A Guide To Sheet Metal Fabrication Processes CNC Bending.

The third metal plate cutting option is plasma cutting. The plasma cutting machine generates an electrical channel for ionizing gas, forming a hot plasma jet that can easily penetrate even thick metal plates. Although not as accurate as laser or water jet cutting machines, plasma cutting machines have fast speed, powerful functions, and low installation costs.

These three cutting machines can be used for materials other than sheet metal, but there are also some technologies that are only used for sheet metal manufacturing.

For example, the stamping process (sometimes referred to as punching) uses punches and molds to form precise holes on metal plates. The metal sheet is placed between two components, and the punch forces itself through the metal to reach the mold. During the stamping process, the circular parts that are stamped out will become scrap, but these circular parts can also be used as new workpieces: this is called cutting.

When many holes are formed, similar devices can be used for piercing metal plates.

Sheet metal fabrication: Deformation

Another main category of metal plate manufacturing processes is metal plate deformation. This set of processes includes countless methods of changing and manipulating metal plates without cutting them.

One of the main deformation processes of metal plates is bending. Using a machine called a brake, the sheet metal company can bend the sheet metal into V-shaped, U-shaped, and channel shapes, with a maximum angle of up to 120 degrees. Thin gauge metal plates are more prone to bending. You can also do the opposite: sheet metal manufacturers can remove the horizontal bending of the strip metal plate through the deburring process.

The stamping process is another deformation process, but it can also be considered as a subcategory of its own. It involves the use of hydraulic or mechanical stamping machines equipped with tools and molds, which operate similarly to stamping, although the material does not necessarily need to be removed. Stamping can be used for specific tasks such as curling, drawing, embossing, flanging, and curling.

Spinning is a metal plate manufacturing process that, unlike other deformation techniques, uses a lathe to rotate the metal plate while it is pressed onto the tool. This process looks similar to CNC turning, and even ceramic spinning, which is very useful for manufacturing circular sheet metal parts: cones, cylinders, etc.

Less common metal plate deformation processes include rolling and rolling used to form composite curves in the metal plate, where the metal plate is fed between a pair of rollers to reduce its thickness (and/or increase consistency in thickness).

Some processes fall between cutting and deformation. For example, the process of metal plate expansion involves cutting multiple slits on the metal, and then pulling the metal plate apart like a accordion.