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MACHINE VISION FEATURE


Single-piece manufacturing benefits from cold forming


C


old forming involves shaping metals at high speed and high pressure into


tool dies. It originated as a way of producing fasteners during the 19th Century and is still seen as a means of making simple, high volume parts such as screws and bolts. However, the process is capable of delivering precision-engineered parts with up to 80 per cent less scrap than machining processes. It is ideal for any industry that requires reliable, high-integrity parts, including automotive, aerospace, and alternative energy. There are many benefits to using the


technique: complex shapes can be formed; finishing operations are minimised; mechanical characteristics including strength are maximised; waste is practically eliminated, and high- volume parts can be produced quickly and consistently. In cold forming for single-piece


manufacture, a simple blank, which has been sawn or cropped from a round bar or wire, is placed in a cold forming press and forced into the blank using pressures of up to 600 tonnes. The blank then adopts the form of the punch and then the die. The metal is stretched beyond its yield strength, but without adversely affecting tensile strength. As a result, the strength of the part remains high along its length, just as a sawn piece of timber is stronger along the length of the grain. Parts effectively undergo work hardening during extrusion, further improving their machinability and durability. Because it does not require high


temperatures, it is a much faster process than more conventional options. This helps manufacturers shorten the production cycle, allowing components to be produced very quickly – cutting lead times and reducing the need to store high volumes of spare parts onsite.


METAL SHAPING Metal components are typically made by cutting, milling or grinding them from a large piece of metal, a process that is relatively slow, wasteful and inefficient. An alternative is to assemble a complex part from several machined components. Again, this takes time, is inefficient and can introduce a structural weakness into the finished part because some kind of jointing, such as welding, or soldering will be needed.


Cold forming allows manufacturers to shorten the production cycle, cutting lead times


Cold forming offers a host of benefits to manufacturers – boosting part quality and raising efficiency while shrinking lead times and cutting waste. As demand rises for complex components with ultra-fine tolerances, many manufacturers are turning to a technique first popularised in the 19th Century


While machining and forging offer


advantages, they can be expensive, time-consuming and require multiple process stages to produce precision components with high-definition surface finishes. Many of these disadvantages can be overcome with cold forming.


ENVIRONMENTAL BOOST As environmental legislation moves rapidly up the agenda, cold forming has a role to play here too. While CNC machine tools are highly sophisticated, they inevitably create waste in the form of swarf, chips and offcuts. This must all be recycled, which will typically increase part costs for the end user. Cold forming eliminates the need for machining, waste material is kept to a bare minimum. In fact, the cold forming process can reduce material waste by up to 80 per cent. An indirect, though significant way in which cold forming reduces waste is by boosting the strength of the metal component,


/ IRISHMANUFACTURING


resulting in longer-lasting end products that require replacing less often. Finally, there is a very practical reason


for the rise in cold forming’s popularity: increasing lead times for metal components from abroad. Lead times for many copper components from the Far East are rising, from a typical 30 days to around seven months in some cases. At the same time, a seven per cent failure rate has destroyed any cost benefit of sourcing from the Far East. It means that a simple, effective


technique such as cold forming can be used to make high quality parts while still meeting demanding lead times. Forward-looking OEMs should look for cold forming specialists, who can supply them with the parts they need but with added part quality, shorter delivery times and lower cost.


Dawson Shanahan www.dawson-shanahan.co.uk T: +44 (0) 1908 533 253


IRISH MANUFACTURING | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 23


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