The term "sheet metal" is generally used to describe any material that is uniformly thick. Commonly used sheet metal materials include stainless steel, galvanized steel, tinplate, copper, aluminum, iron, etc.; these are mostly produced by cold punching, bending, drawing, and other processes.
To ensure that the punching sheet metal parts satisfy the functional requirements, consideration of the following factors should be made during the design phase:
1. The product's thickness should be consistent.
Because sheet metal easily causes uneven thickness where there is more bending, it is a material with uniform thickness that should be considered carefully in structural design.
2. Flattening easily
Since raw materials are flat before processing, sheet metal products are made of sheet metal processing. Therefore, when designing sheet metal parts, all bending and beveling must be able to unfold on the same plane and cannot interfere with one another.
3. Decide on the proper thickness of sheet metal.
The thickness of sheet metal parts ranges from 0.03 to 4.00 mm, with different specifications available. However, the thicker the part, the more challenging it is to process, requiring larger processing equipment and a higher failure rate. For most products, the thickness of sheet metal parts should be chosen based on the actual function of the product. The thinner the better, as long as the strength and function are met. For most products, the thickness of sheet metal parts should be controlled below 1.00mm
4. The structure needs to be in line with the available processing technology.
Products made of sheet metal should be easy to manufacture, comply with processing technology, otherwise, they are not manufactured, or have an unqualified design. As a result, the following factors should be taken into account in the design:
1) Avoid thin cantilevers and narrow slots, punching parts have the simplest possible shape.
2) It should be shaped to minimize waste during layout, which will cut down on raw material waste.
3) Sharp corners should not be present in the form or inner hole of punching parts.
4) Try punching round holes; typically, the minimum punch size for a design is not less than 0.40mm.
5) The hole and hole edge spacing should be adequate and larger than the material's minimum permitted distance.
