Sheet Metal Manufacturing Terminology

Sheet Metal Manufacturing Terminology | Sheet metal manufacturing may be a complex idea to understand since it requires several procedures and tools. In order to explain you about sheet metal terminology, you need to know the process implied and which resources are required to proceed the work, let’s go through Kaempf & Harris’ short glossary on simple sheet metal manufacturing terms:

•     ASHRAE: American Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers
•     Assembly: a forging, binding and bending machines in the shape of a crimped seam
•     Band saws: a weapon with specially hardened blades that feed sheet metal to ensure even cutting
•     Base metal: welded or cut metal
•     Bending: Hammering process or pushing brakes
•     Blanking: portion of the sheet metal is cut, and material outside the part is discarded
•     CAD programming: computer-aided design terminology
•     Chop saws: A method primarily made for cutting sheet metal
•     CNC cutters: an acronym for numerical device cutters; automation of machine tools controlled by precisely programmed commands encoded on a computer instead of manually operated by hand wheels or levers
•     Cutting: sewing, shearing or chiselling using manual and power tools or torching with portable plasma torches using CNC cutters like lasers
•     Cutting torches: a weapon that can cut significant sheet metal parts with little effort
•     Die-cutting: a method that removes metal parts without creating chips or using burning or melting;
•     Fab stores: for production shops
•     Hydraulic breaks: a mechanism that simplifies production by making bends at preset angles
•     Hydroforming: a technique that uses a specific type of die moulding and uses highly pressurized fluid to shape metals like steel, stainless steel, copper, aluminium and brass
•     Wire punching: as metal fabrication machinery punctures gaps, louvres, or preset sheet metal form.
•     Milling: The method of utilizing rotary cutters to extract material from a metal piece at an angle with a tool axis
•     Oxy-acetylene torch: a weapon used to straighten sluggish, linearly deformed steel.
•     Press brake: Twisting layer and plate metal method
•     Roll formation: a continuous bending mechanism in which sheet metal, coil, bar, or metal bars move through rolls forming metal
•     SMACNA: Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning Contractors National Association
•     Stamping: a high manufacturing procedure in which single or several punctures, bends, and embossing occur at one time or in a progressive die.
•     Deburr – A finishing or secondary process that involves removing sharp edges from assembled products or pieces.
•     Dedicated tooling is custom-made tooling that is made specifically for the output of a single component.
•     Deep-drawn stamping is a metal stamping technique for making hollow parts. A layer is mounted on a shaping die and punched through a hollow die cavity with a punching force.

A precision tool used to cut and mould stock sheet metal into a particular profile or pattern shape is classified as a die (stamping die).

•     Die clearance is the distance between the punch and the opening of the die.

The strength of a substance to bend without splitting, shattering or breaking is determined by its ductility.

•     Any instrument used to keep a workpiece or part in position during stamping or machining processes is referred to as a fixture.
•     Flange – A reinforced component rim that is usually used to make assembling simpler. A secondary stamping method is mostly inserted into other stamping dies to build the reinforced portion rim.
•     A non-reflective surface covering that is smooth or matte.
•     Gauge – A measure for measuring the thickness of metal, typically in thousandths of an inch. Notice that not all metals have the same gauge thicknesses. A gouge is a raised edged imperfection on a substrate’s surface that is usually wider than a scrape.

The grain path is the angle of a material’s crystallized form—also, the direction of an abrasive-finishing-method-created surface finish.

•     Deburring, smoothing or forming sharp edges, and smoothing rough welds are common uses for grinding, abrasive metal fabrication, and finishing methods.
•     Half-shearing is a punching technique that partly penetrates sheet metal, resulting in a protrusion about half the object’s thickness. These protrusions are often used as forging, assembling, or other processes locators.
•     The cloth edge is doubled over on itself to create a stiffer edge and/or to minimize edge sharpness.

Sheet metal production requires several machines, procedures and practitioners to produce multiple end-project forms.