Sheet metal is a comprehensive cold working process for metal sheets (usually below 6mm). It is used in auto industry and truck (lorry) bodies, airplane fuselages and wings, medical instruments, roofs for buildings (architecture) and many other applications. That’s why it widely use in prototype industrial.
There are many different metals that can be made into sheet metal, such as aluminium, brass, copper, steel, tin and titanium. Aluminum is also a popular metal used in sheet metal due to its flexibility, wide range of options, cost effectiveness. 6061-T6 is a common heat-treated structural aluminium alloy. It is weldable, corrosion resistant, and stronger than 5052, but not as formable. It loses some of its strength when welded.
There are 24 ways of forming processes like Bending, Roll forming, Spinning, Deep Drawing, Stretch Forming, Press Brake Forming, Laser Cutting, Punching and Stamping etc. Five forming services have been discussed previous. Now we are showing Four other common processing methods
Press brake forming
This is a form of bending used to produce long, thin sheet metal parts. The machine that bends the metal is called a press brake.
Sheet metal can be cut in various ways. With the advances in technology, sheet metal cutting has turned to computers for precise cutting. Many sheet metal cutting operations are based on computer numerically controlled (CNC) laser cutting or multi-tool CNC punch press.
Punching
Punching is a forming process that uses a punch press to force a tool, called a punch. Punching is often the cheapest method for creating holes in sheet materials in medium to high volumes production.
Stamping
Stamping is a method of forming a part (stamping part) of a desired shape and size by applying an external force to a plate, a strip, a pipe, a profile, etc. by a press and a die to cause plastic deformation or separation.
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