Sheet Metal Services

Process Overview – Sheet metal is one of the fundamental forms used in metal working, and it can be cut and formed into a variety of shapes by different methods. Sheet metals are manufactured by cold or hot rolling depending on the type of material and final sheet thickness to be maintained. Generally, if the sheet thickness is below 6mm then it is called sheets and above it is called as plates. They are available for industrial use in the form of flat pieces or coiled strips and shall be selected based on part to be manufactured and its quantum of production. We can process the sheet metal by various methods to meet your requirement such as :

• Fabrication – Sheet metal is first cut into different profiles by gas cutting, plasma, water jet, wire cut and laser. It is then shaped into a pre-requisite form by bending, rolling, punching etc. to make different parts which are welded together to form a single fabricated structure. We have all the necessary welding qualifications for fabrication such as WPS, PQR and WPQ for manufacturing of boilers, pressure vessels, steel structures etc.

• Stamping - It includes a variety of operations such as punching, blanking, embossing, bending, flanging, and coining. We can manufacture simple as well as complex shapes at high production rates. It is preferred to go for stamping only when the part design is finalized as the initial investment in tooling is a bit high. However, since the process is almost automated the eventual cost of production per part is very low.

• Deep Drawing – It is a forming process in which the metal is stretched over a set of dies. In deep drawing the depth of the part being made is more than half its diameter. It is generally done in multiple steps called draw reductions. It can also be done in fewer reductions by heating the workpiece. Normally sheet metals used for drawing is of a particular grade called as D (Drawing), DD (Deep Drawing) and EDD (Extra Deep Draw) since they have better formability properties compared to conventional grade of sheet metal. We can also manufacture deep drawn parts out of different stainless-steel grades.

• Spinning - Spinning is used to make tubular (axis-symmetric) parts by fixing a piece of sheet stock to a rotating mandrel. Rollers or rigid tools press the sheet metal stock against the form, stretching it until it takes the shape of the form.

Capabilities

• Integrated sequential manufacturing process under one roof i.e Simulation -> Tool designing and manufacturing -> Prototype -> Mass production

• Simulation software’s used for part development such as Pam Stamp and Hyperform

• Tool room equipped with VMC measuring up to X axis – 4000mm, Y axis – 2000mm and Z axis – 1000mm

• Dedicated mechanical and hydraulic presses for prototype part tryouts

• Prototype to high volume production of up to millions of parts per year based on part configuration

• Flexibility to choose fabrication, incremental forming, or soft tooling for prototype parts

• Fabrication of parts weighing more than 10 Tonnes and measuring up to 12 meters in length

• Stamping and Deep Drawing of parts in stainless steel grade and alloy steels

• Working with sheet metal thickness in the range of 0.15mm to 8mm

• Deep draw parts up to 350mm

• Manufacturing of maximum die size of 4000mm x 1600mm x 1200mm and maximum part size of 2400mm x 1500mm x 500mm

• Different types of metal finishing services such as fettling, heat treating, plating, anodizing, passivation, phosphating, blackodizing, buffing, galvanizing, metallizing, polymer painting etc.

• CMM inspection for part validation and approval of stamped and drawn parts

• Checking fixtures for easy and quick inspection of mass production parts

• In-house lab tests carried out for raw material verification at production site, certified to NABL standards

• Complete NDT testing of parts for defect analysis pre and post fabrication as per international standards

• Availability of WPS, PQR and WPQ qualified by international certifying bodies

• Customer appointed third party inspection and verification allowed

• Manufacturing facility certified to IATF 16949 and AS 9100 Rev.D Quality Management System

• Implementation of Lean Six Sigma tools for better quality control, process control, part traceability and documentation

• Industry 4.0 integrated manufacturing facilities

Application and Benefits

• The advent and advancement in sheet metal technology has majorly been driven by the automotive industry. The primary target has been to manufacture lightweight - high strength sheet metal parts with good formability and weldability. Most of the parts that go into an automobile include chassis, door panels, roofs, fuel tanks and thousands of other structural parts that are welded or bolted to the main structure.

• Aerospace, Defence and Marine – Airplane fuselages, wings, plate armor, connectors, fittings, enclosures, housings, couplings etc.

• Electronics and Lighting – Telecom, computer systems, routers, switches, connectors, servers, custom parts for interior and exterior lighting etc.

• Sheet metal offers a host of benefits which include :

  • Selection of wide variety of materials

  • Flexibility of manufacturing processes

  • Different tooling options to increase productivity

  • High level of automation and process control

  • High production rates

  • Low per part cost in production