Cold Heading Services
40-70% less cost compared to machining
Eliminate extra machining or assembly operations and add strength to the material through the cold-forming process. G-Fast cold headed fasteners are made from the finest quality wire stock. Secondary operations available include drilling, tapping, shave, grind, thread roll, broach, bending, swedge, flatten, trimming & piercing.
Made in USA | Best Available Lead Times
Cold Heading Services – Superior Strength and Precision Manufacturing Excellence
In today’s competitive manufacturing landscape, precision, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness are paramount to success. At G-Fast, our advanced cold heading services deliver all three, transforming raw metal wire into high-strength, dimensionally accurate components that meet the most demanding specifications. Businesses across industrial sectors recognise the superior attributes and value of the cold heading technology for producing high-strength, dimensionally accurate components.
Our Cold Heading Capabilities
G-Fast offers comprehensive cold headed fastener solutions with an impressive range of capabilities:
Size Range: Diameters from 1/16″ through 1-1/4″, M3 to M30
Material Compatibility: Alloy Steel, Non-Magnetic Stainless Steel, Aerospace, and Exotic Alloys and Stainless Steel for specialized applications
Secondary Operations Available: Drilling, tapping, shave, grinding, thread roll, broach, bending, swedging, flatten, trimming, piercing, and the application of a locking element such as a patch, epoxy or pellet.
Finishing Options: Neutral hardening, Vacuum hardening, Solution hardening, Slating, and other finishing operations may be applied
Advantages
- 40-70% less cost compared to machining
- High tolerances, sustained through the production run
- Faster manufacturing
- Less production scrap costs
What is Cold Heading?
Cold heading is a process of manufacturing at high speeds, with virtually no scrap loss, of super-tough, high-quality parts at a very low unit cost. Using dies, progressive dies, hammers, and punches, the wire is drawn to the needed diameter and pulled into the cold header, a high-speed machine, transforming a coil of metal wire a complex component. This innovative technique takes room temperature metal, cuts off a length of wire and extrudes the metal, filling the die through controlled deformation at high speeds, resulting in a finished part or a semi-finished part. Cold headed parts have superior strength characteristics compared to machined parts because of how the metal flows, folds during the cold heading process. This increased strength is known as work hardening.
The Cold Heading Process
Our state-of-the-art cold heading process follows these key steps:
- Perishable Heading Tooling: For each job, multiple sets of dies and punches are fashioned due to tooling wear, an inherent part of the process.
- Wire Preparation: High-quality coated metal wire is purchased on rolls and positioned on a spindle to be pulled through the attached draw die, before entering the cold-header machine. The draw die reduces the wire diameter to the exact diameter needed
- Cold Forming: The basic, 1 die, single or double blow headers produces less complicated fasteners. The transfer header may have 3 or 4 dies that are struck with a separate heading hammer for each die does considerably more work on the part than standard 2 blow machine. A more specialized type of transfer headed is known as a bolt maker that after forming the blank, will trim the head to the required shape and may then point the end and roll the threads.
- Quality Control: In process inspection is performed at regular intervals monitoring the wear of the heading dies. As necessary, the dies and punches are replaced to ensure the finished parts are within tolerance. All measurement and test equipment is certified and traceable to N.I.S.T.
- Secondary: Additional operations that are completed on the headed parts include, head slotting, thread rolling, cross drilling, shaving, grinding, heat treatment, and plating as required.
- Final Inspection: Components undergo dimensional inspection, if additional outside testing is required, parts will be sent out. Mill certs from production and process certs are recorded, scanned and filed by lot number. Our Quality Assurance system is designed to identify any non-conformance in process with continuous dimensional verification during production. Final inspection is when all the data and certs are made ready for the shipment before delivery and then products are packed well to avoid damage or loss during shipment and delivery.
Industries and Applications We Serve
G-Fast’s cold heading services support diverse industries requiring precision manufacturing solutions:
Automotive Industry: Engine components, transmission parts, suspension hardware, and safety-critical fasteners for enhanced fuel efficiency and performance.
Aerospace & Defence: Commercial and military aircraft components, critical fasteners meeting the most rigorous standards, and structural bolts for military construction.
Construction & Infrastructure: Structural fasteners, bridge construction hardware, heavy machinery components, and corrosion-resistant fasteners for marine, sub-sea and other harsh environments.
Electronics & Medical: Cold headed miniature silver or bimetal fasteners for electronic components, testing instrument components, precision pins, and biocompatible material components.
Why Choose G-Fast Cold Heading Services
Ready to achieve 40-70% cost savings while maintaining superior quality? Our expert team transforms your manufacturing requirements into precision cold headed components.
- Proven Cost Savings: Documented 40-70% reduction compared to machining
- Complete Capabilities: Full diameter range with comprehensive secondary operations
- Quality Materials: Finest quality wire from stock with exotic material expertise
- Domestic Manufacturing: We cold-head Made in USA components, paired with best available lead times
- Single-Source Solutions: Cold heading plus all required secondary operations
Made in USA Advantage
Made in USA | Best Available Lead Times, G-Fast combines domestic manufacturing excellence with honest delivery estimates, ensuring supply chain reliability while supporting American manufacturing.
Comprehensive Secondary Operations
Beyond cold heading, G-Fast provides complete manufacturing solutions through our extensive network of raw material and manufacturing vendor relationships, eliminating your need for multiple suppliers and reducing overall project timelines for the most challenging fastener and component requirements.
Contact G-Fast Today
Request a Quote: Experience our world class service, prompt response and accurate technical review and cost analysis
Engineering Consultation: Our engineering department will work with your engineers to discuss and find the best material options, and finishing requirements
Lead Time Assessment: Benefit from our best available lead times advantage
Don’t let manufacturing challenges limit your success. Partner with G-Fast and discover how our advanced cold heading experience and capability will deliver precision, efficiency, and cost effectiveness your business demands.