Cold forging
For high speed production
Cold forging
Throughout history, cold forging has gained increasing interest, soon becoming one of the most suitable production processes for certain types of products.
The most frequently cold forged components are small metal parts and bolts, used in various sectors. automotive, aerospace, oil & gas, hydraulic and, with a growing trend, also electrical.
Cold forging is suitable for both ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
The procedure
In cold forging, using horizontal and vertical multi- station (up to 7) presses, a piece of wire rod, at room temperature, is cut and subsequently plastically deformed at high speed, by means of considerable pressure applied by a succession of several dies. The obtainable deformations are extrusion, pressing, heading, drawing and lamination.
It is a very complex process. In fact, cold forging requires a large amount of force, as dislocations in the metallic crystalline structure generate rapid work hardening of the material.
The material is brought beyond the point of elastic resistance, making it assume the shape of the die, but never beyond the yield point, to avoid cracks. The increase in the mechanical characteristics of a cold forged components is sometimes so remarkable that it exceeds those of an analogue hot forged and then machined.
Furthermore, with proper lubrication, the life of cold forging tooling is considerably longer than hot forging ones.
Cold forgable ferrous materials
- Carbon and alloy steels, such as C4C – C10 – C20 – C21B – C23B – 27MnCrB5 – 34MnCrB4
- Stainless steels, such as AISI304 – AISI316 – AISI430
Cold forgable non-ferrous materials
- Aluminum, Brass, Copper
COLD FORGING ADVANTAGES
High production speed
An automated process
Process repetitiveness
Constancy of quality
High dimensional accuracy
High surface quality
Saving of raw material, “zero waste”
Improvement of mechanical characteristics
Optimization of weight/strength ratio
Heat treatment often not necessary
Subsequent machining often not necessary
DO YOU NEED TO MASS-PRODUCE A CUSTOMIZED METAL COMPONENT?
We offer you the feasibility study and the identification of the most suitable production process, ensuring very high quality of materials and excellent quality/price ratio.