AdminA Heading machine is a type of metal manufacturing machinery that shapes raw material into fasteners. The process works at room temperature without heat, allowing it to be more efficient than machining or hot forming, which use high temperatures. The process can also produce higher quality, more complex parts. However, it requires high-quality raw materials.
During the cold heading process, raw material is placed into a large coil and fed into the machine. Once it’s positioned in front of the die, the machine strikes the wire with a series of punches, which pierce and compress the metal, transforming it into a round, headed fastener. The machine also hammers the part into the die, forcing it into place and creating a permanent shape. Unlike machining, the heading process produces very little offal, which is scrap material that doesn’t turn into a finished product.
The cold heading process can manufacture a wide variety of products, including bolts, rivets, studs, nails, screws and hex nuts. It can also produce specialty items, such as set screws and nipples, which are used to secure fasteners to metal assemblies. Compared to machining, the process saves time and money and can be used on larger batches. However, the method is not without its drawbacks. It can be difficult to control the dimensions of the final product and it is more expensive than other forming processes.
In the simplest of terms, the cold heading process forms fasteners by shaping the metal at normal temperature through plastic deformation. The machines are able to perform this at a much faster rate than hot forming, which can take hours for small batches. The process can also create higher-quality, more complex parts that are often impossible to make using machining.
There are many types of cold heading machines, which vary depending on the type of work they can do. Some can perform a combination of extrusion, upsetting and other cold forming operations. Others are specifically designed to create certain types of fasteners. For example, hex nuts are made by cold heading machinery that utilizes upset and backward extrusion techniques to achieve the proper dimensions.
In addition to these types of machines, there are a variety of tools used for the cold heading process. These include a spherodized anneal machine, which anneals the metal to prevent it from cracking during forming. There are also thread rolling machines, which can be used to thread rods and bar lengths, as well as tubing and studs.
A hex nut former can be used to produce a range of standard nuts, such as hex nuts, flange nuts and weld nuts. It can also be used to produce specialized nuts, such as nipples, castle nuts and wheel nuts. In addition to these different types of nuts, a hex nut former can also be used to produce pins, sleeves and set screws. The machine is also capable of performing a number of other operations, such as piercing and hammering.