Progressive stamping feeds sheet metal through a series of stations including stamping, bending, cutting and shaping techniques. Machining can be done in one mold and can involve coinage, punching, drawing, piercing, blanking, deep drawing and bending to create three-dimensional pieces.
Progressive stamping is a method of machining finished parts by feeding sheet metal, typically from a roll, through a series of stations. These stations can include stamping, bending, cutting and other shaping techniques and are performed in a specific order along the path of the sheet metal. All stations along the way can be machined in one mold. In that case, each time the mold descends, it completes all stations at once, but on separate pieces and in different assembly levels. The final station is typically the cutting of the finished piece from the sheet metal support “ragna” left over from the previous phases.
There are several types of machining that can be involved in progressive stamping. An example is coinage, which takes its name from the manufacture of money. It can be used to create a precision relief on the surface of a part. This will typically be a later station along the sheet metal path due to its nature. Before coining, other types of stamping may take place, such as punching and drawing.
To create the desired shape, a part can be subjected to a series of punches during the progressive stamping process. These punches can create cuts in the object in a process called “piercing”. Punches can also create cuts around the object in a process called “blanking”.
A part can also be deep drawn during the progressive stamping process. In deep drawing, the die presses the sheet metal into a receiver rather than cutting it. The metal is bent and stretched, creating an indentation. For the process to be considered deep drawing, the typical standard is that the depth exceeds the diameter.
Bending differs from drawing in that it typically creates a “U” shape or channel that is open at both ends. By performing a series of bends at separate stations along a progressive stamping path, sheet metal can be shaped into a three-dimensional piece. An example of the end result of bending is the flap on top of a beverage can. Depending on the part, bending is likely to be one of the final stations, as many of the other processes to be performed are more easily done on a flat surface.
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