Manufacturing Technology

MEC205
Sheet Metal Operations
Forming Processes - Definition & Types
“Forming processes are those in which the shape of a metal piece is
changed by plastic deformation”
Typical forming processes are:

1. Bulk deformation 2. Sheet metalworking

a. Rolling a. Bending
b. Forging b. Deep drawing
c. Extrusion c. Cutting
d. Wire and bar drawing. d. Miscellaneous processes
 Sheet Metalworking Defined
•Cutting and forming operations performed on relatively thin sheets
of metal
•Thickness of sheet metal = 0.4 mm (1/64 in) to 6 mm (1/4 in)
•Thickness of plate stock > 6 mm
•Operations usually performed as cold working
Sheet and Plate Metal Products
•Sheet and plate metal parts for consumer and industrial products
such as,
1. Automobiles and trucks
2. Airplanes
3. Railway cars and locomotives
4. Farm and construction equipment
5. Small and large appliances
6. Office furniture
7. Computers and office equipment
Advantages of Sheet Metal Parts
1. High strength( Along longitudinal/rolling direction, poor
strength along transverse direction)
2. Good dimensional accuracy
3. Good surface finish
4. Relatively low cost
5. Economical mass production for large quantities
Sheet Metalworking Terminology
• Sheet metal operations are performed on machine tool called
Stamping presses.
•Tooling that performed sheet metal work is called punch and die/
stamping dies.
•Sheet metal products are called stamping.
Basic Types of Sheet Metal Processes
1. Cutting
Shearing to separate large sheets
Cutting m/c
Blanking to cut part perimeters out of sheet metal
Punching to make holes in sheet metal
2. Bending
Bending it to required shape
3. Drawing
Forming of sheet into convex or concave shapes
Sheet Metal Cutting/ Cutting operation
•Cutting of sheet is accomplished by shearing action between two
sharp cutting edges.
•As punch applies force, sheet compressed elastically and then
plastically.
•As soon as stresses exceed UTS point, crack is initiated on sheet at
punch edge and die edge.
•Both cracks propagate towards each other and meet in between of
thickness.
Sheet Metal Cutting/ Cutting operation

(1) just before the punch contacts work; (2) punch begins to push into
work, causing plastic deformation (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.
 Sheet Metal Cutting/ Cutting operation.
•The sheared edge of the sheet have characteristic feature as

•Top of cut surface called rollover( depression made by punch)

•Below rollover, a smooth region called Burnish.
•Beneath of burnish is a fracture zone
•At bottom of edge is burr
Sheet Metal Cutting/ Cutting operation.
Three principal operations in pressworking that cut sheet metal:
1. Shearing
2. Blanking
3. Punching
Sheet Metal Cutting/ Cutting operation.
1. Shearing
• Is a sheet metal cutting operation along a straight line between
two cutting edges.
• Shearing is generally used to cut large sheet into small section.
• It is performed on power shear or squaring shear.

Shearing operation: (a) side view of the shearing operation; (b) front view of power
shears equipped with inclined upper cutting blade
Sheet Metal Cutting/ Cutting operation.
2. Blanking 3. Punching
• Blanking involves cutting of sheet in a single step to separate the
piece from surrounding stock. The part cut from sheet is desired
product called blank.
• Punching – the removed part is waste called slug and the
remaining stock is desired product.

(a) Blanking and (b) punching

Sheet Metal Cutting/ Cutting operation.
2. Blanking 3. Punching
Clearance in Sheet Metal Cutting
“Distance between punch cutting edge and die cutting edge”
•Typical values range between 4% and 8% of stock thickness
1. If too small, fracture
lines pass each other,
causing double
burnishing and larger
force
2. If too large, metal is
pinched between
cutting edges and
excessive burr results a) Too small Clearance b) Too Large Clearance
Sheet Metal Cutting/ Cutting operation.
2. Blanking 3. Punching
Clearance in Sheet Metal Cutting
Recommended clearance is calculated by:
c = at

where c = clearance; a = allowance; and t = stock thickness

Allowance a is determined according to type of metal
Sheet Metal Cutting/ Cutting operation.
2. Blanking 3. Punching
Clearance in Sheet Metal Cutting
Recommended clearance is calculated by:
c = at
Metal group a
1100S and 5052S aluminum alloys, all tempers 0.045

2024ST and 6061ST aluminum alloys; brass, soft cold 0.060

rolled steel, soft stainless steel

Cold rolled steel, half hard; stainless steel, half hard and 0.075
full hard
Sheet Metal Cutting/ Cutting operation.
2. Blanking 3. Punching
Design of punch and die in punching and blanking operation.
1. Blanking (Punch and die dimension)
For a round blank of diameter Db:

Blanking punch diameter = Db ‑ 2c

Blanking die diameter = Db

where c = clearance
(a) Blanking and (b) punching
2. Punching( Punch and die dimension)
For a round hole of diameter Dh:

Hole punch diameter = Dh

Sheet Metal Cutting/ Cutting operation.
2. Blanking 3. Punching
Design of punch and die in punching and blanking operation.
Punch and Die Sizes
 Angular Clearance
Purpose: allows slug or blank to drop through die
Typical values: 0.25 to 1.5 on each side
Cutting force estimation:
Important for determining press size (tonnage)
F=StL
where S = shear strength of metal; t = stock thickness, and L = length
of cut edge
Drawing Operation
•Sheet metal forming to make cup‑shaped, box‑shaped, or other
complex‑curved, hollow‑shaped parts
•Products: beverage cans, ammunition shells, automobile body
panels
Also known as deep drawing
where Db = blank diameter;

and Dp = punch diameter

Rp- corner radius on punch
Drawing Operation

Bullet shell

Beverage can
Drawing Operation
Clearance in Drawing
Sides of punch and die separated by a clearance c
c = 1.1 t
where t = stock thickness Wrinkle defect
In other words, clearance is about 10% greater than stock thickness

Importance of holding force Fh

1. Too small, wrinkling may occurs.
2. Too large, it prevent metal from
flowing properly towards die cavity
Drawing Operation Analysis
1. Drawing Ratio DR=“Blank diameter to punch diameter.”
Most easily defined for cylindrical shape:
D
DR  b
Dp

where Db = blank diameter; and Dp = punch diameter

Indicates severity of a given drawing operation
Upper limit: DR  2.0
2. Reduction r
Db  Dp Value of r should be less than 0.50
r 
Db
Drawing Operation Analysis
3. Thickness‑to‑Diameter Ratio t/Db
•“Thickness of starting blank divided by blank diameter”
•Desirable for t/Db ratio to be greater than 1%

As t/Db decreases, tendency for wrinkling increases

Drawing Operation
4. Calculation of blank diameter
•In case of cup-like components the
Blank is circular
• Area of blank equal to the area of cup:
Drawing Operation
5. Drawing force

6. Holding Force
Drawing Operation

Formula used
Sheet Metal Bending
Straining sheet metal around a straight axis to take a permanent bend

α
Bend Allowance Ab = 2π ( R + K ba t )
360
where Ab = bend allowance(amount of stretching);
 = bend angle; R= bend radius; t = stock thickness; and Kba is factor
to estimate stretching
If R < 2t, Kba = 0.33
If R  2t, K = 0.50
Types of Sheet Metal Bending
1. V‑bending - performed with a V‑shaped die
2. Edge bending - performed with a wiping die

V Bending Edge Bending

•For low production •For high production

•Performed on a press brake •Pressure pad required

•Dies are more complicated and
•V-dies are simple and inexpensive costly
Stretch Forming
Sheet metal is stretched and simultaneously bent over form block to
achieve shape change
Spinning
Metal forming process in which an axially symmetric part is
gradually shaped over a rotating mandrel using a rounded tool or
roller
Three types:
1. Conventional spinning
2. Shear spinning
3. Tube spinning
Spinning
1. Conventional spinning
Sheet metal disk is held against the end of rotating mandrel of
desired inside shape of the final part. While the tool or roller deform
the metal against mandrel.
Spinning
2. Shear Spinning
In shear spinning the part is formed over mandrel by shear
deformation process in which the outside diameter remains constant
and the wall thickness is reduced
Spinning
3. Tube spinning
Is used to reduce wall thickness and increase the length of the tube
by means of roller.