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An Overview
Sheet metal is metal formed into thin and flat pieces. The thickness of a sheet can vary from a very thin foil or leaf to plate that is thicker than ¼ inch or a centimeter. Aluminum, brass, copper, cold rolled steel, mild steel, tin, nickel and titanium are just a few examples of metal that can be made into sheet metal. A main feature of sheet metal is its ability to be formed and shaped by a variety of processes. These processes include:
- Stretching: Sheet metal is clamped around its edges and stretched over a die or form block.
- Drawing: Forms sheet metal into cylindrical or box shaped parts by using a punch which presses the blank into a die cavity.
- Deep Drawing: Type of drawing process where the depth of the part is more than half its diameter. Used for making automotive fuel tanks, kitchen sinks, and 2 piece aluminum cans.
- Cutting: Most sheet metal cutting operations are based either on CNC Lasers cutting or multi-tool CNC punch press. CNC laser involves moving a lens assembly carrying a beam of laser light over the surface of the metal. The laser heats and burns away the metal. Punching is performed by moving the sheet of metal between the top and bottom tools of a punch that cut a shape from the sheet.
- Bending and flanging: Imparts stiffness to a sheet metal part or to form various shapes, such as 3 piece aluminum cans.
- Punching and shearing: Sheet metal is cut by using a punch and die. Can allow many different shapes and patterns, by a computer numerically controlled (CNC) punch machine.
- Spinning: Used to make axis-symmetric parts by applying a work piece to a rotating mandrel with the help of rollers or rigid tools. Used to make rocket motor casings and missile nose cones and satellite dishes for example.
- Press brake forming: A form of bending used for long and thin sheet metal parts. The machine that bends the metal is called a press brake.
- Roll forming: A continuous bending operation for producing open profiles or welded tubes with long lengths or in large quantities.
- Rolling: Sheet metal is passed through a pair (or pairs) of rolls.
Sheet metal has applications in car bodies, airplane wings, medical tables, and roofs for building.
Disclaimer
DPT may not provide some of the services and/or techniques presented in the Knowledge Center. For a full list of services we do offer, please visit our rapid prototyping page.
