What is metal forming?
Metal forming is a manufacturing process that works to change the shape of a workpiece of metal. Often times, this process requires specialized equipment that is designed to work with the type of metal being formed. Certain metals require heating prior to being formed, and other metals can be formed cold.
There are a variety of metal forming methods that can be used to shape metal. In order to manufacture specific desired products, metal can be rolled, drawn, coiled, shaped, swaged, and welded.
What are the most common metal forming processes?
There are many types of customized machines that can be used to form or shape metal, including but not limited to:
Rolling Mills
Rolling mills can be used for a variety of applications including:
- Heavy ingot breakdown
- Laboratory research
- Coil to coil rolling
- Precision strip
Depending on the type of rolling mill required for an application, mills can be designed for the rolling of ferrous, non-ferrous, alloy, exotic and engineered metals.
Generally, rolling mills operate on a similar principle where a set of rolls are used to uniformly reduce the thickness of metal stock. Often, standard mills are designed with either 2-HI or 4-HI sets of rolls. In a 2-HI configuration, the mill will generally be used for hot or cold breakdown and finishing of bar, sheet or strip. In a 4-HI configuration, the mill may be used for finish rolling of thin gauge stock. Additional roll inserts can be incorporated to create 6-HI configurations for narrow width ribbon and foil product rolling.
Aluminum rolling mills can be used for a variety of applications included, including research bonding, mint production, production of rod, strip, sheet and plate metal, and hot and cold rolling. Many industries use rolling mills as a method of manufacturing, whether it is to produce a final product, or test materials, mills are being used. Industries such as materials research (including laboratory rolling mills at universities), aerospace, automotive, military, and renewable energy use all types of steel rolling mills for metal forming.
Wire Flattening and Shaping Equipment
Many times, manufacturers decide to combine the metal forming processes of wire flattening and wire shaping into a single line of equipment. These lines are customizable and can include various auxiliary features. Having the two processes completed on a single line proves to be an effective and efficient method of metal forming.
Often, the industries that need to shape wire will need to flatten it first to achieve the desired shape or thickness. Many shops will buy stock wire in bulk and use in-house equipment to change the thickness depending on the specific product being produced.
Some examples of wire flattening and shaping equipment are:
- Rolling mills
- Turks heads
- Edgers
- Dancers
- Take-ups
When used together these pieces of equipment create what is known as a wire flattening and shaping line.
A typical line may be set up like this: stock metal wire is fed through rolls via a payoff, after passing through the rolls the wire’s initial thickness is reduced. The wire is then passed through an edger, used to control the width and edge profile of the material. The wire may then pass through a dancer system, used to regulate the speed of the wire passing through the line, to a turks head device.
A power-driven turks head is used for the direct formation of round material to squares, rectangles, and special shapes. After this, as a final step in the process, a take-up may be used to wrap the finished wire into a spool, or it may be cut to desired lengths.
Some of the most common applications for wire flattening and shaping lines include medical wire, orthodontic wire, photovoltaic wire, automotive wire, well screen wire, and retaining ring wire. Companies may use a metal forming line like this to form, shape, and cut brazing sticks to be used for welding processes. Essentially, industries with specialized wire requirements will use this set-up of equipment to produce their specific product.
Spring Coilers
There are many different types of spring coilers. However, on a basic level, they all share the same function of coiling wire to produce various kinds of springs.
It is important for the spring manufacturer to choose the machine that is appropriately designed for their applications. As machine size and capabilities go hand-in-hand, a shop producing larger springs may require a larger machine for a successful production.
Some of the main differences between these types of metal forming machines are that each requires a different type of tooling and dual points have two outside points of contact with the wire it coils, while single points only have one outside point of contact and an arbor inside. The process of producing a spring on a coiling machine begins with the wire being fed through block guides. The wire then comes in contact with two other points of contact – coiling always requires at least three points of contact.
Spring coilers are used in a variety of applications across many different industries. Springs are used in countless industries such as automotive, consumer, aerospace, medical and agriculture.
Swaging Machines
What is the swaging metal process?
The method of swaging metal is the process of forging by means of a series of rapid blows, delivered by rotating hammers and forms dies around a piece of work. Swaging is an efficient way to point, reduce & form rod, wire or tube. Because metal is formed, rather than machined, there are no wasteful chips – making this an economical choice for businesses processing precious metals.
Swaging can be performed either hot or cold, although cold is popular because of its hardening effect on most materials. The metal forming process also improves grain structure, giving the part greater strength and a fine finish.
What are the different types of swagers?
In addition to deciding between hot and cold forging, there are different types of swagers for certain applications. Types of swagers can include:
- Rotary: the swaged section is always circular
- Stationary: capable of forming any cross-section other than perfect circles
- Long-die swagers: use the same principle as the rotary method, to produce long shallow tapers for items such as furniture legs, sporting goods and aerospace products. Long-die swaging serves a wide variety of materials: both welded and seamless tubing of either ferrous or nonferrous metals, from stainless steel to aluminum.
Hydro-formers can be used for assembly, in much the same way that welding may be used to assemble a part.
What industries use swager tooling?
Some of the main metal forming industries who use swager tooling for their metal forming processes are aerospace, medical, automotive, military, renewable energy, and materials research.
Conclusion
As technology advances in the manufacturing industry, metal forming methods change. With the increased use of robotics and automation, metal forming equipment becomes more efficient, cost-effective, and accurate. With integrated computer measuring systems, metal forming machinery can automatically compensate for errors by measuring and adjusting. This ensures a workpiece or product is always formed to its exact specifications. More accurate machinery also means that there is less waste per run, resulting in cost-savings for the manufacturer.
Modern metal forming equipment, with new software, can often be remotely controlled by the manufacturer, this reduces downtime for the customer and allows for faster and less costly repairs.