METHODS SHEARING AND BLANKING SHEET METAL

Sheet metal cutting is a major classification for many different press working operations.
Cutting operations involve the separation of the metal of the sheet in certain areas. This
separation is caused by shearing forces acting on the metal through the edges of the punch and
die. Pressworking, a term referencing sheet metal operation in general, involves the working of a
sheet between two die. In pressworking, the upper die is called a punch.

Figure 1: Cutting

Shearing also known as die cutting is defined as the process which cuts stock (sheet
metal) without the formation of chips or the use of burning or melting. If the blades are straight,
it is referred to as shearing. And if they are curved, it is referred to as shearing-type operations:

Examples of shearing include alligator shear, bench shear, Guillotine shear, power shear,
throatless shear. While examples of shearing-type operations include blanking, piercing, roll
slitting and trimming.

A. Types of Shearing
i. Alligator Shear: An alligator shear, historically known as a lever shear and
sometimes as a crocodile shear, is a metal-cutting shear with a hinged jaw,
powered by a flywheel or hydraulic cylinder. They are generally used to cut
ferrous members, such as rebar, pipe, angle iron, or I-beams.
 Fig 2: Alligator shearing machine
ii. Bench shear: bench shear is with a compound mechanism to increase the
mechanical advantage. It is usually used for cutting rough shapes out of medium-
sized pieces of sheet metal, but cannot do delicate work. The cutting blades fitted
are carefully and accurately ground to give easy, clean quick cuts, and free of
burrs. These special features help the operators save a great deal of their energy.

Fig3: A bench shearing machine

iii. Guillotine shear: The machine used is called a squaring shear, power shear,
or guillotine. The machine may be foot powered, less commonly hand powered,
or mechanically or hydraulically powered. It works by first clamping the material
with a ram. A moving blade then comes down across a fixed blade to shear the
material. The machine consists of a shear table, work-holding device, upper and
lower blades, and a gauging device. The shear table is the part of the machinery
that the workpiece rests on while being sheared. The work-holding device is used
to hold the workpiece in place and keep it from moving or buckling while under
stress. The upper and lower blades are the piece of machinery that actually do the
cutting, while the gauging device is used to ensure that the workpiece is being cut
where it is supposed to be.

Fig4: A guillotine shearing machine

iv. Power shear: A power shear is electrically or pneumatically powered hand tool
designed to blank large pieces of sheet metal. They are designed to cut straight
lines and relatively large radius curves. They are advantageous over a bandsaw
 because there is not a size limit. Large versions can cut sheet metal up to 12
gauge.

Fig5: A power shearing machine

v. Throatless shear: A throatless shear is a cutting tool used to make complex
straight and curved cuts in sheet metal. The throatless shear takes its name from
the fact that the metal can be freely moved around the cutting blade (it
does not have a throat down which metal must be fed), allowing great flexibility
in shapes that can be cut.

Fig6: A throatless shearing machine

B. Shearing-Type Operations
a. BLANKING OF SHEET METAL
Blanking is the cutting of a sheet metal part along a closed contour in one step.
The piece cut out is called a blank and may be further processed. Many blanks are often
continuously cut out of a sheet or strip. Blanking will waste a certain amount of material.
When designing a sheet metal blanking process, the geometry of the blanks should be
 nestled as efficiently as possible to minimize material waste. A distinction should be
made between the two-sheet metal cutting processes of blanking and punching, since
essentially, they are the same process. In punching, the piece cut out is waste. In
blanking, the piece cut out is the work and is kept.

Figure 7: Blanking vs Punching

The various types include
i. Compound Die Stamping: This type of blanking is used to precisely manufacture
complex steel parts. In this process, workers or automated equipment feed a steel strip
through the stamping machine, which punches out a blank every three seconds. This simple,
precise, and fast technique enables firms to produce steel components in bulk.

ii. Continuous Strip Blanking: As implied by the name, continuous strip blanking
continuously feeds metal substrates through a machine. This allows punching
machines to produce uniform end products around the clock, with each product
having the same characteristics of those before and after it. This process is a great
way to develop coins, bottle caps, and medallions.

iii. Progressive Die Stamping: Progressive die stamping uses coiled strips of thin flat
metal as its base material. In this process, progressive die machines sequentially
stamp, trim, and bend workpieces to make the finished parts, which exit the machine
in conjoined strips. After performing this task, the machine separates individual parts
from the strip, which results in the creation of several identical parts.

iv. Square Sheared Blanking: Square sheared blanking is a fine process that uses
specialized clamping tools to produce square-edged and contoured blanks. This
process is a great way to create panels, casings, and any other component that
requires a uniform square shape.

v. Cutoff: This process combines metal cutting and metal blanking procedures to create
highly specialized blanks. When cutoff blanking, manufacturers blank metal sheets
and then cut the metal at the sheets, allowing the production of long, flat pieces.
b. SHEET METAL SLITTING
Slitting is a shearing process in which the sheet metal is cut by two opposing
circular blades, like a can opener. Slitting can be performed in a straight line or on a
curved path. The circular sheet metal cutters can be driven, or the work may be pulled
through idle cutters. Slitting usually produces a burr that must be removed.

Figure 8: Slitting of Sheet metal

c. SHEET METAL PUNCHING: Punching is a cutting process in which material is removed

from a piece of sheet metal by applying a great enough shearing force. Punching is very
similar to blanking except that the removed material, called the slug, is scrap and leaves
behind the desired internal feature in the sheet, such as a hole or slot. Punching can be used
to produce holes and cutouts of various shapes and sizes. The most common punched holes
are simple geometric shapes (circle, square, rectangle, etc.) or combinations thereof. The
edges of these punched features will have some burrs from being sheared but are of fairly
good quality. Secondary finishing operations are typically performed to attain smoother
edges.
 Fig9: Punching

There are various types of punching based on the shapes formed

 Piercing - The typical punching operation, in which a

cylindrical punch pierces a hole into the sheet.

 Slotting - A punching operation that forms rectangular

holes in the sheet. Sometimes described as piercing despite
the different shape.
 Perforating - Punching a close arrangement of a large
number of holes in a single operation.

 Notching - Punching the edge of a sheet, forming a

notch in the shape of a portion of the punch.

 Nibbling - Punching a series of small overlapping slits

or holes along a path to cutout a larger contoured shape.
This eliminates the need for a custom punch and die but will
require secondary operations to improve the accuracy and
finish of the feature.

 Lancing - Creating a partial cut in the sheet, so that no

material is removed. The material is left attached to be bent
and form a shape, such as a tab, vent, or louver.

 Slitting - Cutting straight lines in the sheet. No scrap

material is produced.
 Parting - Separating a part from the remaining sheet, by
punching away the material between parts.

 Cutoff - Separating a part from the remaining sheet,

without producing any scrap. The punch will produce a cut
line that may be straight, angled, or curved.

 Trimming - Punching away excess material from the

perimeter of a part, such as trimming the flange from a drawn
cup.

 Shaving - Shearing away minimal material from the

edges of a feature or part, using a small die clearance. Used
to improve accuracy or finish. Tolerances of ±0.001 inches
are possible.

 Dinking - A specialized form of piercing used for

punching soft metals. A hollow punch, called a dinking die,
with beveled, sharpened edges presses the sheet into a
block of wood or soft metal.

Sample Multiple Choice Questions and Answers

1. Punching a number of holes in a sheet is known as?
a) Perforating
b) Parting
c) Notching
d) Lancing
Answer: A
Explanation: Punching a number of holes in a sheet is known as perforating. Removing the
pieces from the edge in shearing operation is known as notching.
2. Which of the following die can perform multiple operations such as blanking, punching,
notching?
a)Simple dies
b)Progressive dies
c)Compound dies
d)Impact dies
Answer: b
Explanation: Progressive die can perform multiple operations such as blanking, punching,
notching etc. It is a costly process but have a very good dimensional accuracy
3. Blanking is an operation in which the desired part is the sheet left out after making a
punch hole in it.
a)True
b)False
Answer:b
Explanation: Blanking is a kind of shearing operation which is generally carried out along a
closed contour. In this operation, the required part is the material inside the sheared contour
which is called as blank. For example, circular blanks are taken out from the metal sheet for
subsequent deep drawing of cups.
.4. As the thickness of sheet is increased the clearance needed will also?
a)Increase
b)Decrease
c) Have no effect
d) First decrease and then increase
Answer:a
Explanation: As the thickness of sheet is increased the clearance needed will also increase.
Clearance needed is directly proportional to thickness of sheet.
5. Which of the following parts is used for holding the metal sheet during blanking
operation?
a) Sperical steel ball
b) Roller
c) Pressure pad
d) Magnet
Answer:c
Explanation: A pressure pad or a hold down ring with v-shaped projection is used for
holding the metal sheet tightly during the blanking operation. This pressure pad is mainly
used at the bottom side of the metal sheet. A triple action press, punch and pressure pad
are the main equipment used for the blanking operation.