Our Related Manufacturing Capability
RapidDone is a trusted vendor of cold-forged parts. With our extensive manufacturing knowledge and experience, we can create different types of forged components, help all our clients get full satisfaction.
Why Choose RapidDone for Your Cold Forged Parts?
√ Short Lead and Turnaround Times:
We know how important it is to our customers to get their products to market on time. So, at RapidDone, we always strive to deliver on our projects on time without sacrificing quality.
√ Excellent Facilities Available:
What sets us apart from other cold forging competitors is that we have a wide range of facilities available. We are a one-stop shop for all your metalworking needs.
Our shop floor is well stocked with a variety of CNC machines for all your post-machining and finishing needs. So, we can be very flexible for machining, no matter what you need, we have the tools to get it done at RapidDone.
√ Highest Quality Standards:
Over the years, we have steadily built up a wide-reaching supply chain that enables us to get the best materials available at the best cost. So, you can rest easy knowing that you’ll get the best quality product.
√ Cost-Effective Quotes:
One of the main reasons our customers love us is our ability to balance cost with quality. We always do our best to offer the best options to our customers and help them stay within their budget.
√ Highly Qualified and Experienced Engineers:
At RapidDone, we have assembled highly qualified personnel with several years of experience in cold forging No matter the project you bring for us, you can be sure that we have all it takes to get the job done.
Contact us today, and let’s help you get the best price for your project. Meanwhile, as the on-demand part expert, let’s shed a bit of light on our manufacturing experience.
What is Cold Forging?
The term “Cold Forging” has its roots in forging. To properly define and understand this process, we have to define what forging is.
What is Forging?
Forging is a manufacturing process for creating metal parts by using compressive forces to shape the metal. Forging is classified according to the temperature at which the metalworking is carried out. We have:
- Hot forging
- Warm forging
- Cold forging
Therefore, cold forging involves deforming and shaping the metal at room temperature or below its recrystallization temperature.
The Benefits
Working the metal below its recrystallization temperature improves several of its properties. This process has several advantages over other conventional manufacturing methods like casting and machining.
The main advantage is as below.
- The cold working process produces very little waste material.
- The high rate and volume of production attainable with cold-working make it a very cost-effective manufacturing method.
- Also, the low temperature required for cold working means dies, and another tooling lasts longer. This results in decreased unit part cost.
- Coldworking increases the strength and durability of the metal parts extending their service life in the process.
- Finally, there is a wide range of materials that can be cold worked. This gives product designers plenty of options.
When Can You Use Cold Forging Part?
Cold forging is a particularly cost-effective method of manufacturing metal components. It has a wide of situations in which it has applications. Below are some industries that use cold forging components.
√ Automobile Industry: The automobile industry is a great market for cold forged parts. Parts made with cold forging processes meet the shock and stress resistance required for service in a car.
As a plus, it can also produce a large number of parts cost-effectively, making it an economically attractive option. We can mass produce components like drive trains, brake systems, gears, etc.
√ Cold Forging aluminum Defense Industry: Components in the defense industry are made to exact specifications. They need to be dimensionally stable and strong. Cold forging is perfect for making these products like gun barrels, shell casings, etc.
√ Tools and Hardware: Another application is in the manufacture of hand tools and hardware. Hardware tools like pliers and hammers manufactured with cold forging are strong, resilient and they also have a long service life.
Other industries that employ this manufacturing process as a production method include the Aerospace industry, construction industry, etc.
The Materials Used in Cold Forging
As we mentioned earlier, many materials can be cold-forged to produce your components. Some of the common materials we can use include:
- Aluminum
- Carbon steel
- Brass
- Stainless steel
- Copper
- Alloy steels
- Bronze
- Nickel alloys
- Precious metals
Among them, aluminum material is the most common type for our manufacturing. However, the materials we can work with are not limited to the above. If you have any special requests, you can contact us with them.
The Cold Forging Process
At RapidDone, this process is divided into four stages for the forged part manufacturing:
- The production design stage
- The forging stage
- Post-machining stage(turning/milling/drilling)
- The finishing stage(Deburring, painting, etching, etc)
√ The Production Design Stage
The design stage kicks off the production process. In this stage, we receive the design plans from the customer and then we begin to plan and source out what we need for the component.
The design plans can be in the form of product drawings, sketches, or 3D models. No matter what it is, once our engineer team receives it, we work with our solid partner, go through the designs and the PMI (Product Manufacturing Information).
With the information they extract, they optimize the designs and decide how best to go about production. They also start designing and sourcing the tooling (die) needed.
√ Cold Forging Stage
The forging stage is the actual manufacturing process where the product takes shape. Here, the raw material is deformed by compressive forces between a ram (punch) and a die to form the desired shape. This is done with the aid of equipment like a machine press.
Depending on the die we employ, there are two types of cold forging we use.
1. Open Die Forging: In open die forging, we deform the material using a die that doesn’t completely enclose the material. Hence, as the die cavity fills and the shape forms, some material escapes from it.
Open die forging produces less stress and requires less power. However, the escaped material needs to be machined off the final part.
2. Closed Die Forging: Here, we compress the material to fill a completely enclosed die under high pressure. It results in a near-net shape with zero material wastage.
Closed die forging eliminates the need for post-machining. However, it produces more stress in the die and the workpiece.
After designing and procuring the dies and another tooling, we move forward to the actual forming process.
Steps in The Cold Forging Process
Step 1: First, the technician lubricates the workpiece to reduce friction and keep it cool during the deformation process. The workpiece can reach temperatures of up to 250°C during deformation, so it’s important to keep it cool.
Step 2: The technician inserts the workpiece into the appropriate section of the die.
Step 3: This part is called stroking. Here, a compressive force forces the metal into the die using a hammer to create the desired shape. The power needed to drive the hammer can be generated using hydraulic, pneumatic, or mechanical means.
Step 4: The technician trims away the flash from the metal. Flash is a thin plate of excess metal that forms where the dies meet.
Step 5: The technician removes the formed part from the die. The part is either finished and sent on its way to the customer, or it’s further processed to add new features to its structures.
Depending on the geometry and size of the component, there are several cold forging processes we can use. These include:
- Bending
- Extrusion
- Cold rolling
- Ring forging
- Swaging, etc.
√ Post Machining Stage
When the technician removes the part from the die, it is still not ready for use. The part still needs to undergo machining to further process and shape it.
At RapidDone, we use our CNC machining manufacturing techniques like CNC turning, CNC milling, drilling, etc. to trim away unwanted features from the part. We can also use machining to introduce additional features to the componets that can’t be forged.
These features can include small holes, 3D surface designs, etc.
So, the post-machining stage is an important phase in production.
√ Finishing Stage
After successfully forging and machining the component, there are still some finishing touches that need to be added before it can be shipped out.
Cold forging produces excellent surface finishes, but after the machining process, we need to deburr it.
Burrs are small surface irregularities or bits of metal that remain on the workpiece after machining. Deburring involves removing these imperfections from the workpiece using special tools.
Finishing can also include activities like painting, engraving, etching, etc. It all depends on what the customer specifies.
Recommended Tips for a Cold Forging Part Designing
To ensure you have the best part and keep production costs down, here are some tips to follow when designing your forged part.
- Avoid extremely thin or thick sections when designing tubular parts.
- Always maintain uniform sidewall thicknesses.
- Materials with low carbon or low alloying levels are often the best.
- Instead of sharp corners, always use fillets and radii.
- Try to avoid the complicated post-machining process
The Cold Forging Part Cost
Cold forging is a relatively inexpensive process. The final cost understandably varies from project to project.
However, we can give you an idea of what we factor in when we provide you with a quote. Here are some factors that influence the cost of a cold forging part.
- The Material (Fixed)
- Manufacturing cost involved in cold forging (fixed)
- Possible secondary machining and finishing cost (variable)
- Quality assurance operations (fixed)
Before we begin the manufacturing operation, our team can consider all these factors and come up with the best possible price quote for you.
FAQS
√ Question 1: Which cold forging process or method is right for creating good castings?
Different processes give different casting qualities. Therefore, making use of the right cold forging process is important. In the end, there isn’t the best process. There is only an appropriate one.
√ Question 2: How does machine type affect forged metal quality?
Regardless of the machine mechanism, mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic, the forged metal would be the same under the same conditions.
√ Question 3: Is cold forging stronger than hot forging?
Cold forging improves metal strength significantly through strain hardening at room temperature. However, hot forging improves yield strength and ductility at high temperatures.
Conclusion
Cold forging can help your business in reducing costs and improving process efficiency. However, to get the best results, we can’t overemphasize the importance of outsourcing the forging process to partners like us.
At RapidDone, we deliver top-notch cold forging process implementation service. With us, you get quality and standard cold forged parts that are right for your business.