Metal Stampings/
In order to form shortrun stampings, metal strips of materials such as bronze, copper, stainless steel, brass, nickel, aluminum and steel are used. Applications and industries in which the shortrun stamping process often proves advantageous include: industrial manufacturing, in which they are often used for machine components and hardware such as metal brackets; automotive, utilized for fasteners, pins, gears and other small system components; appliance, for use in body panels and small internal components for electrical appliances, gas appliances and more; and telecommunications, used for small parts in cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and more.
Since shortrun stamping refers to the amount of parts produced rather than the method of production, there are a variety of metal stamping processes that can be used for short run stamping. However, the two most common types of metal stamping that are used to produce shortrun stampings are deep drawn stamping and fourslide stamping. The deep drawn stamping process involves the use of a punch in order to convert flat sheet metal into the desired 3D shape by means of mold, form, or die. In order for a metal stamping to be considered a deep drawn stamping, the depth and length of the shape must be greater than one-half of the diameter. The fourslide stamping process involves a horizontal stamping press with the addition of cams and four sliding tools that is used to produce complex stamped parts requiring a bend greater than 90°. To keep costs as low as possible, universal punch presses are available at shortrun stamping plants. Most tool and die shops that specialize in shortrun stamping will usually have sheet metal in stock in various materials, but only available in the most common thicknesses. These shops will fabricate and assemble all components ordered in shortruns, which typically take two to three works for production.
