Metal stamping has been adding value to the manufacturing process across industries due to its numerous advantages like accuracy, quality output, lesser lead times, and easy setup and maintenance. However, manufacturers can truly reap these benefits only if they choose the right metal stamping tooling. This is because metal stamping tools are the be-all and end-all of shaping and designing metal sheets.
To help manufacturers as you decide better, this article talks about the 5 essential factors you must keep in mind to make a fruitful decision.
Types of Metal Stamping Tooling.
With technological advancements, metal stamping tools are now made with the latest technology to create highly accurate metal parts. Each metal stamping tooling is created with a specific amount of cavity with defined depth and size according to the geometry of the metal part. Any deviation from the design renders the metal part useless. Therefore, great care is taken while designing and implementing metal stamping tooling.
Some of the popular types of metal stamping tooling are:
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Progressive Die Tooling:
It uses a series of dies to shape the metal in one go and is commonly used for the high-volume production of small parts.
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Transfer Die Tooling:
Here a series of dies are moved to the metal strip, and is good for medium to high-volume production of large, complex parts.
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Compound Die Tooling:
It uses a single die to perform multiple operations on the metal strip, and is t used for low to medium-volume production of simple parts.
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Deep Draw Die Tooling:
It is used to draw the metal strip into a three-dimensional shape, like a cylinder or box shape, and is used for low-medium production of parts with high depth-to-diameter ratios.
How to choose the right Metal stamping tooling?
Now that you know the types of metal stamping tools in general, you need to keep these 5 essential factors to make the right choice for your next project.
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The Material used for Metal Stamped Parts.
The key to decide which metal stamping tools you need to choose is the base material for the final product. Is it steel, aluminum, copper, brass, or other metal? Since each of these metals has different properties like strength, durability, and thickness and reacts differently to different dies.
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The Desired Shape of the Metal Part
Choosing the right tool design depends directly on the metal stamped part. The metal part design is a decisive factor when you have to choose between metal stamping toolings like progressive, transfer, compound, or any other as it determines how the metal will be shaped and formed. It can also directly affect the quality and efficiency of the finished product.
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The Desired Precision and Tolerances of the Metal Part
One thing that you cannot compromise is the precision and tolerances of the finished metal part. Since these can be pre-defined, you need to choose an appropriate metal stamping tooling that can deliver a metal part with the desired level of precision and meets the tolerance values.
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The Desired Production Volume and Lead Time
Metal stamping operations are famous for their ability to mass produce with less lead time, but it again depends on the design of the metal stamped parts. Choose a metal stamping die that performs the best to produce the desired metal parts with less lead time.
- The cost of Tooling
Last but one of the most important deciding factors is the tooling cost. Before making a choice, an estimate of the money you will need to invest in the whole process to ensure the choice matches your budget requirements. Choose a cost-effective option that does not compromise the quality of the metal part.
