How Metal Stamping Can Speed Up Manufacturing And Production For Your Company
Metal stamping is not a new process, but the tools and equipment used to complete the process have advanced significantly over the years. Metal stamping parts for larger products can save time and money for companies assembling products for many smaller components.
Metal Stamping
Metal stamping is a process used to shape a piece of metal stock into something specific. The material used is placed in a press equipped with a set of dies that contain the design of the part you need. The press closes, and the die stamps the metal part from the raw material.
Some parts will require the material to go through multiple presses to add additional features to the design, creating a final part ready for use in the assembly process. Stamping is an efficient way to make the parts, and each part coming out of the press will be identical.
Metal stamping can be very cost-effective for a company that uses the same parts in their assemble process repeatedly.
Material Types
It is possible to shape most metals using the metal stamping process, but the amount of pressure required by the press may need to be different from one material to the next. Thin sheet metal is relatively easy to stamp; while a block of aluminum may be softer, the thickness can make it difficult to shape.
Steel, aluminum, copper, and many other metals are good candidates for metal stamping, and with properly made dies, the press can form the part you need with very little scrap material. Steel and aluminum are common materials stamped into parts for products e used daily.
The automotive industry, appliance manufacturers, and electronics manufacturers use parts created using metal stamping to speed production and lower costs.
Outsourced Metal Stamping
For small companies that manufacture one or two things, buying the equipment to do metal stamping in-house is often not affordable. Fortunately, there are some metal stamping companies that can stamp the parts and provide them for the manufacture to use in their assembly process.
These companies will work with manufacturers to design a die to produce the part they need. Batches of parts can then be run when clients request them. The metal stamping company often has many different clients they work with, and they will stamp a high volume of one part, change the dies in the press, and then run a completely different part for another client.
Working with a metal stamping service requires some planning to ensure you have the parts you need, but it can be an excellent way for small companies to streamline their production with metal stamping commonly used parts.