Metal Stamping

Metal Stamping

Metal Stamping

Metal stamping involves forming a piece of metal with a dedicated piece of tooling and stamping the piece through a mechanical press. During the metal stamping operation, the upper die is attached to the ram and the lower die is attached to the stationary bolster. As the press is activated, the ram moves vertically towards the bolster to form the piece of metal over the lower die. Metal stamping presses can perform a diverse range of operations such as blanking, piercing, forming and drawing as well as combinations of these processes.

Secondary Processes

Plating
Plating is used for a variety of reasons including corrosion resistance, solderability and wearability. The most common plating materials are gold, palladium, nickel, and tin. Strips of metal can be pre-plated to avoid a secondary process. Gold and other precious metals can be selectively plated onto a strip and reels of finished parts can be control-depth dipped to substantially reduce the plating costs. Strips of gold and other precious metals can be bonded onto a strip as an inlay or cladding.

Each application requires a unique set of properties and best choice of plating is most dependant upon a cost vs. performance analysis. Engineers can assist in the selection of a plating material and process that best matches each application.

Cleaning
A variety of cleaning options exist for preparing parts for heat treat, plating or assembly. Individual parts and reels of parts are cleaned to remove metal stamping oils and films.

Heat Treat
A heat treat process is used on products that require additional strength after metal stamping. This process is used only when the formability of the final product does not allow it to be formed or coined without cracking. Therefore, the part is stamped in the soft state and then hardened.

Although the heat treat process may be required to achieve critical performance properties, it is avoided whenever possible. Not only does it add additional cost and lead-time to products, it induces additional variation into the final part. A feature formed in the soft state will relax during heat treat. The amount of relaxation varies from part-to-part and from material lot-to-material lot, resulting in increased part variability.

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