A die is a specialized machine tool used in manufacturing industries to cut and/or form material to a desired shape or profile. Stamping dies are used with a press, as opposed to drawing dies and casting dies which are not. Like molds, dies are generally customized to the item they are used to create.
Sheet metal is metal formed by an industrial process into thin, flat pieces. Sheet metal is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and it can be cut and bent into a variety of shapes. Countless everyday objects are fabricated from sheet metal. Thicknesses can vary significantly; extremely thin sheets are considered foil or leaf, and pieces thicker than 6 mm (0.25 in) are considered plate steel or "structural steel".
Eminox Limited is an English firm which designs and manufactures high performance stainless steel exhaust and emission control systems for bus, truck, rail and off-highway vehicles. The company was started in 1978 and is based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England.
Punching is a forming process that uses a punch press to force a tool, called a punch, through the workpiece to create a hole via shearing. Punching is applicable to a wide variety of materials that come in sheet form, including sheet metal, paper, vulcanized fibre and some forms of plastic sheet. The punch often passes through the work into a die. A scrap slug from the hole is deposited into the die in the process. Depending on the material being punched this slug may be recycled and reused or discarded.
A stamping press is a metalworking machine tool used to shape or cut metal by deforming it with a die. In simple terms, a stamping press is the modern day equivalent of a hammer and anvil. The difference is that a stamping press uses precision-made male and female dies to dictate the shape of the final product.
B & H Tool Works, Inc. is a large tool and die company specializing in the design, build, and repair of Class "A" Progressive Dies. The company is headquartered in Richmond, Kentucky and was established in 1978 by Sammy Hammons and Tommy Brown. A second facility is located in Mount Vernon, Kentucky.
Worthington Industries, Inc. is a global diversified metals manufacturing company based in Columbus, Ohio. It is a steel processor and manufacturer of pressure vessels, such as propane, oxygen and helium tanks, hand torches, refrigerant and industrial cylinders, camping cylinders, exploration, recovery and production products for global energy markets; water system tanks for storage, treatment, heating, expansion and flow control, and compressed natural gas storage cylinders. The company also manufactures framing systems for mid-rise buildings and steel pallets and racks for shipping. It is the largest independent processor of flat-rolled steel in the United States. The company takes steel from steel producers and processes it for customers in industries including automotive, lawn and garden, construction, hardware, office furniture, electrical control, leisure and recreation, appliance, agriculture and HVAC.
Stamping is the process of placing flat sheet metal in either blank or coil form into a stamping press where a tool and die surface forms the metal into a net shape. Stamping includes a variety of sheet-metal forming manufacturing processes, such as punching using a machine press or stamping press, blanking, embossing, bending, flanging, and coining. This could be a single stage operation where every stroke of the press produces the desired form on the sheet metal part, or could occur through a series of stages. The process is usually carried out on sheet metal, but can also be used on other materials, such as polystyrene. Progressive dies are commonly fed from a coil of steel, coil reel for unwinding of coil to a straightener to level the coil and then into a feeder which advances the material into the press and die at a predetermined feed length. Depending on part complexity, the number of stations in the die can be determined.
Buffalo Stamping Plant manufactures sheetmetal stampings and welded sub-assemblies for Ford Motor Company's automotive car and truck assembly plants in the USA, Canada and Mexico. The facility was opened in 1950 with 1,235,895 square feet (114,818.4 m2) of working floor space. It has had six major expansions and the facility is now at 2,452,883 square feet (227,880.3 m2) or 53.3 acres (216,000 m2) of floor space. Buffalo Stamping is currently in the process of adding 30,000 square feet on to the structure.
Deep drawing is a sheet metal forming process in which a sheet metal blank is radially drawn into a forming die by the mechanical action of a punch. It is thus a shape transformation process with material retention. The process is considered "deep" drawing when the depth of the drawn part exceeds its diameter. This is achieved by redrawing the part through a series of dies. The flange region experiences a radial drawing stress and a tangential compressive stress due to the material retention property. These compressive stresses result in flange wrinkles. Wrinkles can be prevented by using a blank holder, the function of which is to facilitate controlled material flow into the die radius.
Lifetime Products Inc. is a privately owned company founded in 1986. Its main products are blow-molded polyethylene folding chairs and tables, picnic tables, home basketball equipment, sheds, coolers, kayaks and paddleboards, and lawn and garden items, along with OEM steel and plastic items from other companies.
Blanking and piercing are shearing processes in which a punch and die are used to produce parts from coil or sheet stock. Blanking produces the outside features of the component, while piercing produces internal holes or shapes. The web is created after multiple components have been produced and is considered scrap material. The "slugs" produced by piercing internal features are also considered scrap. The terms "piercing" and "punching" can be used interchangeably.
There are many types of shears used to shear sheet metal.
The Minster Machine Company is an American manufacturer of machine presses and other metalworking equipment, and a provider of related services. The company is headquartered in Minster, Ohio. It operates as Nidec Minister Company, a subsidiary of Nidec-Shimpo America Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nidec Corporation.
Scotland Manufacturing, Inc. is a full-service stamping company and manufacturer of deep drawn metal stampings, progressive stamping and value-added assembly solutions. Scotland has presses running from 110 to 1,000 tons and the company provides refrigerant, compressor housing, filter shells and other deep-drawn stampings from the industrial, automotive and heavy truck industries.
Mahindra Ugine Steel (MUSCO) is a manufacturer of specialty steel, stampings, and rings headquartered in Mumbai, India. It is a subsidiary of the Mahindra Group, one of India's largest industrial houses.
G&G Engineering Ltd is an Irish owned contract manufacturer specializing in metal pressed and stamped components, plastic injection mouldings as well as automated assembly. G&G’s manufacturing facility is in the Republic of Ireland with a Asian tooling support office which manages on behalf of the Irish operation its global clientele the purchase and build of plastic injection moulds, press tooling and special purpose machinery in China. G&G Engineering tightly controls and project manages every aspects of purchasing, design, on time delivery and the all-important aspect of quality on site. G&G has built since 1984 a reputation for reliability and professionalism in dealing with complex projects commencing from the initial concept design and tooling up, right through to full-scale production. G&G Engineering was ISO/TS16949 certified since 2006 and is ISO 9001 certified since 2006. Established: 1984 website: www.gandgengineering.com Promotional video: https://www.dropbox.com/s/657xvgt1ljf8rvl/G%26G%20promotional%20video%20final%20version%2008.03.2017.mpg?dl=0 Registered Address: Broadlands industrial estate, Ballina Road, Killala, County Mayo, Republic of Ireland
Stafa Industrier AS is the parent company of a group of companies primarily offering manufacturing services and products from sheet-metal, headquartered in Grimstad, Norway.
All photos and logos used in this article have been used with permission from Pridgeon & Clay.
