Use Cold Forming to Produce Less Scrap and Increase Hardness

The cold forming process is not something we talk about a lot in Production Machining. Maybe this is because it has a reputation of being used in the production of simple, high volume components. However, precision engineered parts are possible using this process, which can produce as much as 80 percent less scrap than machining processes. It also provides faster lead times, better surface finish and improved hardness, yield and tensile strengths.

Cold forming is a forging process, such as bending, drawing, hammering or rolling, in which a metal shape is permanently deformed into a new shape at room temperature. Carbon steels, brass copper, lead, alloy steels, bronze, aluminum, nickel alloys and precious metals are all materials that can be cold formed.

Stainless steel can also be cold formed, but not without a little help from a company such as Dawson Shanahan, who has created and applied a coating and lubrication process that acts as a protective barrier while minimizing friction when each part is formed, according to this article in PM’s July 2015 issue. The barrier prevents galling, thus retaining the desirable surface characteristics of stainless steel.

To read more about cold forming, cold forming stainless steel, and aluminum’s unique surface finish that occurs after cold forming this material, visit “The Right Climate for Cold Forming.”