Bending >> What is Sheet Metal Bending?

Sheet Metal Bending Process Metal bending is the most common operations to change the shape of a material by plastically deforming it. In bending. There is normally only deformation about one axis (in contrast, press forming can work on multi-axis to make more complex shapes). In bending there is normally only deformation about one axis. The tool steel selection depends primarily on the work materials type, strength, thickness and part complexity. The most critical failure mechanisms for bending of: * Softer work materials ( = 300 HB ) are abrasive and adhesive wear. * Harder work materials ( = 300 HB ) are abrasive, adhesive, galling and plastic deformation

Failure mechanisms in cold work tooling Due to cyclic mechanical loading and sliding contact between work material and tool surface, the active surfaces of the tool are successively damaged. The destruction of the tool will sooner or later lead to quality problems on the formed parts (out of tolerance or bad surface qualities). The tool has then to be exchanged (in case of total failure), reground or refurbished. This maintenance procedure means production standstill and accordingly loss of productivity. It is therefore very important that the tools can resist the different types of tool failure mechanisms in order to achieve high productivity and economical production. The selection of the right tool steel is thus directly linked to the resistance of the actual tool failure mechanism for the application. Common cold work failure mechanisms are: * Wear - Results in a material loss from the tooling material and is related to the tooling materials hardness, carbide type and volume. Wear can also be related to the sheet material type and the process conditions. * Chipping - Is related to the stresses in the process and the fatigue resistance of the tooling material * Plastic deformation - Occurs if the process stresses are higher than the yield strength of the tool steel * Cracking - Occurs when the process stresses are higher than the tensile strength of the tool steel * Galling - Is a physical / chemical adhesion of the work material to the tool surface. The severity of galling depends on the surface finish and chemical composition of the tool steel and work material.

Method for tool steel selection * Identify the dominant failure mechanism(s) * Select a tool steel with properties that will overcome this / these failure mechanism(s) * Match the steel choice to the length of the production run.

Welding involves melting or fusion of two pieces of metal and usually the addition of a third filler material. The source of welding heat may be an oxy-fuel gas or an electric arc. The many types of fusion welding processes have been defined and categorized by the American Welding Society (AWS). >> Welding Types: > OAS - Oxy-acetylene or "gas" welding is a manipulative rod and torch process which finds wide use in maintenance and repair work. As a production process its use has declined. Yet gas-welding is still a viable welding process for low carbon, mild steels less than 1/8 inch thick. > SMAW - Shielded Metal Arc Welding, often referred to as "stick" welding, is used for all kinds of fabrication on a variety of metals with thickness usually of 1/8 inch or greater. SMAW is the most basic and economical of the electric welding processes, and uses a consumable electrode as a filler material. For the welding of mild steel (containing less than 0.25 percent carbon) the electrodes used differ only in their operating characteristics and recommended current type, which are determined by the chemistry and method of application of their flux coverings. > GTAW (TIG) - Gas Tungsten Arc Welding, once known by the proprietary name of "heli-arc", is now generally referred to as TIG. The process is used to fabricate many types of alloys, particularly stainless steel and aluminum, and is most efficient for welding material less than 0.25 inch thick. GTAW uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode whose heat producing arc takes place within a shield of inert gas of either argon or helium. Filler metal in the form of a bare rod may be added as in gas welding. The process can also be effectively automated. TIG filler rods are selected by alloy type and/or compatibility with the base material and range in diameters from 0.030 inch to 0.125 inch and sometimes up to 3/16 or 1/4 inch.

> GMAW (MIG) - Gas Metal Arc Welding is generally called MIG welding and is sometimes called "fine wire" welding or by several other proprietary names. This method is a production alternative to SMAW and TIG welding. It is a semi-automatic welding method in which a coiled, consumable electrode is fed into the weld puddle within a shield of inert gas. MIG is used on many alloy types and if often automated or used with robot welding cells. Two distinct advantages of the MIG process are that the weld deposits are "low-hydrogen" in chemistry making the process more applicable to a wider variety of fabricated metals. Secondly, a wider range of material thicknesses can be welded with a single wire size. Typically, 0.030 inch or 0.035 inch diameter wire can be effectively weld material from 1/16 to 1/4 inch thick. Depending on filler material alloy type, available wire diameters range from 0.020 to 0.125 inch thick. > FCAW - Flux Cored Arc Welding is a variation of the basic MIG process. As its name implies, the consumable, coiled electrode contains a granular flux within its hollow core. The process is particularly suited for high deposition welding of steel plate thickness, and it also has some out-of-position capability and can be automated. Flux cored electrode varies not only by classification, but from manufacturer to manufacturer. Careful selection should be based on data and recommendations supplies by the particular manufacturer. > PAW/PAC - Plasma Arc Welding is related to GTAW (TIG). Whereas the arc column produced in GTAW is conical in shape, the plasma arc is more cylindrical and thus more focused on the work surface. PAW is generally used to weld very thin materials, but plasma's more common application is as an alternative for oxyacetylene flame cutting. PAC is particularly used on stainless steel and aluminum which cannot be cleanly cut using OAW. As a manual or machine guided process, PAC has virtually no metallurgical effect on the material and edges to be welded often require no post-cleaning or additional edge preparation. >> Use of Welding: Typical applications for MIG welding include automotive sub-assemblies and bodywork, ranging from conventional MIG for most bodywork, to heavy-duty MIG for lorry chassis and off-highway vehicles. MIG is also used extensively in automotive and general repair workshops. Other applications include the assembly of white goods and office furniture, structural steelwork for the construction industry, as well as bridges and wind turbine towers. MIG welding is widely used in shipbuilding and ship repair yards. It is also used extensively in the process industry for pipework and the fabrication of vessels.

TIG is the preferred method for very thin material or when joint integrity is critical - such as the root weld in pipes for the offshore industry - and the shielding gas required for MIG can be affected by drafts and wind. >> Welding Materials: OEM Enclosure Inc. has extensive experience in ASME certified structural welding as well as thin-gage and cosmetic welding of sheet steel, stainless steel, steel and aluminum. We are certified to ANSI and AWS 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.6. >> Industries Served OEM Enclosure Inc. has been working for a wide variety of industries including automotive, power generation, food processing, aerospace, medical industries and many more. >> Welding Products Our welding products range from large frames, skids, tanks, tables and piping packages to small intricate parts, sheet metal enclosures, sheet metal racks, sheet metal housings, sheet metal chassis and more. >> Robotic Welding for Aluminum, Stainless Steel and Carbon Steel OEM Enclosure Inc. also uses robotic welding extensively to save cost for our customers from large to small runs. Robotic welding improves productivity while still maintains very good accuracy. Rototic welding also allows us to schedule your product runs more flexible.

>> What is Notching?

Metal working presses are used by industry for the production of a large variety of articles from sheet metal. The low cost of producing high quality metal pressings, makes press work one of the most attractive and important of manufacturing processes. The first step in the manufacture of sheet metal products is called shearing. This is the process of cutting a piece of metal into the required shape. Notching is one of the most common shearing operations. Notching is the operation of removing a piece of metal from the edge of a sheet of metal. In notching process, the punch removes material from the edge or corner of a strip or bank or part. OEM Enclosure Inc. offers metal notching service for a variety of materials, such as stainless steel, aluminum, brass, copper, etc. We operate a variety of presses to assist our OEM customer in producing the notching services they require to produce their custom fabricated metal parts or sheet metal enclosures. >> Our Sheet Metal Notching Capabilities We have notching machines range in capacity from 150 tons to 350 tons and we can notch metals up to 1/4 inch thick. We can fabricate sheet metal products up to 36 inch x 48 inch with punch speed ranges from 1 to 100 hits per minute. The other advantage of our metal notching service is our notching machine/punch press's accuracy. We can achieve one of the tightest notching tolerances in the sheet metal fabrication industry. >> Commonly notched sheet metal materials We can notch all common sheet metal materials used in the industry. This includes aluminum alloys, aluminum T1 and T2, brass, cold rolled steel, copper, galvanized steel, steel alloys, hot rolled steel, titanium, zinc and more! >> Sheet Metal Notching Machine Here is list of our Metal Notching Machines * Amada CSW 250 * Comaca EPAS 225 * Durma - Hesse FN 2004 * HESSE MFN 1516 * Huvema HU 1580 M * HEsSE VN 2004

>> Metal notching machines (Notcher) features which you can benefit from 1. Up to 75 percent labor cost savings. Reconfiguration time is minimal and cycle time is only one second! Protective screen prevents injury. The machine operation stops when the screened lid is opened. 2. Permanent scales for measuring notch spacing and notch depth which assures accuracy and saves time in both set-up and adjustment. 3. 16 gauge capacity 4. Easy foot-pedal operation leaves operators hands free to handle material, permitting single-operator notching. Foot pedal activates pneumatic operating mechanism. Cycle time is only one second.

>> What is Sheet Metal Shearing? Operations that cut sheet metal, even bar-stock and other shapes, have various purposes. Shearing is a general name for most sheet metal cutting, but in a specific sense, designates a cut in a straight line completely across a strip, sheet or bar. Shearing are used as the preliminary step in preparing stock for stamping processes, or smaller blanks for CNC presses. Cutting off means severing a piece from a strip with a cut along a single line. Parting signifies that scrap is removed between two pieces to separate them.

In blanking, a whole piece is cut from sheet metal. Just enough scrap is left all around the opening to assure that the punch has metal to cut along its entire edge. If the object is to cut a hole and the material removed is scrap, the operation is called punching or piercing. Slotting refers to the cutting of elongated holes. Perforating designates the cutting of a group of holes, by implication small and evenly spaced in a regular pattern. Notching removes material from the side of a sheet or strip. Lancing makes a cut part way across a strip. Trimming refers to cutting away excess metal in a flange or flash from a piece. >> The Principles of Shearing The shearing process involves the cutting of flat material forms, such as sheets and plates. The cutting may be done by different types of blades or cutters in special machines driven by mechanical, hydraulic, or pneumatic power. Generally the operations consist of holding the stock rigidly, while it is severed by the force of an upper blade as it moves down past the stationary lower blade. Sheet metal is sheared between a punch and die block. The punch has the same shape all the way around as the opening in the die block, except it is smaller on each side by an amount called the break clearance. As the punch enters the stock, it pushes material down into the opening. Stresses in the material become highest at the edges of the punch and die, and the material starts to crack there. If the break clearance is correct, the cracks meet and the break is complete. If the clearance is too large or too small, the cracks do not meet, further work must be done to cut the metal between them, and a jagged break results. >> Our Sheet Metal Shearing Tool Features * 16 Ga. Maximum Capacity * Cast Iron Frame * Front Arm Supports * High Carbon Blade * Quality Construction * Adjustable Blade Gap * Front Squaring Arm w/Scale * Back Gauge with Inch and Metric Scale

>> Our Sheet Metal Shearing Services OEM Enclosure Inc. offers a range of shearing services to produce the exact sheared size components to meet your needs. Our shears are capable of shearing metals up to 1/4 inch thick, 10 feet long, 10 feet wide. We can shear all common sheet metal materials including Aluminum Alloys, Aluminum T1, Aluminum T2, Brass, Copper, Cold Rolled Steel, Galvanized Steel, Steel Alloys, Hot Rolled Steel and more! Material thickness ranges from 0.125 mm to 6.35 mm (0.005 to 0.250 in). The dimensional tolerance ranges from 0.125 mm to 1.5 mm (0.005 to 0.060 in). The shearing process produces a shear edge burr, which can be minimized to less than 10% of the material thickness. The burr is a function of clearance between the punch and the die (which is nominally designed to be the material thickness), and the sharpness of the punch and the die. >> Metal Shearing Design Considerations Material selected for shearing should be standard stock sizes to minimize the extra costs associated with special slitting. Burrs and hold down marks which are inevitable, should be considered in the design of the end product. Burrs should be kept away from handling areas, preferably folded away, or in some obscure area. The same can be done with hold down marks too.