Fineblanking combines the technologies of stamping and cold extrusion to provide parts with smooth edges with high accuracy. The stability and precision of the single step process eliminates the need for a number of other operations such as grinding, milling, forging, broaching, shaving, leveling, and more. This significantly reduces the costs on multiple operations and man-hours, which is undoubtedly one of the biggest benefits of fineblank stampings. Some of the areas of application of fineblanked parts include mechanical engineering, aviation industry, gear drives, injection technology, and the industrial and consumer goods industries. The process involves a fineblanking press, fineblanking tool, and the malleable material to be fineblanked. In combination with an AGV system, it results in a greater reduction in costs and increased efficiency.
Fineblank stamping vs. conventional stamping
As compared to conventional stamping, the fineblank stampings production process is fully automated with the capacity to produce up to 100 fineblanked parts per minute with consistent, accurate and clean edges. On the other hand, conventional stamping is a slow and expensive process. In many cases, fineblanking replaces the need for secondary machining since all the operations including profiles, edges, web sections, and holes are accomplished in one process. Fineblanked parts can be made from any type of metal up to 10mm in thickness without the danger of any distortion to the component or material during or after the process. Since fineblanked parts are produced in the same stroke as the finished part, its features maintain a consistent position from part to part in a production lot.
In fineblanked stampings there is constant pressure applied to both sides, which helps achieve excellent flatness that cannot be produced by conventional stamping without additional grinding and other operations. One of the major benefits is that it can produce bends, forms, and offsets up to 70 degrees or even more complex bends with progressive fineblanking tools. Since the part features are integrated in the tool there is no room for distortion, which results in clean, smooth finishes.
Fineblanked stampings have the ability to create coined sections, counter-bores, surface imprints, identification marks, and much more. These features are made at the same time as the blank in a single station tool, which ensures uniformity on a production line. In addition, component designers have the flexibility to discover new ways to increase quality, add function, and save costs. Components that require precision dimension control and consistent quality can be produced efficiently with fineblanking. It can be applied to parts of any size or shape ranging from minute electronic parts to large plates for heavy industry equipment. Another major benefit of fineblanked stampings is the larger variety of metals with cold-forming characteristics that can be used. This includes stainless steel, brass, copper alloys, and more. These fineblanked parts are much stronger than parts produced by powdered metal and casting.
