Metal can be permanently distorted by stretching, bending, or compressing it. Metal changes shape proportionally to the amount of stress applied to it. Metal work pieces must reach their proportional limit of stress before they can permanently change their shape. Metal forming is used to accomplish this.
Fremont, CA: Forming metal is the process of creating structural parts and components from metal sheets or tubes. By bending or deforming metal work pieces, a desired geometric shape can be achieved. Modern industrial manufacturing is based on metal forming, but it is also a vital industry in and of itself. It is estimated that industrialized nations contribute 15%-20% of their GDP to metal-forming processes.
Among the industries that can be mass-produced with this process are aerospace, automotive, durable goods such as appliances, agriculture, consumer and commercial electronics, telecommunications, rail and marine, and petrochemical. Metal forming provides components for all of them.
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The Basics of Metal Forming
A number of manufacturing processes are involved in metal forming. One thing that all metal-forming processes have in common is reshaping scrap metal into finished products.
Material sciences refer to reshaping as plastic deformation, a mechanical process. Deformation of material occurs when the force applied exceeds its yield strength.
Metal can be permanently distorted by stretching, bending, or compressing it. Metal changes shape proportionally to the amount of stress applied to it. Metal work pieces must reach their proportional limit of stress before they can permanently change their shape. Metal forming is used to accomplish this.
What Are the Metal Forming Processes?
The process of metal forming causes metal to undergo plastic deformation, i.e., to become a geometrically shaped part or component used in industrial production. The material must be bent or tensioned in any forming operation. There is no loss of mass during the process, only a loss of form. Moreover, metals must be flexible, compressible, or bendable in order to be successful. When a material's mechanical properties are insufficient, it can suffer from splits, creases, and other defects. The formability and strength of metal must be balanced during the metal-forming process.
In manufacturing industries, there are different types of metal-forming processes utilized for mass production. Some of the common processes are bending, stretching, deep drawing, and roll forming.
A brake press or similar machine is used to bend metal in a flexible manner. A die block punches-presses metal sheets after they are placed over a die block. Metal sheets are not punched by the die, but by the bending force, it creates.
The process of stretching metal is another way to process it. The forming process involves stretching and bending the workpiece over a die simultaneously. A sheet's deformation is caused by radial strain. Smooth surfaces and sizeable, accurate radius bends are required for the shaping of large parts.
