The ongoing development of cold forging technology has been manifested
lately by the increasing application of components in cold forged alu
minium alloys. Applying precipitation hardening alloys components with
great strength/weight ratio can be produced with a strength comparabl
e to that of unalloyed steel. After description of the different types
of alloys and their individual properties and applications, the speci
al requirements for tool design by cold forging in aluminium is discus
sed. Finally, a large number of industrial examples on cold forged alu
minium components are presented. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.