What is precision metal stamping?

When you need a large number of parts and manufacture them strictly to specifications, you may need the precision and speed of precision metal stamping. Not every project will benefit from this process, but for those who do, the benefits are many. Is precision stamping the best choice for your project? The answer depends on several factors, including your time, cost, and whether you need to make various changes to the part during production.

Precision metal stamping

Precision metal stamping simplifies the metal stamping process, creating an automated method for forming metal tools or parts. The precise measurement of the finished product makes precision stamping different from other metal manufacturing methods.

Precision stamping technology is most beneficial for micro-embossing operations. In the process, smaller parts are produced with greater precision than those required to make stronger parts. An error distance of one millimeter may affect the integrity of the micro-embossed part. Accuracy is not only required, but also a requirement for making such small items.

Although precision stamping can provide better quality and control over the final product, it is not the best choice for every engineering project. Like all metal manufacturing methods, precision stamping has both advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of precision stamping

Precision stamping can include progressive die stamping and a single step process, which has many advantages, especially for high volume projects. Lower costs: Precision stamping is less expensive when working on large projects with multiple identical parts, because less labor is required to make additional units. Automation: By automating the process, imprinting can be done in less time and the chance of workers making mistakes is reduced. Precision: As the name suggests, precision stamping is best suited for projects with low error tolerance. Solution to the problem: Although some stamping companies may not be able to provide the precision required for fine work such as electronics or connectors, micro-tampers using precision technology can provide the required precision. Choosing a micro-stamping company first to execute a complex project can save time for another company to get used to larger, higher-tolerance metal processing failures. Although precision technology can accurately create the smallest and most detailed parts to ensure their quality, not every project can benefit from the use of precision stamping after many years of production. Under certain circumstances, this process has some disadvantages that may make other metal manufacturing options a better choice.

Disadvantages of the craft

For those who need individually customized parts, such as prototypes, the only disadvantage of precision stamping is that the process of creating the required part has the initial cost of running simulations and tests. For some precision stamping processes, these start-up costs may exceed the cost of a production run. Depending on the required parts, you may have to wait longer for precision stamping and have problems making changes during operation.

These problems disappear with micro-embossed parts. The use of thinner metal and the process of making smaller parts makes it easier for stampers to push out micro-embossed parts faster and change them instantly.

Precision metal stamping assembly

Precision metal stamping starts with the mouse, not the metal. By first prototyping, engineers can understand how the metal behaves when bent or cut into specific patterns. But even before making models, engineers started using software to build virtual versions in computers.