Sheetmetal Intro

Introduction
to
Sheet Metal
Sheet metal :
Sheet metal is metal formed by an industrial process into thin, flat pieces. It is one
of the fundamental forms used in metalworking and it can be cut and bent into a variety of
shapes. Countless everyday objects are constructed with sheet metal.
Examples of sheet-metal parts. (a) Die-formed and cut stamped parts. (b) Parts
produced by spinning.
The material thickness that classifies a work piece as sheet metal is not clearly
defined. However, sheet metal is generally considered to be a piece of stock between
0.006 and 0.25 inches thick.
A piece of metal much thinner is considered to be "foil" and any thicker is referred to
as a "plate".
The thickness of a piece of sheet metal is often referred to as its gauge
Gauge
The sheet metal gauge (sometimes spelled gage) indicates the standard thickness of
sheet metal for a specific material.
For most materials, as the gauge number increases, the material thickness
decreases.
WHAT IS FOIL?
Foil (metal) a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill
machine
WHAT IS PLATE :
Plate, metal sheets thicker than 6 mm or 14 in
Sheet metal stock is available in a wide variety of materials,

which include the following:
Aluminum
Brass
Bronze
Copper
Magnesium
Nickel
Stainless steel
Steel
Tin
Titanium
Zinc
APPLICATIONS
Using specialized tools, sheet metal workers cut, roll, bend, and shape these pieces to
make a wide variety of objects such as
Ductwork
Airplane wings
Car bodies
Refrigeration units
Medical tables and storage units
Building facades
Steel sheets
Tubing
Signs
APPLICATIONS
Aluminum sheets are used extensively in an aircraft industry. The wings of an

airplane are made from reinforced aluminum, and the frame is also made from
aluminum.
It can easily be welded and has good corrosion resistance
An aluminum sheet finds application in a household also.
Sheet metal has applications in car bodies,
Agro Equipment's
Sheet Metal Operations:
Bending
Shearing
Blanking
Punching
Trimming
Parting
Slitting
Lancing
Notching
perforating
Nibbling
Embossing
Shaving
Cutoff
dinking
Coining
Deep drawing
Stretch forming
Roll forming
Bending
Bending is a metal forming process in
which a force is applied to a piece of
sheet metal, causing it to bend at an
angle and form the desired shape.
Press Brake machine
Bending types
Two common bending methods are:
V-Bending
Edge bending
V-Bending: The sheet metal blank is
bent between a V-shaped punch and die.
Air bending: If the punch does not force
the sheet to the bottom of the die cavity,
leaving space or air underneath, it is
called "air bending.
Edge or Wipe Bending: Wipe bending

requires the sheet to be held against the
wipe die by a pressure pad. The punch
then presses against the edge of the
sheet that extends beyond the die and
pad. The sheet will bend against the
radius of the edge of the wipe die.
Springback in bending :
When the bending stress is removed at the end of the deformation process, elastic
energy remains in the bent part causing it to partially recover to its original shape. In
bending, this elastic recovery is called springback. It increases with decreasing the
modulus of elasticity, E, and increasing the yield strength, Y, of a material.
Springback is defined as the increase in included angle of the bent part relative to the
included angle of the forming tool after the tool is removed.
After springback:
The bend angle will decrease (the included angle will increase)
The bend radius will increase
Springback in bending
Following is a schematic illustration of springback in bending:
i: bend angle before springback
f: bend angle after springback
Ri: bend radius before springback
Rf: bend radius after springback
Note: Ri and Rf are internal radii
16
Springback in bending
In order to estimate springback, the following formula
can be used:
where:
Ri, Rf: initial and final bend radii respectively
Y: Yield strength
E: Youngs modulus
t: Sheet thickness
17
Compensation for Springback

Many ways can be used to compensate for springback. Two common ways are:
Overbending
Bottoming (coining)
When overbending is used in V-bending (for example), the punch angle and radius are
fabricated slightly smaller than the specified angle and raduis of the final part. This
way the material can springback to the desired value.
Bottoming involves squeezing the part at the end of the stroke, thus plastically
deforming it in the bend region.
Variations of Flanging
Other bending operations include:
Flanging is a bending operation in which the edge of a sheet metal is bent at a 90
angle to form a rim or flange. It is often used to strengthen or stiffen sheet metal. The
flange can be straight, or it can involve stretching or shrinking as shown in the figure
below:
(a) Straight flanging

(b) Stretch flanging
(c) Shrink flanging
Bending Animation
20
Bending Animation
21
Bending Animation
22
Bending Animation
23
Springback Animation
24
Springback Animation
Springback
25
Variations of Flanging
In stretch flanging the curvature of the bending
line is concave and the metal is
circumferentially stretched, i.e., A > B. The
flange undergoes thinning in stretch flanging.
In shrink flanging the curvature of the bending

line is convex and the material is
circumferentially compressed, i.e., A < B. The
material undergoes thickening in shrink
flanging.
Figures courtesy of
Engineering Research
Center for Net Shape
Manufacturing
26
Variations of Bending
Other bending operations include:
Hemming involves bending the edge of the sheet over onto itself in more than one
bending step. This process is used to eliminate sharp edges, increase stiffness, and
improve appearance, such as the edges in car doors.
Seaming is a bending operation in which two sheet metal edges are joined together.
Curling (or beading) forms the edges of the part into a roll. Curling is also used for
safety, strength, and aesthetics.
(a) Hemming
(b) Seaming
(c) Curling
27
Shearing
Shearing is defined as separating

material into two parts.
It utilizes shearing force to cut sheet
metal.
The force required for shearing is:

F = S*t*L; where
S: shear strength of the sheet metal
t: sheet thickness
L: length of the cut edge
The shear strength S can be estimated by:
S = 0.7 * UTS; where
UTS: the Ultimate Tensile Strength
The above formula does not consider
other factors such as friction
Blanking
A piece of sheet metal is removed from

a larger piece of stock.
This removed piece is not scrap, it is
the useful part.
Fine Blanking
A second force is applied underneath the

sheet, directly opposite the punch, by a
"cushion".
This technique produces a part with
better flatness and smoother edges.
Punching Operations
Punching or Piercing
The typical punching operation, in which a

cylindrical punch pierces a hole into the
sheet.
Blanking & Punching example
Trimming
Punching away excess material from the

perimeter of a part, such as trimming the
flange from a drawn cup.
Parting
Separating a part from the remaining

sheet, by punching away the material
between parts.
Slitting
Cutting straight lines in the sheet.

No scrap material is produced.
Creating a partial cut in the sheet, so

that no material is removed. The
material is left attached to be bent and
form a shape, such as a tab, vent, or
louver.
Lancing
Notching
Punching the edge of a sheet, forming

a notch in the shape of a portion of the
punch.
Perforating
Punching a close arrangement of a

large number of holes in a single
operation.
Nibbling
Embossing
Punching a series of small overlapping

slits or holes along a path to cut-out a
larger contoured shape.
Certain designs are embossed on the

sheet metal.
Punch and die are of the same contour
but in opposite direction.
Shaving
Shearing away minimal material
from the edges of a feature or part,
using a small die clearance. Used
to improve accuracy or finish.
Tolerances of 0.025 mm are
possible.
Cutoff
Cutoff - Separating a part from

the remaining sheet, without
producing any scrap.
The punch will produce a cut
line that may be straight, angled,
or curved.
Dinking
Dinking - A specialized form of piercing
used for punching soft metals. A hollow
punch, called a dinking die, with beveled,
sharpened edges presses the sheet into a
block of wood or soft metal.
Coining
Similar to embossing with the

difference that similar or different
impressions are obtained on both the
sides of the sheet metal.
Deep Drawing
Deep drawing is a metal forming

process in which sheet metal is
stretched into the desired shape.
A tool pushes downward on the sheet
metal, forcing it into a die cavity in the
shape of the desired part.
Deep Drawing Sequence
Stretch Forming
Roll Forming
Stretch forming is a metal forming

process in which a piece of sheet metal
is stretched and bent simultaneously
over a die in order to form large bent
parts.
Roll forming is a continuous bending operation in
which a long strip of sheet metal is passed through
sets of rolls mounted on consecutive stands, each
set performing only an incremental part of the
bend, until the desired cross-section profile is
obtained.
Roll forming is ideal for producing constant-profile
parts with long lengths and in large quantities.
Dies: Made up of tool steel and used to

cut or shape material.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Simple die
Compound die
Combination die
Progressive die
Simple Die
Simple dies or single action dies

perform single operation for each
stroke of the press slide.
The operation may be one of the
cutting or forming operations.
Compound Die
In these dies, two or more operations

may be performed at one station.
Such dies are considered as cutting
tools since, only cutting operations are
carried out.
Combination Die
In this die also , more than one

operation may be performed at one
station.
It is different from compound die in
that in this die, a cutting operation is
combined with a bending or drawing
operation, due to that it is called
combination die.
Progressive Die
A progressive has a series of

operations.
At each station , an operation is
performed on a work piece during
a stroke of the press.
Progressive Die

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What are the main sheet metal forming processes discussed?

What are the main sheet metal forming processes discussed?

What is the difference between foil, sheet metal, and plate?

What is the difference between foil, sheet metal, and plate?

Introduction

Plate, metal sheets thicker than 6 mm or 14 in

Sheet metal stock is available in a wide variety of materials,

Aluminum sheets are used extensively in an aircraft industry. The wings of an

Sheet metal has applications in car bodies,

Sheet Metal Operations:

Press Brake machine

Edge or Wipe Bending: Wipe bending

Compensation for Springback

(a) Straight flanging

In shrink flanging the curvature of the bending

Shearing is defined as separating

The force required for shearing is:

A piece of sheet metal is removed from

A second force is applied underneath the

The typical punching operation, in which a

Blanking & Punching example

Punching away excess material from the

Separating a part from the remaining

Cutting straight lines in the sheet.

Creating a partial cut in the sheet, so

Punching the edge of a sheet, forming

Punching a close arrangement of a

Punching a series of small overlapping

Certain designs are embossed on the

Cutoff - Separating a part from

Similar to embossing with the

Deep drawing is a metal forming

Deep Drawing Sequence

Stretch forming is a metal forming

Dies: Made up of tool steel and used to

Simple dies or single action dies

In these dies, two or more operations

In this die also , more than one

A progressive has a series of

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