Spark machining uses electrical discharge energy to subtract metal from a workpiece. Known as EDM spark erosion technology (Electrical Discharge Machining), the manufacturing process solves the kind of machining puzzles...
Despite the label, CNC Turning tools don’t spin when there’s cutting work to be done. In reality, metal workpieces are mounted and set spinning. Like a clay turning table, the...
As any competent engineering student can guess, this is an incredibly dense subject. CNC Milling and Machining, which recruits computer control systems, has entire libraries dedicated to its study. To...
An armoury-worth of surface grinding services, each aimed at the precise processing of all sorts of metal objects, sits waiting inside an engineering shop. The abrasive buzz travels the length...
There’s something about tool steel grades, especially when they’re used in punches and dies. The metals feel incredibly dense. Way back at the milling plant, a suitable steel alloy has...
Hardened carbide steels, all extensively heat treated, last for thousands of punching operations. Even equipped with dense material backbones, however, punch breakage is an unavoidable problem. To some extent, operator...
Production facilities rarely rely on single-stage machine operations. For example, progressive stamping dies sequentially form large batches of raw materials, which flow as blank strips through various tooling stations. It’s...
Even the finest punches, those made from ultra-hard tool steel, age. Time is a tool’s enemy here, and there’s no way to put time on pause. However, there are operational...
Tool steels are hardened alloys. They’re shaped into sharp-edged cutting and forming profiles. However, in order to retain those rigid geometrical outlines, tool alloys need heat treatment work. With the...
It’s back to basics day. What is sheet metal punching? A person who’s unfamiliar with the process infers a few facts. There are plates of metal, and they’re being held...
It’s true, punch quality and features are important. However, even if the tools exceed all expectations, they’re not doing the job right if the punch tip isn’t accurately hitting its...
Stainless steel is made from iron and chromium. There’s a small amount of carbon in the mix, and the chromium content hovers around the eleven percent mark. Mild steel is...
There’s a formula for creating quality punches. The engineering techniques also apply to the dies for tool making that perform flawlessly during their extended lifespans. Principally speaking, the key is...
What is a roll pin? There’s a simple answer to that question, which is just as well because we need to get back to the issue at hand. Roll pins...
CAD/CAM technology is spreading into every sector. In other words, this tech isn’t reserved for industrial applications. Sure, Computer Aided Design software dazzles as it produces incredibly detailed stainless steel...
Metal fabrication is one of the largest industries in the engineering world. The reason? Metal fabrication allows for companies to effectively, safely, and quickly punch, cut, and bend metal into...
Punching and blanking runs are two entirely different processes. Using sheet metal to illustrate that assertion, two singular products pop out of the production line. Let’s start with the punching...
In punch machinery, maximising process efficiency takes more than the ability to squeeze multiple cut sites onto a single sheet of hardened metal. There are other ways to tighten the...
Before writing down a compelling argument, one that explains why punches and dies are formed from hardened super-alloys, we should talk a little about vacuum heat treatment. First and foremost,...
Made in Australia, toughened metal parts gain an edge when they’re coated in zinc. It’s true, a high-tensile support strut or hardened fastener will anchor a super-heavy load, but that...
There’s no need to get ahead of ourselves, no desire to put the proverbial cart before the horse, so let’s define an EDM Spark Eroding Machine before taking it apart...
Sophisticated punches and dies indent metal surfaces with clearly detailed outlines. The marks are precise, easy to identify, and they repeatedly stamp out identical tags. It seems like these hardened...
Tool steel has to be much tougher than a regular alloy. The materials are hard, abrasion and impact resistant, and they’re designed to defy wear. All things considered, then, machine...
CNC punching is a computer controlled means of indenting sheet metal. Instead of a manually held punch tool, it’s a punch pressing machine that carries out this automated process. Think...
