Sheet Metal Stamping: What It Is and How It Works

Sheet metal stamping is a cold-forming manufacturing technique used to create both simple and highly complex designs quickly, accurately, and cost-effectively. It is capable of creating high-volume parts while maintaining rigorous tolerance and quality criteria. Here, we’ll highlight the sheet metal stamping process and how it works.

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What Is Sheet Metal Stamping?

Sheet metal stamping is the process of transforming sheets of metal material into a useful component or part. During the process, metal is fed into a press where a stamping tool, referred to as a die, presses through or into the metal with great force to create the desired shape. As a cold-forming technique, sheet metal stamping doesn’t require heat to shape the metal.

What Types of Sheet Metal Can We Stamp?

Premier Products of Racine works with a broad range of materials, from aluminum to carbon steel, copper, high-strength steel and more. We also offer galvanized sheet metal stamping services. Pre-galvanized sheet metal is commonly used for creating moisture-resistant components and has the added benefit of being significantly cheaper than aluminum and stainless steel without sacrificing quality.

While virtually any type of metal can be stamped, the type used in any given application depends on the desired qualities of the part that’s being created. Some of the most commonly used materials in sheet metal stamping include:

• Stainless steel
• Aluminum
• Brass
• Copper
• Low- and high-carbon steel
• Coated Steels
• Pre-Painted Steels
• Nickel alloys
• Titanium

The Sheet Metal Stamping Process

There are three components to sheet metal stamping: the sheet metal, the press machine, and the die. However, producing any single component can require many steps before it arrives at its final form. The following are some common processes that might occur during the metal stamping process:

• Forming. This is the process of creating a new shape from flat metal by the application of force. There are several methods to accomplish this, depending on design specifications. By undergoing a series of operations, metal is altered from a simple shape into a highly complex one.
• Blanking. Blanking is the most basic metal stamping process. It involves feeding a sheet into a press where a die then cuts out the desired shape. The piece that results is called a blank. The blank can require additional forming, or it may be the finished component, referred to as a fully finished blank.
• Drawing. A more complex operation, drawing is used to form deep depressions or vessels. During the process, tension carefully draws material into a cavity to change its shape. Stretching of the material is avoided as much as possible to ensure the material stays intact.
• Piercing. This process is often thought of as the opposite of blanking. Rather than keeping the blanks, technicians use the material around the outside of the punched area. During the piercing process, punched-out shapes are discarded, with the hole-riddled sheet metal being the desired product.

Sheet Metal Stamping From Premier Products of Racine

Metal stamping is a very cost-effective alternative to casting, which is why it is used in so many industries today, particularly by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s), who are well aware of how recyclable sheet metal is. OEM’s in the aerospace industry, as well as those who deal in appliances and in automotives, are among the biggest makers of metal-stamped parts, often producing their own parts right on-site. Metal-stamped parts are extremely popular across many industries, by virtue of their high quality and cost-effective nature. Here is how the metal stamping process works.

The Metal Stamping Process

During the metal stamping process, some metal such as steel is cut, and formed into a shape which is desired by a client. The metal stamping process requires three essential components: the metal from which the part will be made, a stamping press, and a stamping die. To begin the process, a flat sheet of metal called a blank, is inserted between a punch and a stamping die, in order to create the shape which is desired. The stamping press is composed of the following parts:

The blank holder – during stamping, this will hold onto the blank for control

The die – the die will determine the outside shape of the component being built

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The punch – the punch determines the inner shape of the component being built

The bolster plate – this is the lower portion of the die, which is stationary

The blank – this is the part of the metal which is punched through the die.

When a blank is punched from the sheet metal, it comes right through the die, which has been constructed at a slight angle so as to prevent the blanks from becoming stuck inside the press. The press itself is a very powerful machine which requires approximately 70 tons of pressure to cut a 10 inch circle out of sheet metal that is .125 inches thick. Presses built today can range anywhere from 10 tons to 50,000 tons of force which can be exerted on the metal being cut.

In order to work correctly, the metal stamping process requires a number of different workers at various stages of the operation. A machinist is necessary so that the die components can be cut to the correct dimensions. Then a die maker must test the dies for uniformity and will also assemble the stamping tools. A maintenance technician is also necessary, so that any repairs can be made and the dies can be maintained. If any problems arise during the metal stamping process, the maintenance technician will likely be able to resolve them.

After the stamping process has been completed, some parts will require additional work. Another process called deep drawing is sometimes necessary, and in this process, a flat blank is drawn very slowly over a special kind of forming die in order to achieve a shape which is desired. After this has been accomplished, any excess material is cut away from the deep drawn metal, and that metal might then have to be flanged.

Other Metal Stamping Services

Beyond the ordinary metal stamping process, a number of other metal stamping services are sometimes required, such as progressive die stamping, blanking, laser cutting, piercing, coining, forming, and bending. Together all these metal stamping processes are responsible for the creation of a huge number of products used by people in their everyday lives.

A few examples are washers and dryers, which are made from a specific metal stamping process, as well as many of the pots and pans that are used for baking and cooking. Even silverware are often derived from a metal stamping processes. Metal stamping has probably been a big influence on your life, without you ever having realized it.

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