A multi-station cold heading machine is an automated forming equipment that uses cold heading technology to continuously and multi-station plastically deform metal wire or bar stock at room temperature, efficiently producing fasteners, hardware parts, and other metal products.
The feeding system typically uses coiled wire, which is fed into the machine stably and continuously by guide rollers and a tension control system to maintain appropriate tension.
The machine has multiple stations arranged sequentially, each equipped with a dedicated mold and punch, responsible for different forming steps. The metal billet passes through each station in sequence, undergoing a series of processes including cutting, pre-forming, heading, forming, punching, and trimming, gradually deforming into the final product shape. The entire process achieves continuous and automated assembly line operation.
Cold heading is the core of the process, referring to applying pressure to the metal billet at room temperature using molds and punches, causing it to plastically deform and fill the mold cavity to form the desired geometry. This process requires no heating and falls under the category of cold working, which can increase the hardness and strength of the material (work hardening).
After molding, the parts are automatically fed out of the mold by the discharge mechanism, and then collected and sorted for subsequent processing and packaging.
