Cold-Forming Versus Machining

In the distant past, artisans called blacksmiths used the earliest "process" to generate a usable shape from metal, a hammer and anvil. Manufacturing was "one at a time" and very slow. Approximately 140 years ago the first automatic forming machine was invented to produce a high volume component - fasteners. Benchmarks evolved - considerable quantities were required; material choices were limited and the shapes produced usually entailed some version of head on a shank. That was then. Today the economies and multiple advantages of cold forming have expanded the processes to sophisticated technologies achieving fast and efficient manufacturing. Standard and special threaded fasteners, and custom shapes previously only machined, are now being produced by cold forming. Cold forming is more commonly known as cold heading. As was the case in the first machines developed, a slug of wire is pushed into a die and a protruding end is upset in an outward direction; this is called heading. Forming of metal on the same axis usually involves changing a diameter from the original wire size as an extrusion. Now, movements of material are basically achieved the same way; however, advanced equipment and tooling can produce more complicated configurations.