When most people hear the word “stamping,” their first thought is either postage, or someone dipping a rubber stamp in ink to leave a mark on some kind of document. However, for manufacturers, stamping has a very different meaning, one that brings to mind heavy machinery that weighs thousands of pounds and can permanently reshape metal with sheer brute force.
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In manufacturing, “stamping” usually refers to sheet metal stamping machinery and processes.
What is sheet metal stamping? How does it work? Here are the basics of the process as well as how it can be used.
What is Sheet Metal Stamping?
The technical definition of metal stamping is that it’s a type of cold forming process that uses extreme force and/or speed to permanently alter the shape of a piece of metal. For sheet metal stamping, the work piece is sheet metal. However, metal stamping machines can be used for metal wires and other metal forms as well.
In some circles, this process is known as “pressing.”
How Do Metal Stamping Machines Work?
The basic operating theory of a metal stamping machine is very simple: you take a large tool and die, put it into a machine that can exert several tons of force very quickly, and use them to press metal objects into the shape you want.
There are several different processes that a sheet metal stamping machine can typically perform:
- Flattening Metal. One of the most basic operations of the stamping machine is to flatten a metal object. This can be done to either smooth out an object or render it thinner at one point for other purposes.
- Swaging Rounded Metal. This is similar to flattening in that it makes a work piece thinner, but this process is usually used for wires instead of sheet metal. Swaging wires makes one end narrower so it can fit into an opening more easily.
- Piercing Metal. Instead of simply flattening the metal, the tool and die from a sheet metal stamping machine can puncture all the way through a piece of metal. This creates openings that can be used to connect multiple work pieces.
- Coining Metal. Rather than punch a small hole in a piece of metal, the tool and die of the sheet metal stamping machine can be used to press the sheet metal into a specific shape (such as a coin).
Because sheet metal stamping machines work on cold pieces of metal that haven’t been rendered malleable, they must rely on extreme force to get the job done—which is why these machines often have very powerful motors. For example, the Rouselle Straight Side Press stamping machine that Marlin Steel uses can exert up to 80 tons of force.
What Are the Benefits of Sheet Metal Stamping?
The advantage of this type of cold forming process is that there’s very little need for secondary operations or to wait for the work piece to cool off.
It also helps to reduce production waste by reshaping metal instead of cutting pieces away—especially when you use piercing operations. Normally, to cut a hole in sheet metal, you have to cut away a piece of that metal, but piercing with a metal stamping machine merely moves the metal out of the way to create the hole without creating excess metal scrap.
Are you curious about how you can use sheet metal stamping for your own custom metal forming needs? Contact Marlin Steel to learn more.
Forming presses are used the world over in all areas of metalwork and production.
They allow for the creation of products used in essential industries, including the automotive industry, construction, and electronic components.
You might have heard a forming press referred to as a stamping press. It’s a common thing but it’s not entirely accurate and could result in you investing in the wrong thing if you don’t know the difference.
But is there a major difference between the forming press and the stamping press? Are they truly interchangeable? Or do you need to invest in a particular type of press based on what you need?
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What is a forming press?
A metal forming press is a machine that uses high pressure to manipulate metals (often sheet metals when they begin) into various shapes for use in manufacturing.
While forming presses perform very specific functions, ‘forming press’ is actually an umbrella term that encompasses many machines that are involved in numerous types of metal pressing.
Hemming, for example, is where the edges of metals are bent by a forming press to make them stronger and to create specific angles.
This isn’t too far removed from rolling, which is when sheet metal is passed through heavy rollers to bend or flatten it.
There are plenty more pressing functions that are achieved by machines that can be accurately described as forming presses. While stamping presses are similar, they can be categorized in their own special wing.
What is a stamping press?
Technically, the stamping press is a type of forming press.
However, the very specific ways stamping presses shape metal and their wide applications mean they’re often talked about in a separate category.
Stamping presses work by placing sheet metal between forming dies before pressure is applied to “stamp” a certain shape in the metal. Think of them as a more advanced version of a hammer and an ironwork block.
This is often confused with punch pressing, which differs in the fact that a piece of metal is punched out and is separated from the metal at the end of the process, whereas stamping presses just shape the metal to the desired specifications of the user.
For example, automotive parts that make up car bodies, are stamped in specific shapes to produce car doors, roofs, bonnets and virtually all other metal parts you see on cars.
Explore forming presses and stamping presses with Cambridge Dynamics
If you think metal presses, like forming presses and stamping presses, have a place in your business, speak with Cambridge Dynamics.
Our extensive experience creating parts for a wide array of industries and working with metal-forming machinery means we’re ideally placed to offer a manufacturing solution to meet your requirements.
Whatever you need, we can fulfil your forming applications and guide you through the best methods for your desired item shape, taking materials, deadlines and your budget into account.
Get in touch with our team of experts today to discuss your metal forming needs. Fill out our online contact form or send an e-mail to enquiries@cambridgedynamics.co.uk, and we’ll respond as soon as possible.
Or you can give us a phone call on 01480 459555 to speak to someone at our headquarters in Cambridgeshire.
For more sheet metal stamping press machineinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.