Cutting and forming operations performed on
relatively thin sheets of metal
Thickness of sheet metal = 0.4 mm (1/64”) to 6 mm
(1/4”)
◦ Thickness > 6 mm plate
◦ Thickness < 0.4 mm foil (or leaf)
Gauge: The higher the number, the thinner the
sheet
◦ Gauge 30 is 0.006” thick
◦ Gauge 8 is 0.1644” thick
Sheet and plate metal parts for consumer and
industrial products such as:
◦ Automobiles and trucks
◦ Airplanes
◦ Railway cars and locomotives
◦ Farm and construction equipment
◦ Small and large appliances
◦ Office furniture
◦ Computers and office equipment
High strength
Good dimensional accuracy
Good surface finish
Relatively low cost
Economical mass production for large
quantities
Punch-and-die - tooling to perform
cutting, bending, and drawing
Stamping press - machine tool that
performs most sheet metal operations
Stampings - sheet metal products
1. Cutting
◦ Shearing to separate large sheets
◦ Blanking to cut part perimeters out of sheet
metal
◦ Punching to make holes in sheet metal
2. Bending
◦ Straining sheet around a straight axis
3. Drawing
◦ Forming of sheet into convex or concave shapes
Shearing of sheet metal between two cutting edges: (1) just
before the punch contacts work; (2) punch begins to
push into work, causing plastic deformation;
Shearing of sheet metal between two cutting edges: (3)
punch compresses and penetrates into work causing a
smooth cut surface; (4) fracture is initiated at the
opposing cutting edges which separates the sheet.
Three principal operations in pressworking that
cut sheet metal:
Shearing
Blanking
Punching
Sheet metal cutting operation along a straight
line between two cutting edges
Typically used to cut large sheets
Shearing operation: (a) side view of the shearing operation; (b)
front view of power shears equipped with inclined upper
cutting blade.
Blanking - sheet metal cutting to separate piece
(called a blank) from surrounding stock
Punching - similar to blanking except cut piece is
scrap, called a slug
(a) Blanking and (b) punching.
Distance between punch cutting edge and die
cutting edge
Typical values range between 4% and 8% of
stock thickness
◦ If too small, fracture lines pass each other,
causing double burnishing and larger force
◦ If too large, metal is pinched between cutting
edges and excessive burr results
Recommended clearance is calculated by:
c = at
where c = clearance;
a = allowance;
t = stock thickness
Allowance a is determined from a table
according to the type of metal cut
Metal group a
1100S and 5052S aluminum alloys, all 0.045
tempers
2024ST and 6061ST aluminum alloys; brass, 0.060
soft cold rolled steel, soft stainless steel
Cold rolled steel, half hard; stainless steel, half 0.075
hard and full hard
Die size determines
blank size Db;
Punch size
determines hole
size Dh.;
c = clearance
For a round blank of diameter Db:
◦ Blanking punch diameter = Db - 2c
◦ Blanking die diameter = Db
where c = clearance
For a round hole of diameter Dh:
◦ Hole punch diameter = Dh
◦ Hole die diameter = Dh + 2c
where c = clearance
Purpose: allows slug or blank to drop through die
Typical values: 0.25° to 1.5° on each side
Important for determining press size (tonnage)
F=StL
Or F = 0.7 (TS)t L
where S = shear strength of metal
TS = ultimate tensile strength
t = stock thickness
L = length of cut edge (e.g.,
perimeter)
The maximum force can be reduced by
positioning the blades at an angle (such as in a
Guillotine):
t
L=
tan α
Straining sheet metal around a straight axis
to take a permanent bend
- > Compression & tension both develop!
One method of determining the minimum
radius of a sheet metal bend is to use a
fracture model during a tension test:
1
Rmin = t − 1
2q
where: q is the reduction area
Spring back is given by:
Riσ y Riσ y
3
Ri
= 4 − 3 + 1
Rf Et Et
where: σy is the material yield strength
E is the elastic modulus
t is the thickness
V-bending - performed with a V-shaped die
Edge bending - performed with a wiping die
For low production
Performed on a press brake
V-dies are simple and inexpensive
For high production
Pressure pad required
Dies are more complicated and costly
If bend radius is small relative to stock
thickness, metal tends to stretch during
bending
Important to estimate amount of stretching,
so final part length = specified dimension
Problem: to determine the length of neutral
axis of the part before bending
α
Ab = 2π ( R + K b at )
360
where Ab = bend allowance
α = bend angle Included + bend = 180
R= bend radius
t = stock thickness
Kba is factor to estimate stretching
If R < 2t, Kba = 0.33
If R ≥ 2t, Kba = 0.50
Maximum bending force estimated as follows:
2
K bf (TS ) wt
F=
D
where F = bending force
TS = tensile strength of sheet metal
w = part width in direction of bend axis
t = stock thickness
For V- bending, Kbf = 1.33 For edge bending, Kbf = 0.33
Square or rectangular boxes (as in sinks)
Stepped cups
Cones
Cups with spherical rather than flat bases
Irregular curved forms (as in automobile body
panels)
Each of these shapes presents its own unique
technical problems in drawing
Sheet metal forming to make cup-shaped,
box-shaped, or other complex-curved,
hollow-shaped parts
◦ Sheet metal blank is positioned over die cavity and
then punch pushes metal into opening
◦ Products: beverage cans, ammunition shells,
automobile body panels
◦ Also known as deep drawing (to distinguish it from
wire and bar drawing)
Sides of punch and die separated by a
clearance c given by:
c = 1.1 t
where t = stock thickness
In other words, clearance is about 10%
greater than stock thickness
Drawing Ratio for cylindrical shape:
Db
DR =
Dp
where Db = blank diameter
Dp = punch diameter
Indicates severity of a given drawing
operation - Upper limit: DR ≤ 2.0
Drawing force can be calculated using:
Db
F = πD p t (TS ) − 0.7
D
p
