Cold Working

Cold working is the materials engineering technique of deforming a metal below its recrystallization temperature, typically at or near room temperature, by processes such as rolling, drawing, bending or forging, to change its shape while also increasing its strength and hardness through a mechanism called strain hardening. Because the metal is not heated to the point where its grain structure recrystallizes, cold working leaves the material harder and less ductile than the same process performed hot, and it also produces a smoother surface finish and tighter dimensional tolerances. Cold-rolled steel sheet and cold-drawn wire are common products of the technique.