A cold forging die forms metal at room temperature. Instead of cutting the stock away, the die pushes it into a new shape — the grain flow follows the part, the surface work-hardens, and no material is lost to chips. For fasteners and cold-formed components that is the cheapest way to make a strong part at volume: one stroke, near-net shape, minimal machining afterwards.
Cold Forging Die vs Cold Heading Die
The two are closely related and the names are often used together, but the work is different. A cold heading die upsets the end of a wire or blank — it makes the head of a screw, the collar of a rivet, the flange of a special part. A cold forging die displaces material through a larger volume of the part: forward and backward extrusion, reducing, semi-hollow and hollow forms, splines and cross-holes. In practice a multi-station header will run both in one tool set — heading stations first, forging and extrusion stations after — which is why we normally build the complete set together rather than a single station in isolation.
If your part is short and its head is the feature, you are looking for a cold heading die. If the part has a shank that must be extruded, reduced or formed along its length, you need a cold forging die — or a combination of both.
When a Carbide Cold Heading Die Is the Better Buy
Die material is a cost decision, not a quality slogan. Tool steel is tough and cheaper to make; it forgives a mis-hit. Tungsten carbide is harder and holds size far longer, but it does not like shock. A tungsten carbide cold heading die earns its price when the run is long enough that die changes cost more than the die, and when the workpiece is abrasive or hard — stainless steel, high-strength alloy steel, or any part where you are fighting galling and pick-up.
Our carbide dies use a shrink-fitted construction: a carbide core carries the forming load while a tough steel casing holds it in compression. That is what keeps a carbide core from cracking under the impact of every stroke. Where the part geometry is severe or the press is older and the shock load is high, we will tell you to stay on tool steel — a die that fails early is more expensive than one that costs less and runs predictably.
Cold Forging Dies We Build
- Fastener dies — screw, nut, bolt and special-part tooling, including heading, trimming and extrusion stations.
- Cold heading dies and carbide heading dies for multi-station headers and parts formers.
- Extrusion and reducing dies for shank reduction, semi-hollow and hollow parts.
- Punches, punch heads and ejector pins built in the same operation, so the set fits and runs together.
We make to your drawing or to a sample. If you have neither, send the part number and the machine model — a station layout and a part print are usually enough to quote from.
How Each Die Is Made
Every die is machined from certified material, heat treated under control, then precision ground to the finished size. Grinding after heat treatment is what holds the tolerance; cutting corners here is the usual reason a die loses size in the first hundred thousand pieces. Before anything ships it is measured and recorded — 100% inspection, not a sample check — so the dimensions you approved are the dimensions you receive.
We run two factories. One is dedicated to cold heading dies and fastener molds, with its own tooling R&D department; the other produces the supporting tooling — punch rods, punches, clips. A complete set is therefore finished, fitted and shipped together, rather than arriving from three suppliers and needing to be matched on your bench.
Request a Quote
Tell us the machine, the number of stations, the part material and the volume you expect. We will come back with the die material we recommend, the tolerance we can hold, and the tool life you should plan for. See the full product range or send your drawing through the quotation page.
Non-standard and special-shaped parts are a separate problem from catalogue fasteners. If your part has no standard equivalent, see how we develop tooling for automotive non-standard fasteners.
Cold forging and cold heading share the same tooling logic. If the part is headed rather than forged, the die set is covered under cold heading dies for screws and bolts.