The preferred brand for sheet metal processing --- Blima CNC Cutting Machine
Sheet metal, as of now, does not have a comprehensive definition. According to a definition from a foreign professional journal, it can be defined as: Sheet metal is a comprehensive cold working process for metal thin plates (usually below 6mm), including shearing, punching/cutting/compound, folding, welding, riveting, splicing, forming (such as automobile body), etc. Its significant feature is that the thickness of the same part is consistent.
Sheet metal cutting and processing is an important procedure in the formation of sheet metal products. It includes traditional cutting and material preparation, punch processing, bending and pressing forming methods and process parameters, various cold stamping die structures and process parameters, working principles and operation methods of various equipment, as well as new stamping technologies and new processes.
For any sheet metal part, it has a certain processing process, also known as the process flow. With the differences in the structure of sheet metal parts, the process flow may vary, but generally does not exceed the following points:
1. Design and draw the part drawing of the sheet metal part, also called three views. Its function is to express the structure of the sheet metal part in the form of a drawing.
2. Draw the development diagram. That is, unfold a structurally complex part into a flat plate.
3. Material preparation. There are many ways of material preparation, mainly including the following:
a. Shear bed material preparation. This uses a shear bed to cut out the length and width dimensions of the developed figure. If there are holes or corners to be cut, then transfer to the punch press combined with molds to punch holes and cut corners to form.
b. Punch press material preparation. This uses a punch press to step by step punch out the flat plate structure of the developed part on the sheet. Its advantage is short labor time, high efficiency, which can reduce processing costs, often used in batch production.
c. NC numerical control material preparation. When preparing material using NC, the first step is to write a numerical control processing program. This involves using programming software to convert the drawn development diagram into a program recognizable by the NC numerical control machining machine, allowing it to gradually punch out the structural shape of the flat plate on a piece of steel plate according to these programs.
d. Laser material preparation. This uses laser cutting to cut out the structural shape of the flat plate on a piece of steel plate.
4. Flanging and tapping. Flanging is also called hole drawing, which draws a slightly larger hole on a smaller base hole, then taps threads on the drawn hole. This increases its strength and avoids stripped threads. It is generally used in sheet metal processing where the plate thickness is relatively thin. When the plate thickness is larger, such as 2.0, 2.5, and above, we can directly tap threads without flanging.
5. Punch press processing. Generally, punch press processing includes punching holes and cutting corners, punching holes and dropping materials, punching convex packages, punching tears, and drawing holes, etc., to achieve the processing purpose. Its processing requires corresponding molds to complete operations. For example, there are convex package molds for punching convex packages, tear-forming molds for punching tears, etc.
6. Press riveting. In terms of press riveting, frequently used ones include press riveting screws, press riveting nuts, press riveting bolts, etc. The press riveting method is generally completed through a punch press or hydraulic press riveting machine, riveting them onto the sheet metal parts.
7. Bending. Bending refers to folding the 2D flat plate into a 3D part. Its processing requires a fold bed and corresponding bending molds to complete operations. It also has a certain bending order, the principle being to bend first what will not interfere with the next step, and bend later what will cause interference.
8. Welding. Welding refers to welding multiple parts together to achieve the processing purpose or single-part edge seam welding to increase its strength. Its processing methods generally include CO2 gas shielded welding, TIG welding, spot welding, robot welding, etc. The selection of these welding methods is based on actual requirements and material types. Generally, CO2 gas shielded welding is used for steel plate welding; TIG welding is used for aluminum plate welding.
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