Many traditional power press metal stamping companies can perform one only one action: single stroke, short-run stamping.

Many traditional power press metal stamping companies can perform one only one action: single stroke, short-run stamping.progressive-stamped-partsThis process requires one tool for each operation needed to make a finished part — meaning long lead times, high labor costs, and an inability to create intricate or tight-tolerance parts. Luckily there is a stamping process called progressive… Continue reading Many traditional power press metal stamping companies can perform one only one action: single stroke, short-run stamping.

The Four Slide Metal Stamping Advantage

Metal stamping is used to turn cold sheet metal and other materials — such as copper and brass — into high-performing products and parts that can be used in various industrial and manufacturing processes. Traditionally, power press stamping machines are built to blank and stamp metal parts; these machines are ideal for simple, straightforward operations.… Continue reading The Four Slide Metal Stamping Advantage

Freedom to Measure Automotive Sheet Metal Tooling

With some 2400 employees, Volvo Car Body Components (VCBC) in Olofström, Sweden, is an automotive production plant that produces millions of car body parts every year. From hoods and roofs to doors and subassemblies, the facility is dedicated to pressing sheet metal into vital car components that are shipped whole or partially assembled to Volvo… Continue reading Freedom to Measure Automotive Sheet Metal Tooling

Detecting galling onset in aluminum alloy stamping, Part I

Galling is cold welding of sheet metal particles to the surface of the stamping die. This permanent deposit often occurs when metal surfaces are in contact and sliding against each other. Researchers at the Oakland University Center of Advanced Manufacturing and Materials (CAMM) recently conducted a study to determine which combination of die material, die… Continue reading Detecting galling onset in aluminum alloy stamping, Part I

How metalworking manufacturers decide whether to fabricate or stamp

Metal fabrication job shops are the Swiss Army knives of manufacturers. Projects may walk in the door that are as varied as imaginable from the ones coming in the day before. “You never know what you’ll be asked to make,” fabricators typically say. “You have to be prepared for anything.” Certainly, metal fabricators competing with… Continue reading How metalworking manufacturers decide whether to fabricate or stamp

Design for stamping manufacturability begins with function

The process of stamping parts—from the initial request for quote (RFQ), through the tooling design/build process, and finally, to the stamping production—can be a long and winding road with a large gap between what is designed and what can be manufactured. A part designed with manufacturability in mind will run the smoothest, with the least… Continue reading Design for stamping manufacturability begins with function

What’s the best way to improve tooling life in metal stamping shop?

I receive many questions on how to improve high-speed progressive die hits per service, otherwise known as tooling life. How can I get more parts per service? How can I run tooling longer? Faster? The most immediate answer is to add a coating to your tools. But first, you have to make sure your stamping… Continue reading What’s the best way to improve tooling life in metal stamping shop?

Seven Tool Tips for Punching Thick Material

On occasion, CNC punching machines will get the call to process materials 1⁄4 in. or thicker, with applications including automotive treadplates, for example, and part production for agricultural and other industries. At the extreme end, producing electrical busbars sometimes means punching copper or aluminum as thick as 1⁄2 in. Whether a harder steel or a… Continue reading Seven Tool Tips for Punching Thick Material