Cold Heading

A manufacturing process that forces metal to flow, upon impact, into dies to form different shapes and sections. The term broadly covers both upsetting (the expansion of the body of the part) and heading (the forming of the end of the section). Although mostly used for the production of bolts, screws and rivets, the process is applicable to a wide variety of special parts. Wire or bar stock is generally used in heading operations. While the process is referred to as “cold,” a considerable amount of heat can be generated.