Benefits of the Cold-Forming Process

Cold forming is the process of pushing metal into virtually any shape. Manufacturers use extreme pressure to force room-temperature metal into a mold, creating components, assemblies and other finished products. Steel, aluminum, alloys and precious metals are all prime candidates for cold forming. Used in the construction, aerospace, automotive and other major industries, cold forming produces many of the parts on which we rely on a daily basis.

Why Choose Cold-Formed Parts?

Strength Because cold-formed parts are extruded, they are seamless and manufactured with a consistent grain flow in the direction of the extrusion. These features provide a greater tensile strength to the finished product and thereby a longer life span. Cold forming also reduces the worry of fracture points. The extrusion process also provides a lighter-weight part, increasing the strength-to-weight ratio for each part you require. This balance is especially important when utilizing multiple parts for a finished product such as building a bridge or constructing a large building.

Intricacy Cold forming enables you to design parts that would otherwise require several different machines to produce. Additionally, you can often combine two separate parts into one perfectly molded piece, cutting down on on-site assembly time and further reducing the risk of stress fractures.

Precision Cold-formed parts are consistent from the first piece produced in a run through the last piece produced. This precise product formation allows for greater interchangeability of parts within one run. In other words, if the first piece produced fits perfectly, the last piece produced will also be a perfect fit.

Savings You need to stay under budget for your project. Metal prices fluctuate. You can't control the market in order to stay under budget, but you can control the amount of raw material that you use and discard. Since there is no cutting involved, cold forming produces no waste. For more complex parts requiring multiple steps on various machines, a cold-formed blank so closely mimics the finished product that additional machining produces little scrap.

The bottom line is that when you need metal products, you need to consider cold forming. Image Industries is a leader in the industry when it comes to cold forming. Offering runs with a minimum quantity as low as 5,000 parts, Image Industries enables your company to take advantage of the low costs associated with cold forming while reducing the amount of warehouse space needed to store spare parts. Cutting-edge technology and friendly customer service combine to help you meet your project needs without breaking your budget or sacrificing the quality of your brand.