Sheet metal processing technology is a comprehensive cold working technique for sheet metal. With the increasing application of sheet metal components, sheet metal processing technology has become a crucial aspect of the product development process. Designers need to understand the process characteristics of sheet metal. On one hand, they need to meet the requirements for product functionality and appearance. On the other hand, they need to simplify the model and production process to achieve low production costs and high production efficiency.
Processing Workflow of Sheet Metal Production Line Equipment:
1. Material Cutting: Shearing die, laser cutting, shearing machine, CNC punching.
2. Forming: CNC punching, CNC press brake, forming molds.
3. Other Processing: Riveting, tapping.
4. Welding: Arc welding, resistance welding.
5. Surface Treatment: Powder coating, electrophoresis, electroplating, etc.
Sheet Metal Production Line Processing Equipment:
Shearing Machine:
Used for cutting strip materials, it is mainly used to prepare material for die cutting or for simple parts with regular shapes. It has high speed, low cost, and low accuracy. It can only process strip or block materials without holes or cut angles. It allows for quick tooling change.
Laser Cutting Machine:
Uses high-energy laser to irradiate the material to be cut, causing the material to vaporize and create a cavity. The laser beam moves to form a cutting seam, cutting out the structural shape of the part. It requires programming of laser programs and can cut various complex-shaped parts. It has high cost and high precision. It allows for quick tooling change.
CNC Punching:
A type of automated punching machine equipped with CNC control. It manipulates the machine's actions and processes parts through CNC programming instructions. By using simple combinations of dies, it can complete various complex hole patterns and shallow-stretching parts in one operation. It can also process large circular holes, square holes, waist holes, and various curved contours through step punching. It can also perform special processes such as louvers, countersinking, flanging holes, reinforcing ribs, and embossing. It allows for quick tooling change.
Punch Press:
A press machine that operates in a punching and stamping manner. With the use of dies, it can perform tasks such as blanking, punching, forming, stretching, trimming, fine blanking, shaping, riveting, and extrusion on materials. The processing accuracy depends on the dies and material properties. Due to the longer time required for die change and adjustment, it is difficult to achieve quick tooling change.
CNC Press Brake:
Equipment used to bend thin sheets using dies. It has simple operation and can process workpieces with side walls. It has fast processing speed, high accuracy, and automatic compensation function. It allows for quick tooling change.
Since the sheet metal manufacturing industry covers various aspects, the trend of equipment, automation, and intelligence in sheet metal production lines is widespread across different fields. Therefore, relevant companies should adopt different models in their sheet metal processing services. However, when traditional sheet metal processing companies are compared to companies using new production models with high automation and informatization, the traditional processing workflows and management models have many obvious shortcomings. These include time-consuming processes, labor-intensive operations, higher risk of safety incidents, low raw material utilization, and slow production speed, among other issues.
