Sheet Metal Stamping

The process of turning sheets of metal into a useful part or component is called sheet metal stamping. The metal is fed into a press, where the stamping tool, also known as a die, creates the desired shape. The die is pressed into or through the metal with tremendous force. The force used in the process is measured in tons.

Except for some specialized processes, sheet metal stamping doesn’t use heat. Instead, it is done with a cold-forming technique. Even though no heat is used, the part can come out hot because of the friction that’s created between the metal and the die from the force of the press.

Advantages of Metal Stamping

Stamping is suitable for mass, complex part production. More specifically, it offers: 

• Complex forms, such as contours
• High volumes (from thousands to millions of parts per year)
• Processes such as fineblanking allow for forming of thick metal sheets.
• Low cost-per-piece prices

Disadvantages of Metal Stamping

Metal stamping’s disadvantages are its setup costs and timelines. Production is quick and inexpensive after tool finalization. Its disadvantages include: 

• Longer lead times on first parts (as time is needed to create dies).
• Tooling, check fixtures, and non-renewable engineering drive upfront costs needed for stamp production lines.
• In order to ensure the product can be reliably produced to specification, suppliers often need to iterate on die design multiple times before production commences.
• Metal Stamping Materials

Papler Industry offers the following materials for custom metal stampings:

• Steel: CRS steel like 1008, 1010, or 1018 is popular; general-purpose material is perfect for cold forming.
• Stainless Steel: such as 301, 304, and 316/316L. 301 stainless steel has excellent tensile strength, while 304 has more significant performance and corrosion resistance at higher temperatures. 316/316L steel features the best corrosion resistance of the three, though it also costs more.
• Copper: including C110, which is a powerful conductor and easily formable.
• Brass: brass 230 (85/15) and 260 (70/30) are highly formable and corrosion-resistant. These brass alloys are also known as red brass and yellow brass, respectively.