end of a metal blank, such as metal wire contained in a die, to create a part. Cold forming is a popular choice for creating different parts because it has many advantages, such as minimal material waste, consistency, good output rates and little need for further finishing operations. Cold headed part manufacturers have great versatility with part designs.

The metals used by cold headed part manufacturers range from copper to high grade titanium. Steel is the most widely used material because of its strength and economic stability. The machine that performs this heading is known, appropriately, as a header. Headers are often fully automated CNC (computer numeric controlled) machines, which are able to make the rapid and consistent production of cold headed parts a reality. With cold forming and heading, there is no machining, no lathe work and no automatic screw machines. Therefore, a minimum of material is wasted by the end of the procedure.

Fasteners represent the single largest category of parts produced by cold headed part manufacturers. A fastener, such as a bolt, rivet or screw, is used for securing two or more materials together. Other parts, such as spark plugs and axles, can be created using this cold headed process as well. Due to its popularity in making various types of fasteners, the phrase "cold headed parts" has become virtually synonymous with "metal fasteners." Quite often, cold headed parts manufacturers will also provide secondary operations after forming their products, such as bending, knurling, drilling, swaging, patching, tapping, head painting, heat treating, shaving and milling.

The cold headed parts process is capable of producing a wide range of forms, but sometimes not larger and more complex parts because of economic and detailing reasons. Cold heading remains the method of choice for many smaller parts, however, as it is quite economical. Many of these parts previously could only be made by machining or cutting away metal, resulting in labor and material waste. Cold headed parts are used in a variety of industries, from construction to lawn and garden, automotive to toys and others: hardware, stamping, injection molding, appliance, furniture, aerospace, farming and recreation.
 

Cold Headed Parts and Cold Headed Part Manufacturers Image Provided by Elgin Fastener Group

Cold Headed Parts and Cold Headed Part Manufacturers Images Provided by Stalcop

Types of Cold Headed Parts

• Cold formed steel refers to any steel components fabricated by the cold forming process.
  
• Cold forming is a process through which small, simple parts are produced by applying high pressure instead of heat.
  
• Cold headed bolts are some of the most common parts that are made using cold headed metal forming processes. These, along with screws and pins, make up the bulk of cold headed fasteners.
  
• Cold headed fasteners are connective mechanisms, like screws, manufactured by the cold heading process.
  
• Cold headed pins are made by manufacturers of cold headed parts. These pins have a head that is formed and shaped using the punch and die process.
  
• Cold headed rivets hold together materials by spreading the tip via hammering and protruding through the material.
  
• Cold headed screws can be made using a wide range of metal alloys. The use of a screw driver or allen wrench is necessary for securing this type of threaded fastener.
   
• Cold heading is the process by which the heads of small, simple parts-like screws and bolts-are produced.
  
• Impact extrusion is a cold forming process that produces collapsible tubes out of soft metals through impact with a punch, or ram.
  
• Steel pins are fasteners made from steel wire that is sharpened at one end and headed at the other.