Punching

Punching is a forming process that uses a punch press to

force a tool, called a punch, through the workpiece to create
a hole via shearing. Punching is applicable to a wide variety
of materials that come in sheet form, including sheet metal,
paper, vulcanized fibre and some forms of plastic sheet. The
punch often passes through the work into a die. A scrap slug
from the hole is deposited into the die in the process. Titanium nitride (TiN) coated
Depending on the material being punched this slug may be industrial punches using cathodic
recycled and reused or discarded. arc deposition technique

Punching is often the cheapest method for creating holes in

sheet materials in medium to high production volumes.
When a specially shaped punch is used to create multiple usable parts from a sheet of
material the process is known as blanking. In metal forging applications the work is often
punched while hot, and this is called hot punching. Slugging is the operation of punching in
which the punch is stopped as soon as the metal fracture is complete and metal is not
removed but held in hole.

Contents
Process
Punching characteristics
Geometry
Equipment
Forces
Related processes
Plastics
See also
References

Process
Punch tooling (punch and die) is often made of hardened steel or tungsten carbide. A die is
located on the opposite side of the workpiece and supports the material around the perimeter
of the hole and helps to localize the shearing forces for a cleaner edge. There is a small
amount of clearance between the punch and the die to prevent the punch from sticking in the
die and so less force is needed to make the hole. The amount of clearance needed depends on
the thickness, with thicker materials requiring more clearance, but the clearance is always
greater than the thickness of the workpiece. The clearance is also dependent on the hardness
of the workpiece. The punch press forces the punch through a workpiece, producing a hole
that has a diameter equivalent to the punch, or slightly smaller after the punch is removed. All
ductile materials stretch to some extent during punching which often causes the punch to
stick in the workpiece. In this case, the punch must be physically pulled back out of the hole
while the work is supported from the punch side, and this process is known as stripping. The
hole walls will show burnished area, rollover, and die break and must often be further
processed. The slug from the hole falls through the die into some sort of container to either
dispose of the slug or recycle it.

Punching characteristics
The characteristics of punching are:

It is the most cost effective process of making holes in strip

or sheet metal for average to high fabrication.
It is able to create multiple shaped holes.
Punches and dies are usually fabricated from conventional
tool steel or carbides
It creates a burnished region roll-over, and die break on HACO Q5[1] punching machine with
sidewall of the resulting hole.[2] a high speed servo hydraulic
It is a quick process. punching head

Geometry
The workpiece is often in the form of a sheet or roll. Materials for the workpiece can vary,
commonly being metals and plastics. The punch and die themselves can have a variety of
shapes to create an array of different shaped holes in the workpiece. Multiple punches may be
used together to create a part in one step.

Usually, the punch and die are close to the same dimensions,
creating a sheared edge when they meet. A punch that is
significantly smaller than the die can be used to produce an
extruded hole where the punch displaces the punched
material to the sides, forming a tube perpendicular to the
punched sheet.[3][4]

Equipment
Most punch presses are mechanically operated, but simple
punches are often hand-powered. Major components of this
mechanical press are the frame, motor, ram, die posts,
bolster, and bed. The punch is mounted into the ram, and the
Extruded holes with the punch and
die is mounted to the bolster plate. The scrap material drops
die used to create them. No pilot
through as the workpiece is advanced for the next hole. Most hole was used on the left.
common in industry are large computer-controlled punch
press, called a CNC. These most commonly are of the 'turret'
or 'rail' variety. A turret punch press houses punches and their corresponding dies in a
revolving indexed turret, while a rail type punch stores tooling on a back rail out of the way of
the workpiece. These machines use hydraulic as well as pneumatic power to press the shape
with enough force to shear the metal.

Forces
The punch force required to punch a piece of sheet metal can be estimated from the following
equation:[5]
Where t is the sheet metal thickness, L is the total length sheared (perimeter of the shape), and
UTS is the ultimate tensile strength of the material.

Die and punch shapes affect the force during the punching process. The punch force increases
during the process as the entire thickness of the material is sheared at once. A beveled punch
helps in the shearing of thicker materials by reducing the force at the beginning of the stroke.
However, beveling a punch will disort the shape because of lateral forces that develop.
Compound dies allow multiple shaping to occur. Using compound dies will generally slow
down the process and are typically more expensive than other dies. Progressive dies may be
used in high production operations. Different punching operations and dies may be used at
different stages of the operation on the same machine.

Related processes
Other processes such as stamping, blanking, perforating, parting, drawing, notching, lancing
and bending operations are all related to punching.

Plastics
Punching in plastics fabrication usually refers to the removal of scrap plastic from the desired
article. For example, in extrusion blow molding it is common to use punching dies to remove
tails, molding flash (scrap plastic) and handle slugs from bottles or other molded containers.

In shuttle machinery, the containers are usually trimmed in the machines, and finished
containers leave the blow molding machine. Other blow molding equipment, such as rotary
wheel machinery, requires the use of downstream trimming. Types of downstream trimming
equipment include detabbers for tail removal, rotary or reciprocating punch trimmers, and
spin trimmers.

See also
Knockout punch

References
1. HACO Q5 (http://www.haco.com/en/our-services/the-q5)
2. Todd, Robert H., Dell K. Allen, and Leo Alting. Manufacturing Processes Reference Guide. New York:
Industrial Press Inc. 1994. Pg 107.
3. Peter Ulintz, Hole Extrusions--Part 1 Metalforming Magazine (http://www.metalformingmagazine.
com/magazine/article.asp?aid=6177) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20160305032731/h
ttp://www.metalformingmagazine.com/magazine/article.asp?aid=6177) 2016-03-05 at the
Wayback Machine, Oct. 2011.
4. O. D. Lascoe, 6B: Design Considerations for Stamping, Handbook of Fabrication Processes (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=4PZxakNhjT0C&pg=PA435), ASM International, 1988; page 435.
5. Kalpakjian, Serope; Schmid, Steven R. (2006). Manufacturing Engineering and Technology (5th
edition ed.) p. 428.

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