To consider the advantages and advantages of metal stamping vs. custom metal fabrication Toronto, it’s helpful to review the basics of these two technologies:
Metal stamping (or pressing) encompasses a variety of manufacturing processes such as punching, blanking, embossing, bending, flanging and coining using a machine press or stamping press. Metal stampings can be a single stage operation where every stroke of the press produces a metal part, or parts can be produced using a series of operations.
Benefits of Metal Stamping:
- Precision stamping is a fast, cost-effective solution for manufacturing large quantity of products. The process is well-suited for higher volumes because the per piece set-up and labor costs drop as production levels increase.
- Precision stamping can be highly automated and incorporate secondary operations within both the press and/or die. Value add operations including automatic stud or nut insertion, in-die tapping, even in-die welding and assembly can be incorporated to increase the value of parts.
- Metal stampings generally allow for lower per piece material costs through the ability to purchase in coil stock vs. sheet steel, and produce less scrap in manufacturing.
- Complex products and innovative designs can be created using sophisticated precision stampings. Benefits include material flow or drawing as well as very tight tolerances, and repeatability not possible with fabrication techniques. This is especially evident in thicker materials and heavier parts.
- Stamping companies with abilities in advanced production techniques as well as prototype design services or simulation software that can prove out concepts before investing in dedicated tooling, will prove to be an additional benefit.
Custom metal fabrication Toronto refers to creating metal parts by using cutting, bending and assembly processes. Cutting can be done by sawing or shearing parts, or via CNC cutters using a laser, mill or waterjet cutting. Bending is typically done by striking (manual or powered) or using press brakes and similar tools. Assembly joins individual pieces together by using hand or robotic welding, adhesives, riveting, threaded fasteners or even bending in the form of crimped seams.
Benefits of Metal Fabrication
- Precision fabrication offers a wide range of production techniques to create value-added metal parts that can be customized to exact customer specification.
- Initial production lead times are shortened. Rapid prototyping moves the design-to-production cycle quickly from concept and solid models to first parts.
- Flexibility is inherent in the process and enables the ability to easily and quickly implement design changes to a part. Design changes are more cost effective than with other production techniques.
- A variety of effective techniques can be used to cut raw sheet materials to size.