Understanding cold-drawing: advantages & complete process

‍What is cold drawing?

‍Cold drawing is a manufacturing technique used in industry for producing metal bars or profiles. The idea of the drawing process is to reduce the material's size to give it a very precise shape. This involves several different steps:

• Reducing the cross section of the raw material
• The material is then put through a die
• Finally, the drawing machine (draw bench) draws the material, achieving a reduced size with very precise dimensions and enhanced mechanical properties.

In this article, we are going to have a closer look at this technique and the benefits it offers.

The complete drawing process

Drawing involves multiple different stages. First, a raw material is chosen based on the specifications for the final product.
The most commonly used materials for cold drawing are steel and stainless steel, which are themselves subdivided into a multitude of variations.

Stage 1: Pickling

We mechanically strip the material via pickling. The aim of this procedure is to prepare the material for cold forming by eliminating any potential scale on the raw material being cold-drawn. This step involves projecting abrasive particles onto the material's surface to remove surface defects and improve the adhesion of the coatings.

Stage 2: Cold rolling

This step involves forming the prepared material in a rolling mill in order to give it the desired shape and achieve a semi-finished product.

The aim here is to deform the material, obtaining a shape different from that of the raw material.

Rolling or roll forming also allows for more precise profiles and more consistent dimensions. The rolling machines are equipped with rolls specially designed to guarantee optimal quality.

Stage 3: Heat treating the material

In order to release the stresses generated during the cold rolling of the material and obtain structures in accordance with customer requirements, the semi-finished product into a special furnace for bars or wire to carry out the heat treatment.

Stage 4: Shot-blasting

The material is stripped again to remove any traces of scale and prepare the material for cold forming.

Stage 5: Cold-drawing

The final stage of the production process is cold-drawing. This stage involves:

• Pulling the raw material through a narrow die using heads.
• It is then straightened using rollers.
• Finally, it is sheared to the desired length.

The material is drawn to a smaller size and a precise shape. This operation also makes it possible to increase the material's strength and quality, with optimal mechanical properties.
Here at Gardette, bars and profiles range from three to four metres. We also offer wire drawing.
By combining these processes, we are able to produce solid metal products in the form of:

• Square, round or half-round bars with excellent mechanical precision
• Metal profiles without removing material
• High-performance drawn wire in small dimensions

Why choose Gardette instead of a reseller for your steel bars, profiles and wire?

Our business structure, operating in line with our key responsive manufacturing philosophy, allows us to be as flexible and responsive as a reseller since we manufacture our own material, for service that is both highly specialised and versatile.

On top of this, we cold-draw 100% of our material in France, meaning you can be sure of superior material quality and total traceability of the entire manufacturing process.

We are the only manufacturer of keys in the world offering cold drawing services compliant with current industry quality standards (NF EN 10277 / DIN 6880).