Different Type of Sheet Metal Operation During Manufacturing

Hello friends, I am Arvind, Working in Industries as Design Engineer.

In this blog, I will share my Industry experiences of different type of operations done on sheet metal to manufacture a sheet metal product, parts, equipment and machine.

1. LASER CUTTING:

Friends, once a sheet metal development is completed in 3D all sheet metal parts are flatten and converted into .dwg format so that program for CNC cutting can be made according to .dwg file. Cost of cutting depends on time required to cut, material and volume (thickness).

Please note: A material which is hard such as HR sheet in Mild Steel, Stainless Steel sheet or thickness more than 2 mm in Mild Steel are generally given on laser cutting machine to cut into desire shape and size.

The laser has a high energy beam which easily cut the material. Laser cutting can be used on materials such as steel, aluminum, plastic, wood, rubber etc. Lasers use computer numerically controlled programming (CNC) to determine the shape and position of the cut outs for Material thicknesses of up to 20 mm can be cut by Laser.

2. SHEARING OPERATION:

In this process, cuts stock without the formation of chips. The cutting blades are straight and by applying enough shear force on material to cut the process is called shearing operation.Generally it is use to make rectangular, square shape of sheet metal, blanking, piercing and trimming.

3. PUNCHING OPERATION:

Punching is a process in which many hole are made with punch and die to cut sheet in define shape and size according to .dwg file and punching is done on CNC base machine such as amada turret punching.Punching and blanking refer to the use of a die to cut the material into specific forms.

• In punching operations, a scrap piece of material is removed as the punch enters the die, effectively leaving a hole in the work piece.
• Blanking, on the other hand, removes a work piece from the primary material, making that removed component the desired work piece or blank

Material like CRC MS sheet, GI MS sheet up to 2.5 mm are use in punching and soft material and sharp corner can’t be made on sheet because of punch cutting.

4. BENDING OPERATION:

After cutting of sheet, bending of sheet is carried which is done on V block. In bending operation radius of bent depend on thickness of sheet metal. It also refers to the general technique of forming metal into desired shapes such as L, U, or V-shaped profiles.i.e For 3 mm thickness sheet a radius of bent is 5 mm. For 2 mm thickness sheet a radius of bent is 3 mm.

5. STAMPING:

Metal stamping is a cold-forming process that makes use of dies and stamping presses to transform sheet metal into different shapes. Pieces of flat sheet metal, typically referred to as blanks, are fed into a sheet metal stamping press that uses a tool and die surface to form the metal into a new shape.

A different process are Punching, Blanking, Embossing, Coining and Bending.Embossing is a process for creating either a raised or recessed design in sheet metal, by pressing the raw blank against a die that contains the desired shape.

6. NOTCHING:

Generally, notching is done on corner for bending operation and it is a operation by which metal pieces are cut from the edge of sheet metal.This operation done by hydraulic press or by power press and this type of operationcan also be done by cutting wheel if press is not available.

7. PERFORATING:

This is a process by which multiple small holes are done on sheet and which remain close together are cut in a flat sheet metal.This operation done on CNC punching machine or on laser cutting base on material of sheet.

8. FABRICATION WORK:

In industry argon (MIG) welding on SS sheet, spot welding on sheet whose thickness less 2mm , arc welding on MS sheet are done to join two part of metal piece together to form a sheet metal body.

9. BUFFING:

Buffing is a process of finishing on metal after welding and according to customer requirement. Generally there is mate finish and mirror finish on SS sheet metal. After welding this process is carried to remove extra weld material from joints.

10. COATING AND PAINTING:

For corrosion resistance on metal coating is done on metal to prevent metal from damage. Powder coating on metal is famous in industry for giving look on sheet metal. But Stainless steel such as 304 and 316 does not require coating as they are corrosion resistance.

Friends, definitely there are many different works done on sheet metal other than I have specified above. However, all operations mention above are important and use frequently by every sheet metal manufacturer.

Please share your thought on this topic. Let me know if you have any doubt and comments.

Thanks