Cold formed steel refers to any steel parts or components that have been formed by the cold forming process by rolling or pressing thin gauges of sheet steel into goods. Unlike traditional metal working processes, cold forming does not use heat to shape and form metal.
Cold Formed Steel
Cold formed steel is made into parts using the tool and die process. During this process, a gripping die holds the unformed steel while an indented punch is used to form the metal into the desired shape. While other cold formed steel products such as steel pins and cold headed fasteners are used in all areas of goods manufacturing, cold formed steel is used mostly widely in the construction industry. For building materials such as columns, beams, joists, studs, floor decking, built up sections of exterior buildings and other components, cold formed steel is an ideal material choice because of its strength and durability. It is also termite proof and rot proof and so there is no need to further guard against those elements as with other construction materials. The cold forming process is also commonly used to make the heads on cylindrical parts, like screws and bolts. These parts are called fasteners because they secure two components together.
Other industries which use cold formed steel include hardware, agriculture, furniture and manufacturing. There are a number of advantages to the process which make it an ideal solution for fasteners and parts. It is less expensive than hot-rolled steel as there is minimal material wastage during the process as no material is cut or melted away and it does not require large amounts of heat energy to be created. Cold forming pushes a material past its point of elasticity in order to force the change of structure. Another advantage to cold forming is that it also improves the output volume of parts as it is able to produce accurate and consistent parts at high speeds. When used with automatic feeding machines and other automated equipment, parts can be produced at a very high volume. There are minimal finishing requirements and most cold formed parts do not need any machining or polishing. The strength of the steel material is increased due to the strain it is placed under, making cold formed steel ideal for applications such as bridges, transmission towers, car bodies and more. Cold formed steel also combine high strength and stiffness properties with being a light weight option allowing for easier lifting and placing.
