Sheet metal fabrication involves a lot of repetitive cutting and forming tasks. One of the most efficient ways to complete these tasks is by using a punching machine.
How the Punching Action Works
A hardened steel punch is driven by a ram through the sheet metal. The punch is matched with a die below it, which determines the shape of the hole or feature produced. The die and punch are often referred to as ‘tooling’ and are easily changed to enable the machine to cut or form a variety of different features.
Materials and Thicknesses It Handles
Punching machines are able to work with a variety of different materials including mild steel, stainless steel and aluminium. Typically these machines are able to work with sheets of material up to 6mm thick, although this can vary greatly from machine to machine. Generally speaking the thinner the material the quicker and cleaner the punching process will be, allowing for high volume of production to take place.
The Range of Features It Can Produce There is more on CNC Punching Machines at https://www.cotswold-machinery-sales.co.uk/euromac-bending-machines/punching-machines
A CNC Punching Machine is capable of producing much more than a simple round hole. It is capable of producing slots, louvres, embossed features, notches and more. The machine can produce a single sheet of metal and have it come off the machine ready for assembly with very little more work required.
How CNC Control Helps
The CNC control is designed to automatically reposition the sheet for each punch. So long as the part has been correctly set up and programmed into the CNC control, the machine will work through the sequence of punches in the correct location. This ensures that there is little chance of error in production runs, even very large ones.
Where Punching Has a Practical Edge
Punching is a fast method of production, cost effective for production of the same items, leaves a good quality edge with a burr for many shapes and forms without the need for secondary finishing. Laser cutting is ideal for cutting complex shapes and profiles that require curved cut lines. Punching is ideal for high volume production of flat items and for production of repeat items, the tooling cost per part is greatly reduced after the initial set up for production and is used in many of the sectors covered by UK manufacturing industry standards for structured production.
However a CNC Punching Machine can become a very valuable piece of equipment on your workshop floor very quickly.