A Base Guide of Metal Processing: Cutting, Drilling & More

What are the metal processing processes?

1. Overview of Metal Laser Cutting Technology

Definition: Laser cutting is the Metal Processing of using a high-energy laser beam to melt, vaporize or ablate metal materials. Conco Metal offers custom laser cutting for metal plates, and rectangular, square, and round tubes in materials like stainless steel, mild steel, and aluminium.

How Laser Cutting Works

Laser Generation: A high-power beam is emitted from lasers such as CO2, fibre, and YAG types.

Focusing: A lens concentrates the laser beam to a tiny point, generating high energy density that quickly brings the metal to its melting or boiling point. Melting and Evaporation: The intense focus of the laser beam rapidly melts or vaporizes the metal, forming a small hole. Blowing Away Slag: Auxiliary gases like oxygen, nitrogen, or compressed air clear away molten metal and slag for a clean, smooth cut and help cool the area to prevent overburning. Moving the Beam or Material: A CNC system precisely controls the laser beam or material movement, following a preset cutting path. Complete Cutting: The laser beam consistently follows the path, progressively completing the cutting process.

Advantages of Metal Laser Cutting

Great Flexibility: Enables 100 distinct cuts from a single sheet without tool changes, allowing for a variety of complex shapes. Precision: With an accuracy of +/-0.1 mm, laser-cut parts can truly meet your most demanding needs. This precision also ensures high quality. Repeatability: +/-0.05 mm ensures details are close to identical. Speed: Laser cutters are renowned for their rapid cutting, particularly effective with thin metal sheets. Save money: Machines are becoming more energy efficient. Shuttle tables reduce the need for handling, which means less manual labour is required. Reduced manufacturing costs mean lower total costs for buyers. Save Time: CNC laser cutting is automated, with machines interpreting the drawings directly. Only cutting lines are required on the drawing, significantly reducing drafting time.

2. Metal drilling

Definition: Metal Drilling is a common method in metal processing. It is to place the tool on the workpiece and process it in a certain rotating manner.

* Technical points · Drill bit selection: Choose a drill bit of the right material and type, such as HSS drill bits for general metals and carbide drill bits for hard materials.

·Cutting parameters: Properly set the drilling machine’s speed, feed rate and cutting depth to avoid excessive wear and breakage. ·Lubrication and cooling: Use appropriate cutting fluid or lubricant to reduce friction and heat, and improve drilling efficiency and quality. ·Drill bit maintenance: Check and replace drill bits regularly to keep them sharp and extend their service life. ·Safety measures: Wear protective equipment to prevent injury from metal chips and high-temperature cutting fluid.

Its main advantages are as follows:

Strong Aesthetics: Perforated plates create varied and attractive patterns, enhancing product visual appeal in decorative and design applications. Lightweight Structure: Metal punching produces sheets that are both light and strong, facilitating the design of lightweight products. Good Anti-Slip Performance: The textured surface of perforated plates provides slip resistance, making them ideal for use in safety-required areas like stair treads and platforms. Ventilation and Heat Dissipation: These plates offer excellent air flow and cooling properties, perfect for environments needing good ventilation and heat management.

3. Metal Bending

Definition: Metal bending is a common metalworking process that uses force to bend metal materials along their curves to achieve a specific shape or angle.

Here are a few common methods of bending metal:

Press Brake: Use mechanical or hydraulic force to place the metal workpiece in the bending die and bend the metal by pressing down. This is the most common and widely used metal bending method, suitable for bending various plates and metal workpieces.

Roll Bending: This process uses rollers to bend metal workpieces, making it ideal for creating curved rolls or components. It’s especially suitable for larger radius bends and handling wider plates.

Hydraulic Forming: This method employs a hydraulic system to exert force on metal, bending it through a shaped die. It’s typically used for bending larger or more complex metal shapes.

Spin Forming: In this method, the metal workpiece is secured on a rotating platform and shaped by rotation and applied pressure. It is particularly effective for crafting circular and symmetrical curved parts.

Stretch Forming: This process involves securing a metal sheet to a frame and using force to stretch it over a curved mold. Stretch forming is ideal for creating metal parts with large, curved surfaces and intricate shapes.

Its main advantages include:

Shape Variety: Precise bending allows for the creation of parts and assemblies in diverse shapes and angles, tailored to specific design requirements.

Material Adaptability: Suitable for various metals, such as aluminium, steel, and stainless steel, making it versatile across different industrial applications. Cost-Effectiveness: Metal bending is a cost-efficient alternative to other shape-altering methods, capable of high-volume production in short timeframes. Simple Process: More straightforward than complex methods like casting or forging, metal bending is ideal for both mass production and custom projects.

4. Metal Punching

·Definition: Metal punching is a process that applies pressure to metal materials through a die and a punch press to cause shearing action at the die opening to form holes.

Process principle

· Preparation: Material preparation: Select appropriate metal sheets and ensure that their thickness, hardness and surface quality meet the requirements. Die installation: Install the upper and lower dies onto the punch press and adjust the die gap to match the sheet thickness. · Punching operation: Positioning: Place the metal sheet on the punch press table and align it with the die position.

Apply pressure: Start the punch press, and the upper die moves downward driven by the slider, applying pressure to the metal sheet. Shear: When the upper die contacts the metal sheet, the pressure applied causes the material to shear at the die opening, forming a hole. · Waste discharge: Waste Disposal: The waste produced during the punching process, such as punched-out metal pieces, is expelled through discharge holes in the die to prevent interference with subsequent operations. Precautions for Optimal Punching Operations Mold Maintenance: Regularly inspect and maintain the mold to keep it sharp and clean, ensuring high-quality punching results. Avoid using the mold if it is damaged or excessively worn to prevent processing errors and safety incidents. Safe Operation: Always wear appropriate protective gear such as gloves and goggles to protect against metal shards and machinery parts. Adhere strictly to punch press operating protocols to safeguard both the equipment and operators. Quality Inspection: Consistently check the diameter, positioning, and surface quality of punched parts to confirm they align with design specifications. Promptly adjust punch parameters and mold settings to maintain consistent, superior production quality.

Advantages:

1. Strong aesthetics: Perforated plates can form various beautiful patterns and are widely used in decoration and design fields to enhance the visual effects of products. 2. Lightweight structure: Punching metal sheets are light in weight but high in strength, which contributes to the lightweight design of the product. 3. Good anti-slip performance: The surface of the perforated plate has an anti-slip effect and is suitable for places that require anti-slip, such as stair treads and platforms. 4. Ventilation and heat dissipation: The perforated plate has good ventilation and heat dissipation performance, and is suitable for occasions that require air circulation and heat dissipation.

3:Application of Metal Processing:

Metalworking is used in a wide range of industries, from daily necessities to high-tech equipment, covering almost all areas of industrial manufacturing. Here are some of the main industries and their specific applications: 1. Automobile Manufacturing Engine parts: such as cylinder block, cylinder head, crankshaft, etc. These parts require high-precision and high-strength processing. Body structural parts: such as frames, doors, hoods, etc., are usually manufactured through stamping and welding processes. Transmission system: including gears, transmission shafts, etc., manufactured through cutting and heat treatment processes. 2. Architecture Steel structural parts: Steel structural components like beams, columns, and plates are fabricated using welding and cutting processes and are essential in constructing building frames and bridges. Door and window accessories: such as aluminum alloy door and window frames, locks, etc., manufactured through extrusion and stamping processes. 3. Electronics and electrical appliances Radiator: used to dissipate heat in electronic equipment, manufactured through extrusion and cutting processes. Cases and housings: Such as housings for computers, mobile phones and home appliances, manufactured through stamping, bending and spraying processes. Connectors and connectors: used for electrical connections, manufactured through precision stamping and electroplating processes. 4. Energy Wind power equipment: such as blades and bearings of wind turbines,  manufactured through composite material processing and mechanical processing. Oil and gas equipment: such as drilling equipment, pipes and valves,  manufactured through forging, welding and cutting processes. 5. Consumer goods Kitchen utensils: such as stainless steel pots, knives, etc.,  manufactured through stamping, drawing and electroplating processes. Furniture accessories: such as metal table legs, chair frames, etc.,  manufactured through welding and surface treatment processes. 6. Agricultural machinery Tractor parts: such as engines, gearboxes, etc.,  manufactured through cutting and heat treatment processes. Farm implements and accessories: such as plows, harrows, etc.,  manufactured through forging and welding processes. Metal processing techniques are extensively utilized across multiple manufacturing sectors, including automotive, electronics, construction, and agriculture. Each process has its own unique advantages and scope of application. By choosing the right processing technology, production efficiency, product quality and competitiveness can be greatly improved. Conco Machining is a factory that focuses on providing high-quality machining services for the semi-finished product processing industry. We cover the entire industry chain, provide competitive prices and stable production scheduling and services, and provide customers with excellent solutions.

Summary:

Advancements in metal processing technology have allowed for the creation of more complex, precise, and high-performance products tailored to diverse industrial needs. Modern techniques integrate automation and smart manufacturing to enhance production efficiency and quality. These processes transform raw materials into essential parts or finished products, continually driving manufacturing forward. With decades of experience and a strong track record, our team guarantees high-quality, customized metal processing services that meet specific client requirements.