Introduction

Forming is similar to bending. Complex parts such as U-sections, channel sections

of different profiles can be produced by doing multiple bends.

There is no change in thickness. Good dimensional repeatability as well as close

tolerances is possible with this process.

Design Considerations

• On bends, the short leg (inside length) should be a minimum of 2.5 X stock
thickness + radius.

• Minimum hole (and short slot) to bend distance should be 2.5 X the stock
thickness + bend radius. For long slots, the distance should be 4 X the stock
thickness + bend radius.
• Bending using tight radiuses or in hard materials often results in burrs and
fractures on the outside of the bends. These can be eliminated by using larger
bend radiuses and by providing relief notches at the edges on the bend line.
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• Bend relief notches should be provided = 2 X stock thicknesses in width

(minimum 1.5mm / 0.060 in) and radius + stock thickness in length.

• Generally, bending perpendicular to rolling direction is easier than rolling

parallel to the rolling direction. Bending parallel to the rolling direction can often
lead to fracture in hard materials.

Thus bending parallel to rolling direction is not recommended for cold rolled
steel > Rb 70. And no bending is acceptable for cold rolled steel > Rb 85.

Hot rolled steel can be bent parallel to the rolling direction.

Design Considerations

The bend radius should be kept the same for all radii in the part to minimize set up
changes. Bend radius guidelines are as follows:

• For most materials, the minimum inner radius should be at least 1 material
thickness.
• As a general rule, bending perpendicular to the rolling direction is easier than
bending parallel to the rolling direction. Bending parallel to the rolling direction
can often lead to fracture in hard materials, thus bending parallel to rolling
direction is not recommended for cold rolled steel > Rb 70, and no bending is
acceptable for cold rolled steel > Rb 85. Hot rolled steel can be bent parallel to
the rolling direction.
• The minimum flange width should be at least 4 times the stock thickness plus
the bending radius. Violating this rule could cause distortions in the part or
damage to tooling or operator due to slippage.

• Slots or holes too close to the bend can cause distortion of these holes. Holes
or slots should be located a minimum of 3 times the stock thickness plus the
bend radius. If it is necessary to have holes closer, then the hole or slot should
de extended beyond the bend line.
• Dimensioning of the part should take into account the stack up of dimensions
that can happen and mounting holes that can be made oblong should be.
• Parts should be inspected in a restrained position, so that the natural flexure of
the parts does not affect measurements. Similarly, inside dimensions in an
inside bend should be measured close to the bend.
Introduction

Blanking is cutting up a large sheet of stock into smaller pieces suitable for the next
operation in stamping, such as drawing and forming. Often this is combined with
piercing.

Blanking can be as simple as a cookie cutter type die to produce prototype parts, or
high speed dies that run at 1000+ strokes per minute, running coil stock which has
been slit to a specified width.

For production parts, the final configuration of the drawn or formed shape needs to
be established before the blank die can be built-since the blank size and the slit
width size needs to be established precisely.

Design Considerations

• Corners should have a minimum radius of 0.5 x material thickness or 0.4 mm

(0.016in) whichever is greater. Sharper corners can be produced but at a
greater die maintenance costs and more burrs.
• Slots or tabs widths should be greater than 1.5 X stock thickness.

The length can be a maximum of 5 times slot/tab width.

These rules can be violated at an increased tooling cost-- width as low as 1 X

thickness and length as high as 7 X thickness can be achieved.

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• On cutoffs, avoid full radiuses across the width of stock. A square cut-off is best.
If a radius is necessary, then an angle-blended radius is best.
Introduction

Piercing is the operation of cutting internal features (holes or slots) in stock.

Piercing can also be combined with other operations such as lance and form (to
make a small feature such as tab), pierce and extrude (to make an extruded hole).
All these operations can be combined with blanking.

Piercing of all the holes is best done together to ensure good hole-to-hole tolerance
and part repeatability. However if the material distorts, the method described below
can be done.

When there are large numbers of holes, in a tight pitch, there could be distortions,
due to the high amount of tension on the upper surface due to stretching and
compression on the bottom surface. This causes the material not to lay flat. This can
be avoided/lessened by staggering the piercing of the holes. Holes are punched in a
staggered pattern; then the other holes are punched in the alternate staggered
pattern.
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Design Considerations

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ƒ Minimum hole diameter should be at least 20 % greater than stock thickness.

In the case of stainless steels, it should be 2 times the material thickness.
ƒ Minimum wall thickness (distance from hole to edge or hole to hole) should be
at least 2 times stock thickness.
ƒ For non-round slots, the minimum wall thickness should be 2 times thickness
for short slots < 10 thicknesses long; and 4 times thickness for long slots >
10 thicknesses long.
 ƒ Minimum hole (and short slot) to bend distance should be 2.5 × the stock
thickness + bend radius.
ƒ For long slots, the distance should be 4 × the stock thickness + bend radius.

Introduction

Welding is the process of permanently joining two or more metal parts, by melting
both materials. The molten materials quickly cool, and the two metals are
permanently bonded. Spot welding and seam welding are two very popular methods
used for sheet metal parts.

Spot welding is primarily used for joining parts that normally upto 3 mm (0.125 in)
thickness.

Spot-weld diameters range from 3 mm to 12.5 mm (0.125 to 0.5 in) in diameter.

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Materials

ƒ Low carbon steel is most suitable for spot welding. Higher carbon content or
alloy steels tend to form hard welds that are brittle and could crack. This
tendency can be reduced by tempering.
 ƒ Austenitic Stainless steels in the 300 series can be spot welded as also the
Ferritic stainless steels. Martensitic stainless steels are not suitable since they
are very hard.
ƒ

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Aluminums can be welded using high power and very clean oxide free
surfaces. Cleaning the surface to be oxide-free, adds extra costs (that can be
avoided with low carbon steel).

ƒ Dissimilar materials cannot be spot welded due to different melt properties

and thermal conductivities. Plated steel welding takes on the characteristics of
the coating. Nickel and chrome plated steels are relatively easy to spot weld,
whereas aluminum, tin and zinc need special preparation inherent to the
coating metals.

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Manufacturing Considerations

ƒ Thickness of the parts to be welded should be equal or the ratio of

thicknesses should be less than 3:1.
ƒ Spacing of welds
ƒ Min. Weld to weld spacing = 10 x Stock thickness.
 ƒ Center of weld to edge distance = 2 x weld diameter, minimum.
ƒ Weld to form distance = Bend Radius + 1 weld diameter, minimum.
ƒ Adequate access for spot welding should be considered. Small flanges in U
channels for example may restrict the electrode from entering the part.
ƒ Flat surfaces are easier to spot weld due to easy access. Multiple bends
impose access restrictions, and special fixtures may have to be designed to
handle the parts, if access is not a problem.
ƒ Prior to finishing, the spot welds have to be sanded or ground to blend the
welds with the rest of the surface.
ƒ It is best to choose the same spot weld size, to minimize setups and increase
throughput.
ƒ Plating of spot welded assemblies can cause problems when the sheet metal
is overlapped. This can cause plating salts to be trapped-requiring special
cleaning, or potential long-term corrosion problems. By carefully designing
the assembly to allow easy draining of plating solutions this can be avoided.
ƒ The mating parts can be self-jigged for easy location prior to welding. This
can be done by lancing one part and locating in a corresponding slot in the
other part; or by boss type extrusion, weld buttons, in part locating to a slot
in the other. This type of design can often eliminate the need for external
fixtures.