SHEET METAL PROCESSES

Introduction

Sheet metal is simply metal formed into thin and flat

pieces. It is one of the fundamental forms used in
metalworking, and can be cut and bent into a variety of
different shapes. Countless everyday objects are constructed
of the material. Thicknesses can vary significantly, although
extremely thin thicknesses are considered foil or leaf, and
pieces thicker than 6 mm (0.25 in) are considered plate.
 Sheet metal processing

The raw material for sheet metal manufacturing

processes is the output of the rolling process.
Typically, sheets of metal are sold as flat, rectangular
sheets of standard size. If the sheets are thin and very long,
they may be in the form of rolls. Therefore the first step in
any sheet metal process is to cut the correct shape and sized
‘blank’ from larger sheet.
Sheet Metal Forming processes
Introduction

1. Sheet metal processes involve plane stress loadings

and lower forces than bulk forming
2. Almost all sheet metal forming is considered to be
secondary processing
3. The main categories of sheet metal forming are
• Shearing
• Bending
• Drawing
Shearing

Shearing is a sheet metal cutting operation along a

straight line between two cut-ting edges by means of a
power shear.
Blanking and punching
Blanking and punching are similar sheet metal cutting operations that
involve cutting the sheet metal along a closed outline. If the part that is cut out is
the desired product, the operation is called blanking and the product is called
blank. If the remaining stock is the desired part, the operation is called
punching. Both operations are illustrated on the example of producing a washer
Bending

Bending is defined as the straining of the sheet metal

around a straight edge
 Bending force :

Maximum bending force, P = KYLT2

W
K – constant ranges from 0.3(wiping die) – 0.7(u-die)-1.3(V-die)
Y – yield stress
L- length of the bend
T- thickness of sheet

For a V-die
Max bending force, P = (UTS)LT 2
W
UTS – Ultimate tensile strength
Drawing

Drawing is a sheet-metal operation to make hollow-shaped

parts from a sheet blank
 Dies and Punches

Simple- single operation with a single stroke

Compound- two operations with a single stroke

Combination- two operations at two stations

Progressive- two or more operations at two or more

stations with each press stroke, creates what is called a
strip development
 COMPOUND DIES

 Several operations on the same strip performed in one stroke at

one station with a compound dies

Schematic illustrations: (a) before and (b) after blanking a common washer in a
compound die.note the separate movements of the die(or blanking) and the punch
Progressive dies
Merits

•High strength
•Good dimensional accuracy and surface finish
•Relatively low cost

Demerits
•Wrinkling and tearing are typical limits to drawing operations
•Trimming may be used to reach final dimensions
Applications

•Roofing
•Ducting
•Vehicles body buildings like 3 wheelers, 4 wheelers, ships,
aircrafts etc.
•Furniture, House hold articles and Railway equipment
ROLL FORMING

 Process where sheet metal strips are passed through consecutive set
of rolls and bent in consecutive stages and then sheared into
specific lengths and stacked continuously.
 Forming speed: below 1.5 m/s (300 ft/min)
 Examples: Door panels, picture frame, and gutters.
Stretch Forming

 Process where a sheet metal is clamped along it’s edges and

stretched over a male die (form die or form punch).
 Examples: aircraft wing-skin panels, fuselages, and boat
hulls.
Rubber Forming
 One of the dies in the set is made of polyurethane membrane, which is a
type of flexible material.
 Polyurethane is resistant to abrasion, cutting or tearing by the metal, and
has a long fatigue life.
SPINNING
 Process where a circular piece
of sheet metal is placed and held
against a mandrel and rotated
while a rigid tool deforms and
shapes the material over the
mandrel.
 May be performed at room
temperature or at higher
temperature for thicker metal.
 Shear spinning :

 Known as power spinning, flow turning, hydro-spinning, and

spin forging
 Produces axisymmetric conical or curvilinear shape

 Single rollers and two rollers can be used

 It has less wastage of material

 Typical products are rocket-

motor casing and missile

nose cones.
 Tube spinning
 Thickness of cylindrical parts are reduced by spinning them on a
cylindrical mandrel rollers
 Parts can be spun in either direction
 Large tensile elongation up to 2000 % are obtained within certain
temperature ranges and at low strain rates.
 Super Plastic Forming
Types of
structures made
by diffusion
bonding and
superplastic
forming of sheet
metal. Such
structures have a
high stiffness-to-
weight ratio.
 EXPLOSIVE FORMING

 First used to form metals in the 1900’s. A sheet metal blank is clamped over a
die, and the entire assembly is lowered into a tank filled with water. The air in
the cavity is evacuated, and an explosive is detonated at a certain height above.
MAGNETIC-PULSE FORMING
 Also called electromagnetic forming. Energy stored in a capacitor bank is discharged
rapidly through a magnetic coil. Magnetic field crosses metal tube (conductor)
creating eddy currents which have an opposing magnetic field.
(b)
(a)

Figure 16.45 (a) Schematic illustration of the magnetic-pulse forming process used to form a
tube over a plug. (b) Aluminum tube collapsed over a hexagonal plug by the magnetic-pulse
forming process.