Sheet metal forming is a metalworking technique that involves the deformation of thin metal sheets, known as sheet metal, to achieve desired shapes and geometries. This process is crucial in many industries, including automotive and agricultural machinery, where the production of metal components is essential for building vehicles and machinery.
Sheet metal forming can take various forms, and the processes used depend on the specific characteristics of the piece to be produced. Some of the most common processes include cold stamping, bending, laser cutting, blanking, deep drawing, punching, and welding.
In pursuing excellence, Prodotti EBI adopts a wide range of sheet metal forming processes, each offering specific advantages. Let’s delve into their characteristics and the materials most commonly used.
The sheet metal is placed between dies and punches in a press, where it is deformed without any heating. This process is known for its precision and for maintaining the mechanical properties of the material.
Cold stamping preserves the material’s strength, ensuring precise production and reduced costs.
This involves the deformation of sheet metal through the application of force, usually using a press brake or manual device. This process is widely used to create angles, curves, and three-dimensional shapes.
Due to its flexibility in creating shapes, sheet metal bending is suitable for components with angles or curves.
A sheet metal forming technique involving the deformation of a metal sheet by forcibly introducing it into a cavity or die, creating a three-dimensional shape or recess. This operation occurs by applying pressure or force at a specific point on the sheet metal, pushing it into the underlying cavity.
Deep drawing is widely used to create components with complex shapes, such as automotive body shells or containers. This process allows the production of parts with detailed internal and external geometries, ensuring greater strength and integrity.
The cutting of sheet metal using a punch and die. The punch exerts concentrated force on the sheet metal, piercing or cutting it along a specific contour defined by the die.
This process is widely employed to achieve precise contours, openings, or desired shapes in metals. Blanking is fast and efficient, making it a widely used processing technique in various industrial sectors for the production of metal parts with geometric precision.
A sheet metal forming process involving the use of a punch to create holes or openings in the sheet metal. The punch, a tool with a specific shape, exerts concentrated force on the sheet metal, cutting or deforming it to form a hole or opening.
This technique is widely used to produce components with regular holes or multiple openings. Punching is a fast and precise process.
The permanent joining of two or more metal pieces through the melting and solidification of a filler material. This process involves heating the metals to be joined until they reach a molten state, followed by the application of a filler material (often a metal in wire or electrode form) to form a solid connection upon cooling.
Welding contributes to the assembly of complex metal structures and the production of durable products.
The sheet metal forming processes implemented in Prodotti EBI can be applied to a wide range of materials, each with specific characteristics:
In addition to the purely technical aspects of what the forming process is, what sheet metal forming techniques exist, and to which metals they can be applied, there is also an aspect related to quality to consider.
To achieve a functional and high-quality material deformation that ensures performance meeting specific customer needs, we implement various actions daily, including:
The application of these directives, together with the experience gained in sheet metal forming processes, allows us to meet the most complex needs of the automotive and agricultural machinery industries. Contact us to choose us as a partner for your success!