Cold heading process and module technology for terminal blocks
Mar 10, 2026
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In electrical connection systems, the clamp screw is a key component for achieving reliable electrical connections between conductors and equipment. Its structural strength, conductivity, and manufacturing efficiency directly affect the safety and stability of the entire system. Traditional screw clamp terminals are mostly manufactured using bending, riveting, or machining methods, which suffer from complex processes, low material utilization, and insufficient structural strength. In recent years, cold heading technology has gradually become the mainstream technology for manufacturing high-performance stamping screw terminal blocks due to its advantages of high efficiency, energy saving, and high strength integration.
Cold heading is a precision forming technique that uses high pressure at room temperature to plastically deform metal materials to obtain the desired shape. Unlike hot forging or machining, cold heading does not introduce high temperatures, avoiding material oxidation, grain coarsening, and residual stress concentration. It effectively preserves the mechanical properties of the raw material while improving the density and fatigue strength of the parts. Cold heading is particularly suitable for components such as screw terminal blocks that need to withstand repeated tightening forces and high current loads.
This entire process achieves integrated molding from bar stock to complete screw clamp terminal blocks, eliminating the need for welding, riveting, or secondary machining. This significantly improves material utilization (up to 95%) and production efficiency (tens of thousands of pieces per machine per day). More importantly, during cold heading, the metal fibers are continuously distributed along the part's contour without any cutting, greatly enhancing the tensile strength, torsional resistance, and conductive contact area of the electrical screw terminal block.
The core of this process is the cold heading forming module. This module consists of seven functional dies: a cutting die, a shaping die, a primary/secondary pre-forming die, a square hole forming die, a round hole forming die, and a round hole punching die. Each die is made of high-wear-resistant alloy steel and uses a precision guiding mechanism to ensure that the positioning error between multiple stations is less than ±0.02mm. For example, the square hole forming die has a built-in punching section, which can complete core removal and trimming in a single stroke; the round hole forming die is equipped with forming inserts that are precisely embedded into the already formed square holes, avoiding interference and deformation. This modular and highly integrated design not only ensures the dimensional accuracy of the Terminal Screw Block, but also facilitates maintenance and replacement.
Compared to traditional bending structures, cold-forged integral forming terminals offer significant advantages: First, they boast high overall strength, making them less prone to cracking under high torque tightening or vibration environments; second, they provide a smoother contact surface, improving wire crimping reliability; third, the surface is free of weld seams or burrs, reducing contact resistance and the risk of temperature rise; and fourth, production costs are low, with energy consumption only 30%–50% of that of hot processing.
Furthermore, this process is highly adaptable to various terminal types, including M4 screw terminals, ground terminal blocks, fuse terminal blocks, and even double cage terminals with M5 screws. By adjusting the mold cavity and forging parameters, product models can be quickly switched on the same equipment, meeting the flexible manufacturing needs of small batches and diverse product varieties.
With the increasing demands for connectivity reliability from new energy sources, smart grids, and industrial automation, cold heading technology is evolving towards higher precision and more complex structures. For example, leaseage terminals integrating multi-hole systems, irregular grooves, or flexible clamping structures can now be produced using eight-station or even ten-station cold heading machines. In the future, combining simulation-based optimization of metal flow paths and mold life prediction will further drive the intelligent upgrading of this process.
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