Subtractive manufacturing techniques are typical operations in sheet metal fabrication where a desired part is created by progressively removing material from a raw metal sheet.
At IMS we use Punching and Laser Cutting to process sheet metal.
Laser Cutting
The process focuses the laser beam on the material surface to burn, vaporize or melt materials and produce desired outcomes. Since it is a precise and accurate process, it makes fabricating components with intricate details easier.
Here at IMS, we use the Trumpf TLF 3200 CO2 Laser for cutting sheet metal components quickly and efficiently. We have two different laser heads; a 5” focus lens and a 7.5” focus lens used to cut through different materials and thicknesses.
Benefits of using a laser cutter
- Lasers can cut through materials very quickly, up to 20-70”/minute. Since laser cutters can be automated, it can be programmed to be run without an operator for extended periods of time thus increasing the overall efficiency of the cutting process.
- Laser cutting produces parts with near-zero tolerance, meaning the dimensions between the cut lines don’t vary much. This accuracy is ideal for precision engineering and manufacturing, as it ensures the parts are precisely what they need.
- Laser cutters have low power utilization as it does not have many moving parts within the machine. Most laser cutters can function with 8-10 kW energy whereas most other processes use up to 5 times energy.
- Laser cutting can reduce the amount of material used in the production process, reducing the waste amount during the cutting process.
- Parts cut by laser most often do not need further processing and since the HAZ (heat affected zone) is quite small, there is no warpage to the parts.
Punching
A punch or punching machine uses pre-formed dies and punches to transform sheet metal blanks into formed products and parts. The punches pass through the sheet metal, while the dies are located on the opposite side of the sheet metal. As the punch moves downwards into the die, the sheet metal beneath the punch gets sheared from the surrounding material. The scrap pieces of metal that is sheared off are also known as slugs and they get collected and recycled.
At IMS, we use the Trumpf TruPunch 1000 to process aluminum sheets with thicknesses of up to ¼” inch with up to 600 strokes per minute. It can hold up to 15 different tools with various shapes and some custom made shapes for specific jobs. We also use forming tools that can countersink, half shear, louvers, and other special forms.
Benefits of Punching
- Ability to create cost-effective holes in sheet metal during medium and high-volume manufacturing processes.
- The ability to easily create holes in various shapes and eliminates the need for secondary forming operations.
- Various parts can be processed in the machine saving setup and programming time, can also be automated.
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