Sheet Metal Forming
Sheet metal can be formed in many different ways. The sheet metal is first formed by being heated into a malleable form. The metal can then be stretched and compressed to the desired shape and thickness. Next the sheet metal is reheated and cooled slowly, through a process called annealing, or quickly through a process called quenching. This can include, but is not limited to, stretching, drawing, cutting, bending, punching and spinning. Stretching, for instance, is the process by which sheet metal is clamped around the edges and stretched to make various products, including car doors. In contrast, drawing and deep drawing are stamping processes that makes flat sheet metal into various three dimensional forms. Cutting changes the size of the sheet and can also be used to cut the metal into shapes, whereas punching perforates the sheet and cuts specific shapes out of the metal. Sheet metal can also be bent or curved. Bending involves straining sheet metal by moving it about a linear axis on a neutral plane. Spinning is the process of wrapping the metal into a tubular shape.
Formed sheet metal is widely used in numerous industrial applications. Sheet metal can be formed into a range of different thicknesses. This can be from roughly 30 gauge to 8 gauge. Sheet metal is often used for items such as cabinets, airplanes, car bodies, medical equipment, communications, military and construction. Since there are a wide variety of products and parts, and because many of them can be specialty parts and custom made, there is no one set way when it comes to forming and fabricating sheet metal. The goal is simply to have it done effectively and efficiently. Modern computer advances and laser-cutting help in these aspects. Examples of this technology are CNC (computer numeric controlled) machine software that limit the human error by giving the precision responsibility to the machine.
