A sheet metal forming press is used to form the row materials of the sheet metals into the required shape or configuration by giving the compressive force to the workpieces and the dies, which is a forming machine that makes the production of the sheet metal products cost-effective.
With the combination with the CNC technology, the forming work on the sheet metals, which is also called the stamping of sheet metals, no matter simple or intricate, narrow or large parts, can be attained with accuracy and precision with one single sheet metal forming press.
Sheet metals are the metal materials that are presented as the form of sheets. Compared to other machining processes, which are specialized in cutting thicker blocks of metals, the sheet metals are not suitable for being those workpieces.
As the name implies, the sheet metals come in pieces of sheets, which are relatively thinner and more fragile than other forms. Therefore, if drilling or milling on these materials, they are likely to easily fracture, which results in the failure of the machining works.
However, the sheet metals are widely adopted in a variety of applications, from the products for daily use to the components of large devices, such as the household appliances and the frames of automobiles. Instead of pieces of flat sheets, these metals require to be carefully designed and produced as different shapes, so as to accommodate to the need of these products.
There are many methods for forming the sheet metals including cold forming, warm forming, and hot forming, etc., and stamping with a sheet metal forming press is one of the methods that are widely used with the versatility this machine is able to achieve.
Sheet metal forming is usually used for working on the materials like steel, copper, aluminum, aluminum alloys and copper alloys, which have the properties like malleability but sturdy that make them be able to withstand the pressure that is given from the tool of the press, in order to produce the products depending on the required geometries.
This machining technique can be applied for a wide range of industries, including the household appliances, automotive, construction, electrical engineering, petro chemical, or general fabrication industries, to name a few.
Depending on the products that the sheet metal forming presses are dedicated to produce, the space limitation of the working environment, and the manufacturing scales, these machines may come in different sizes and compatible with varied forms of materials.
However, no matter the presses are big or small, or with other additional functions, most of the general sheet metal forming presses that are combined with the CNC technology are comprised of the following elements, including the motion driving devices, the work holding devices, the tools, the dies, and the computerized systems.
● Motion driving devices
The motion driving devices refer to the transmission systems that transmit the energy from the power source to the tools by transforming the electric energy into the kinetic energy.
The transmission systems consist of the motor, the belt wheel, the belt, the transmission shaft, the gears, the clutch, and the brake.
The motor receives the electric energy and transmits the energy though the belt wheel and transmission shaft. After that, the gears, clutch, and brake would regulate the torque and the speed of the energy and delivers to the tool holder as well as the tools.
● Work holding devices
The work holding devices contains the tool holding device, which is set on the upper part of the press, and the work holding device, which is arranged on the lower part instead. The former is responsible for clamping the tools firmly, and the latter holds the workpieces in place during the stamping process.
● Tools
The tools on a sheet metal forming press are the punches. The punches are clamped on the upper part of the press with the tool holding device, and driven by the transmission system, and provide the compressive force to the workpieces and the dies with the downward working orientation.
● Dies
The dies, which may come in many different forms based on the requirements of the stamping process, are set under where the workpieces are on the lower part of the press.
These dies can be recognized as the prototypes of the final products, which mean that the products are made by following the configurations of these dies. Therefore, the dies are the indispensible components for the sheet metal forming process as well.
● Computerized systems
These systems contains the computer-aided design (CAD) system and the computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) system, which are applied for the designing of the products and make the press perform the stamping work with accuracy and precision, and can benefit the press for manufacturing the extremely intricate parts of the products.
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