Method and device for producing elevator guide rail

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method and a corresponding apparatus for manufacturing an elevator guide rail (100), comprising providing (310) a thermoformed guide rail having a head portion (110) and a foot portion (120) in cross section, and cold forming (320) the provided guide rail through a mold (220). Cold forming is applied only to the head portion (110) and not to the foot portion (120), where the cold-formed head portion forms a tread (112) of the guide rail (100).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to the manufacture of lift guides. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for manufacturing a lift guide, wherein only the head portion of a hot-formed guide is further cold-formed. Background Art

[0002] Guides for passenger or goods lifts are used to guide the car of the lift or the counterweight of the lift along the direction of movement of the car or the counterweight. The class and quality as well as the dimensional characteristics and tolerances of such guides are standardized, for example in accordance with the ISO 7465:2007 standard.

[0003] This standard differentiates between cold-drawn rails (type A), machined rails (type B), and precision-machined rails (type BE). The tensile strength Rm of the raw material (steel) should be at least 370 MPa (N / mm 2 ) and not exceed 520 MPa. During the cold-drawing process, the material is pressed and thus its hardness and tensile strength increase. Therefore, this standard recommends using steel grade E 235B for type A rails and steel grade E275B for type B and type BE rails. In addition, this standard defines surface finish and roughness parameters, especially for the guide blade, i.e., the surface on / along which the components of the car or the counterweight move.

[0004] However, machining the guides is time-consuming, such that for the production of type B and type BE rails, this production step forms a bottleneck in the entire manufacturing process. Thus, the machining is slow, thereby increasing the production cost and requiring large machinery, i.e., large production space. Additionally, large production space is also required for the production of type A rails as well as type B and / or type BE rails. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Accordingly, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a method and apparatus for manufacturing lift guides in a more time-saving and cost-effective manner.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method for manufacturing a lift guide includes: providing a hot-formed guide having a head portion and a foot portion in cross-section; and cold-forming the provided guide through a die, wherein the cold-forming is applied only to the head portion and not to the foot portion, and wherein the cold-formed head portion forms the running surface of the guide.

[0007] Cold forming of the head part avoids time-consuming machining of the lift guide rails, while the running surface of the guide rail (i.e., the blade or surface on / along which the guiding components of the counterweight or lift car slide / move / run, etc.) is formed in a single manufacturing step. For example, while machining the guide rail may take several minutes for each rail, cold forming can be achieved within seconds. In addition, a surface blank with low geometric accuracy and roughness is required for the running surface (head part) of the guide rail. Due to the compression of the material, cold forming provides such characteristics for the guide rail. Since only a part of the guide rail is cold formed, this cold forming requires less power and is faster compared to cold forming the entire surface of the guide rail (which is necessary for type A guide rails).

[0008] In addition, this standard recommends that type A guide rails are suitable for rail models from T45 to T90, and type B or BE guide rails are suitable for rail models from T75 to T140. On the other hand, the method disclosed herein allows any model of rail to be manufactured in the same manufacturing step. Therefore, the manufacture of lift guide rails becomes less complex, and the disclosed method is generally applicable.

[0009] Furthermore, since the guide rail is not machined, there is no material loss in the disclosed manufacturing method. This reduces the amount of raw material used for producing the guide rail.

[0010] It should be understood that any raw material can be used, and the present disclosure is not limited to hot-formed guide rails. For example, any hot-formed (e.g., hot-rolled or hot-drawn or hot-extruded or hot-forged) raw material can be used to produce the guide rail. However, hot-rolled guide rails can be provided with already precise dimensions, so that the time, energy consumption, and cost required for further deformation (especially during the cold forming step of the disclosed method) will be reduced.

[0011] In a variant of the embodiment, the cold forming can be adapted to achieve a degree of deformation between 1.5% and 5%, preferably between 2.5% and 4%, and most preferably between 3.1% and 3.8%. In other words, the original hot-formed guide rail is only slightly deformed at its head part. For example, for an average-sized guide rail, due to cold forming, the head thickness or width (when observing the head part in the cross-sectional direction of the guide rail, such as the dimension between two opposite running surface surfaces of the head part) can be reduced by approximately 0.3 mm to 0.6 mm, preferably 0.4 mm to 0.5 mm, and the head height can be reduced by approximately 0.4 mm to 0.8 mm, preferably 0.5 mm to 0.7 mm.

[0012] This small degree of deformation allows cold forming to be carried out in a single step or only in a few cold forming steps, such as passing through corresponding dies with smaller cross-sectional openings two or three times in sequence.

[0013] In addition, the degree of deformation should not be significantly lower than the lower limit of the above range, because otherwise the desired surface characteristics may not be achieved. Specifically, a degree of deformation within the most preferred range can produce the surface roughness required by the standard without further processing of the surface.

[0014] In another embodiment variant, the providing of the guide rail may include providing a guide rail with a steel grade between E235 and E275, preferably between E235 and E265. On the one hand, any recommended steel type can be provided for manufacturing the lift guide rail. Due to the cold-forming of the compression material, the hardness and tensile strength of the material increase. Therefore, if the E275 grade is used, the resulting lift guide rail may exceed the maximum tensile strength of 520 MPa. Therefore, a steel grade lower than E275 can be used, and the resulting guide rail still meets the requirements of the standard.

[0015] Alternatively or additionally, the providing of the guide rail may include providing a guide rail made of steel having a tensile strength between 260 MPa and 500 MPa, preferably between 350 MPa and 500 MPa, and most preferably between 450 MPa and 495 MPa. This steel grade can be cold-formed without exceeding the maximum standard limit of 520 MPa.

[0016] Keeping the resulting tensile strength below the maximum standard limit of 520 MPa can be achieved by keeping the degree of deformation within the above range (e.g., between 3.1% and 3.8%).

[0017] In yet another embodiment variant, the providing of the guide rail may include providing a guide rail having a T-shaped cross-section, wherein a head portion is formed at least in part on one leg of the T-shaped cross-section. The foot portion is formed by two flanges extending from the head portion.

[0018] Additionally or alternatively, the providing of the guide rail may include providing a guide rail of one of the types T45 to T140 according to ISO 7465:2007.

[0019] Still additionally or alternatively, the providing of the guide rail may include providing a guide rail having an L-shaped cross-section, wherein a head portion is formed at least in part on one leg of the L-shaped cross-section. The foot portion is formed by the other leg of the L-shaped cross-section.

[0020] Further additionally or alternatively, the provided guide rail may comprise a guide rail providing a cross-section without an appreciable foot portion. By way of example only, such a guide rail may have a substantially rectangular cross-section. A head portion and a foot portion may be formed at opposite ends of the substantially rectangular cross-section. The cross-section may further have the same width over its entire height or may have at least two sections of different widths. For example, the foot portion may have a smaller cross-sectional width than the head portion of the substantially rectangular cross-section. This type of guide rail allows the guide rail to be mounted in, for example, a clamping fixture, thereby reducing the space required for mounting the guide rail.

[0021] Generally, the head portion and the foot portion respectively form portions of the guide rail having different functions. The foot portion is mainly used to mount the guide rail to the support structure of the lift. Additionally, the foot portion may also be used to connect the guide rail to another guide rail in its longitudinal direction, for example, using a fishplate that overlaps and is mounted to the two guide rails for connection.

[0022] The head portion extends from the foot portion, such as into the open space of the lift shaft when the guide rail is mounted in the lift shaft. The head portion may be arranged at an angle to the foot portion (especially when observing the cross-section of the guide rail). By way of example only, the angle between the head portion and the foot portion may be 90° + / - 10°. According to another example, the angle between the head portion and the foot portion may be 0° or 180°, i.e., the head portion and the foot portion together have a (substantially) rectangular cross-section. Thus, the head portion provides at least one surface along which the guiding components of the lift car or counterweight can slide, move, roll or run when the lift car or counterweight moves up and down in the lift shaft. Thus, the at least one surface forms the running surface of the guide rail.

[0023] In any case, cold forming is applied to the at least one surface of the head portion, especially the at least one surface forming the running surface of the guide rail. Cold forming is not applied to the surface of the foot portion and / or cold forming may not be applied to the surface of the head portion that does not form the running surface (or blade) of the guide rail. This saves energy and time by reducing the overall deformation level across the entire guide rail.

[0024] In another variant of the embodiment, the cold forming includes cold rolling, cold drawing, or a combination thereof. For example, cold rolling allows at least a portion of the guide rail to deform with a reduced friction component, such that less heat is generated during cold forming. On the other hand, cold drawing is achieved by providing a fixed (non-movable) die having a cross-sectional opening that is slightly smaller than that of the provided hot-formed guide rail. By pulling the guide rail through the die, at least a portion of the guide rail is deformed. It should be understood that cold rolling and cold drawing can be combined in any desired manner. For example, a specific surface of the guide rail (such as the running surface or the surface of the blade) can be cold rolled, while the top of the head portion is cold drawn, and vice versa. In any case, a portion of the guide rail becomes smaller in at least one cross-sectional direction.

[0025] In a variant of the embodiment, the method may further include heating the cold-formed guide rail to anneal at least the head portion of the guide rail. For example, if the original steel already has a high tensile strength, cold forming may cause the tensile strength to exceed the maximum value of 520 MPa. By annealing at least the head portion of the guide rail, the tensile strength and other mechanical properties caused by cold forming can be reduced. By way of example only, heating can be achieved by induction heating at least the head portion of the cold-formed guide rail.

[0026] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a lift guide rail includes a foot portion and a head portion forming the running surface of the guide rail, wherein the guide rail is manufactured (or "obtained") according to the method of the first aspect or at least one variant thereof.

[0027] A lift guide rail that is only partially cold formed can have specific material properties in the surface area of the cold-formed head portion. For example, since the material of the guide rail is partially work-hardened due to the cold forming process, it will have an increased tensile strength. For example, cold forming can increase the tensile strength of the head portion by up to 100 MPa compared to the (non-formed) foot portion. Additionally, a smoother surface, i.e., a smaller roughness parameter value, can be achieved during cold forming.

[0028] Therefore, a lift guide rail according to the second aspect can be distinguished from a guide rail produced by another (e.g., conventional) manufacturing process by comparing the tensile strength of the head portion and the foot portion and determining whether the tensile strength of the head portion is higher. Similarly, the surface roughness at the head portion can be smaller (smoother) compared to the foot portion.

[0029] Additionally, a microscopic analysis of a lift guide rail according to the second aspect can show an elongated microstructure of the steel, particularly in the surface area of a part of the cold-formed head portion. Therefore, a lift guide rail according to the second aspect can be distinguished from a guide rail produced by another (e.g., conventional) process, for example, by comparing the microstructure at the head portion (e.g., at the running surface) and the foot portion.

[0030] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus for manufacturing a lift guide rail includes: a receiving member configured to receive a hot-formed guide rail having a head portion and a foot portion in cross-section; and a die configured to cold-form only the head portion of the provided guide rail and not the foot portion, wherein the cold-formed head portion forms a running surface of the guide rail. The apparatus further includes a moving member configured to move the guide rail through the die. For example, the moving member can pull the guide rail through the die.

[0031] In an embodiment variant, the die can be implemented by one or more push or non-push rollers that cold-roll at least a portion of the guide rail. For example, a pair of vertical rollers and a pair of horizontal rollers can be employed. Alternatively or additionally, the die can act as a cold-drawing member by providing a fixed die having a cross-sectional opening slightly smaller than that of the provided hot-formed guide rail. It should be understood that the combination of the rollers and the fixed die can be implemented in any desired form such that portions of the guide rail are cold-rolled while other portions are cold-drawn. In any case, a portion of the guide rail becomes smaller in at least one cross-sectional direction.

[0032] In another embodiment variant, the die can include a plurality of die parts, each of the plurality of die parts cold-forming one surface of the head portion. For example, each die part can cold-form one surface of the head portion such that the number of deformed surfaces corresponds to the number of die parts. Alternatively, one die part can deform more than one surface of the guide rail, such as an L-shaped die part.

[0033] By way of example only, the plurality of die parts can include at least one roller for cold-rolling a corresponding portion of the head portion of the guide rail. Optionally, the remaining one or more of the plurality of die parts are one or more fixed dies.

[0034] In yet another embodiment variant, the die can include at least one guide block, each of the at least one guide block being configured to support the guide rail in the die. In other words, the die includes at least one portion that does not deform the corresponding surface of the guide rail but allows the guide rail to slide or roll along the guide block.

[0035] In another embodiment variant, the apparatus can further include a heating member configured to heat at least a portion of the cold-formed guide rail. Such a heating member can be implemented synchronously during the production process, such as near the die or directly after the die (in the direction of movement of the guide rail through the apparatus).

[0036] This particularly allows annealing at least the head portion of the guide rail in order to reduce specific mechanical properties of the cold-formed guide rail.

[0037] By way of example only, the heating component may be or may include an induction heating component or an induction heater configured to raise the temperature of at least the head portion of the cold-formed guide rail.

[0038] The present disclosure is not limited to the aspects and variations in the forms and orders described. Specifically, the descriptions of the aspects and variations should not be understood as specific restrictive groupings of features. It should be understood that the present disclosure also covers combinations of these aspects and variations not explicitly described. Thus, each variation or alternative feature may be combined with any other aspect, variation, alternative feature, or even a combination thereof. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be further described with reference to exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings, in which:

[0040] Figure 1A and Figure 1B a cross-section of an exemplary lift guide rail is schematically shown;

[0041] Figure 2 a perspective view of an exemplary apparatus for manufacturing a lift guide rail is schematically shown;

[0042] Figure 3 a plurality of die parts are schematically shown;

[0043] Figure 4 a side view of an exemplary apparatus for manufacturing a lift guide rail is schematically shown; and

[0044] Figure 5 a flowchart of a method for manufacturing a lift guide rail is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure may be practiced in other embodiments without these specific details.

[0046] Figure 1AThe cross-section of an exemplary lift guide rail 100 is schematically shown. Such a guide rail 100 may have a T-shaped cross-section forming a head portion 110 and a foot portion 120, which is just one example of a guide rail. The head portion 110 and the foot portion 120 may also be referred to as the head section and the foot section, respectively. In particular, the foot portion 120 may be formed by two flanges extending from the head portion 110. The head portion 110 may form or include the tread surface 112 (also referred to as the blade or the sliding surface or the guiding surface) of the guide rail 100. The car or counterweight (not shown) of the lift typically has a component connected thereto that runs along the guide rail 100 such that the car or counterweight is guided up and down along its path within the lift shaft. Such a component may include rollers or sliders that contact the tread surface 112 of the head portion 110.

[0047] Optionally, the head portion 110 may be further divided into a section forming the tread surface 112 of the guide rail 100 and an intermediate section 115. Thus, the length of the intermediate section 115, in particular, may only serve to place the tread surface 112 in the correct position relative to the foot portion 120, i.e., the correct position within the lift shaft.

[0048] Figure 1B The cross-section of another exemplary lift guide rail 100 is schematically shown. Such a guide rail 100 may have a substantially L-shaped cross-section forming a head portion 110 and a foot portion 120, which is also just one example of a guide rail. In particular, in this example, the foot portion 120 extends from the head portion 110 in a direction angled with respect to the extent of the head portion 110. This allows for a reduction in the space required to install the guide rail 100 compared to a guide rail 100 having a T-shaped cross-section (such as Figure 1A )). The head portion 110 may form or include the tread surface 112, as in the example of Figure 1A . Thus, a detailed description of such a tread surface 112 will be omitted to avoid redundant explanations.

[0049] It should be noted that in Figure 1A and Figure 1B , the head portion 110, the foot portion 120, and the intermediate section 115 are shown as having different widths. While this may reflect the actual form of such a guide rail 100, Figure 1A and Figure 1B this illustration is also used to distinguish the tread surface 112 of the head portion 110 from the foot portion 120. However, the guide rail 100 is not limited to such a cross-sectional shape. For example, the guide rail 100 may have the same cross-sectional width over the entire height (of the head portion 110) and over the entire extent of one or both flanges of the foot portion 120.

[0050] Figure 2A perspective view of an exemplary apparatus 200 for manufacturing an elevator guide rail 100 is schematically shown. The apparatus 200 includes a receiving member 210 configured to receive the guide rail 100. The receiving member 210 may be simply implemented as a roller on which the guide rail 100 rolls. It should be understood that the receiving member 210 may have any shape and form for controlling the movement of the guide rail 100 along its longitudinal axis (X axis).

[0051] The guide rail 100 may include Figure 1A or Figure 1B The head portion 110 and the foot portion 120 are described. The apparatus 200 further comprises a die 220 configured to cold form a portion of the guide rail 100, in particular at least a portion of the head portion 110. This portion of the head portion 110 forms a tread 112 of the guide rail 100. Such a tread 112 requires specific mechanical properties and surface parameters to help guide the elevator car or counterweight with reduced friction and close tolerances. In order to achieve the desired mechanical properties and surface parameters, the die 220 cold forms this portion of the head portion 110. As Figure 2 , the mold 220 includes an upper section 221 acting on the top surface of the head portion 110 in the Z-axis direction and two side sections 222, 223 acting in the Y-axis direction and opposite to each other. The side sections 222, 223 form the tread 112 on each side of the guide rail 100. The top surface of the head portion 110 can also form a tread, that is, a surface with low roughness for achieving good sliding and guiding capabilities of the guide rail 100.

[0052] Thus, the mold 220 includes a plurality of mold sections, each of which cold forms one surface of the head portion 110. It should be understood that the mold 220 may include fewer mold sections than illustrated in the accompanying drawings. For example, if the corresponding surface of the guide rail 100 does not need to be cold formed, the upper section 221 of the mold 220 may be omitted. Figure 3 , the die sections 221 to 223 may include one or more rollers for cold rolling corresponding portions of the head section 110. Merely as an example, the side sections 222, 223 may be implemented as horizontal rollers for cold forming the tread 112 of the guide rail 100. The upper section 221 may be a fixed die for cold forming the top surface of the guide rail 100.

[0053] While the die 220 may include only these sections 221 to 223 of the cold-forming head portion 110, the die 220 may optionally include additional die sections. For example, there may be a bottom block 240 configured to support the guide rail 100 within the die 220. Such a bottom block 240 may form a support for the guide rail 100, particularly resisting forces caused by the upper section 221 of the cold-forming die 220. Additionally, there may be additional side sections 232, 233 that guide the guide rail 100 through the die 220 but do not cold-form the corresponding portions of the guide rail 100. Such side sections 232, 233 and / or the bottom block 240 may be of larger size such that the area supporting the guide rail 100 is much larger than the contact surface between the cold-forming part of the die 220 and the guide rail 100. This avoids cold-forming the guide rail 100 in areas where the running surface 112 is not formed.

[0054] It should be understood that the size, form, and position of the die sections 221 to 223 and the guide blocks 232, 233, 240 are for illustrative purposes only. These parts of the die 220 may generally have any form and shape necessary to cold-form at least a portion of the head portion 110 of the guide rail 100 while leaving the remainder of the guide rail 100 unchanged.

[0055] Referring again to Figure 2 , the guide rail 100 may have through-holes 150 at at least one of its ends. Such through-holes 150 may allow the guide rail 100 to be connected to another guide rail 100 (not shown) that is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the first guide rail 100. For example, a fishplate may be mounted under the guide rail 100 using fasteners inserted into the through-holes 150.

[0056] Such through-holes 150 may further be used to couple the guide rail 100 to a moving part 250 of the device 200, which is configured to move the guide rail 100 through the die 220. However, the moving part 250 may be coupled to the guide rail 100 in any other way, such as by welding to the guide rail 100, mounting to the head portion 110 and / or the intermediate section 115.

[0057] Figure 4 A side view of the device 200 is schematically shown. Parts that are the same as those already shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3 and have already been described with respect to those figures have been indicated with the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted to avoid redundant explanations. The moving part 250 may be arranged at the longitudinal ends of the guide rail 100 and move the guide rail 100 in the longitudinal direction (X-axis) of the guide rail 100.

[0058] After cold forming the tread surface 112 in the die 220, the mechanical properties of the guide rail 100 have changed. In particular, the tensile strength of the head portion 110 may have increased. To at least anneal the head portion 110, the heating component 280 may raise the temperature of the head portion 110. For example, the heating component 280 may be an induction heating component that helps to heat only a part of the guide rail 100, such as the head portion 110 and / or the tread surface 112. The heating component 280 may be further configured to heat only the surface of the guide rail 100. This not only saves energy but also allows the mechanical properties of the cold-formed head portion 110 to be maintained as much as possible.

[0059] Figure 5 A flowchart of a method for manufacturing an elevator guide rail 100 (e.g., the guide rail 100 shown in FIGS. 1 to Figure 4 the guide rail 100 shown therein) is shown. The method starts in step 310 with providing a hot-formed (e.g., hot-rolled) guide rail 100 having a head portion 110 and a foot portion 120, such as the guide rail 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and Figure 2 the guide rail 100 shown therein.

[0060] The steel grade of the hot-formed guide rail 100 may be between E 235 and E 275, preferably between E 235 and E 265. Such a steel grade can be cold-formed while maintaining the mechanical properties within the limits specified by the elevator guide rail standard, such as ISO7465:2007.

[0061] Alternatively or additionally, in step 310, a guide rail made of steel having a tensile strength between 260 MPa and 500 MPa, preferably between 350 MPa and 500 MPa, and most preferably between 450 MPa and 495 MPa is provided. Even if the tensile strength increases due to cold forming, the resulting tensile strength (especially the tensile strength in the region of the head portion 110) is below the limit of 520 MPa specified in the above standard.

[0062] By way of example only, the chemical composition of the original guide rail 100 is given in Table 1 below.

[0063] Table 1: Exemplary chemical composition of the steel for the guide rail 100

[0064] C Mn S Al 0.075 0.368 0.0076 0.0034

[0065] In the next step 320, only the head portion 110 of the guide rail 100 is cold formed. Such cold forming in a die 220, for example, changes some mechanical properties of the guide rail 100. This is shown in Table 2 below, which presents some test results performed on the guide rail 100 manufactured according to the disclosed method. Samples for testing the mechanical properties of the guide rail 100 have been taken from each side of the head portion 110 as well as the foot portion 120 (i.e., one sample is taken from each flange forming the foot portion 120).

[0066] Table 2: Mechanical properties of samples of the guide rail 100

[0067] sample tensile strength yield strength at 0.2 yield ratio Brinell hardness elongation at break Rm, MPa RP0.2, MPa RP0.2 / Rm HB A5，％ head part 510 443 0.87 152 22.5 foot part L 493 442 0.9 147 22.0 foot part R 464 389 0.84 135 27.0

[0068] As can be derived from Table 2 above, the cold forming performed on the head portion 110 increases the tensile strength but keeps it below 520 MPa, which is the maximum limit required by the applicable standard ISO 7465:2007.

[0069] To achieve such mechanical properties, the cold forming in step 320 can provide a degree of deformation between 1.5% and 5%, preferably between 2.5% and 4%, and most preferably between 3.1% and 3.8%. The upper limit of this range of the degree of deformation prevents the guide rail 100 from having a higher tensile strength, while the lower limit of this range of the degree of deformation achieves the desired surface structure (surface parameters such as roughness).

[0070] In a further step 330, the cold formed guide rail can be heated to anneal at least the head portion 110 of the guide rail 100. Such heating of the head portion 100 reduces the tensile strength and further allows the straightening of the guide rail 100, which may be bent due to the cold forming of only the head portion 110. The heating can be applied by an induction heating component, which is easily synchronously installed with the die 220 and allows specific heating of the guide rail 100 made of ferrous metal.

[0071] It is believed that the advantages of the technology proposed herein will be fully understood from the above description, and it will be apparent that various changes can be made to the form, construction, and arrangement of its exemplary aspects without departing from the scope of the disclosure or sacrificing all its advantageous effects. Since the technology proposed herein can be varied in many ways, it will be recognized that the disclosure should be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a lift guide rail (100), the method comprising: Providing (310) a hot - formed guide rail, the hot - formed guide rail having a head portion (110) and a foot portion (120) in cross - section; and Cold - forming (320) the provided guide rail through a die (220), Characterized in that, The cold - forming is applied only to the head portion (110) and not to the foot portion (120), wherein the cold - formed head portion forms the running surface (112) of the guide rail (100).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The cold - forming is adapted to achieve a degree of deformation between 1.5% and 5%, preferably between 2.5% and 4%, and most preferably between 3.1% and 3.8%.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The providing (310) of the guide rail (100) includes providing a guide rail with a steel grade between E 235 and E 275, preferably between E 235 and E 265, or providing a guide rail made of steel having a tensile strength between 260 MPa and 500 MPa, preferably between 350 MPa and 500 MPa, and most preferably between 450 MPa and 495 MPa.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The providing (310) of the guide rail (100) includes providing a guide rail having a T - shaped cross - section or an L - shaped cross - section or a rectangular cross - section, wherein the head portion (110) is formed at least in part at one leg of the T - shaped cross - section or the L - shaped cross - section or at a part of the rectangular cross - section, and the foot portion (120) is formed by the remaining part of the cross - section, and / or Wherein, the providing of the guide rail (100) includes providing a T45 to T140 type guide rail according to ISO 7465:2007.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, The cold - forming (320) includes cold rolling, cold drawing, or a combination thereof.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: Heating (330) the cold - formed guide rail (100) to anneal at least the head portion (110) of the guide rail (100), preferably by induction heating of at least the head portion (110) of the guide rail (100).

7. A lift guide rail (100), comprising: A head portion (110), the head portion forming the running surface (112) of the guide rail (100); And A foot portion (120), Wherein, the guide rail (100) is manufactured by the method according to any one of the preceding claims.

8. A device (200) for manufacturing a lift guide rail (100), the device comprising: A receiving member (210), the receiving member being configured to receive a hot - formed guide rail (100), the hot - formed guide rail having a head portion (110) and a foot portion (120) in cross - section; A die (220), the die being configured to cold - form only the head portion (110) of the provided guide rail (100) and not cold - form the foot portion (120), wherein the cold - formed head portion (110) forms the running surface (112) of the guide rail (100); and A moving part (250) configured to move the guide rail (100) through the die (220).

9. The apparatus (200) according to claim 8, wherein, The die (220) includes a plurality of die parts (221 to 223), each of the plurality of die parts cold-forming the surface of the head part (110).

10. The device (200) according to claim 8 or 9, wherein, The plurality of die parts (221 to 223) includes at least one roller for cold-rolling a corresponding part of the head part (110).

11. The apparatus (200) according to claim 10, wherein, The remaining die parts (221 to 223) of the plurality of die parts are fixed dies.

12. The device (200) according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein, The die (220) includes at least one guide block (232, 233, 240), each of the at least one guide block being configured to support the guide rail (100) in the die (220).

13. The device (200) according to any one of claims 8 to 12, further comprising: A heating part (280) configured to heat at least a part of the cold-formed guide rail (100), preferably configured to anneal at least the head part (110) of the guide rail (100).

14. The device (200) according to claim 13, wherein, The heating part (280) is an induction heating part.

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