TECHNICAL PAPER by Ted F. Brolund ~ President, WA Whitney Co.TRODUCTION by Ted F Brolund PUNCHING & SHEARING SCIENCE ‘Who decides whether to punch or drill, shear or saw in your plant? Punching and shearing are by far the least expensive processes, yet in some places it takes the next thing to an “Act of Congress” to get acceptance of these methods. High school machine shop trade courses, trade schools, colleges and universities spend many hours teaching our future engineers, superintendents and executives how to drill, mill and saw. Such training makes them “Metal-cutting oriented.” Almost nothing is taught in the area of punching, shearing and forming For the sake of profit, we need to be "Metalfabricating oriented.” ‘A manufacturer of safety-deposit doors, quite by accident, tried punching the lock holes (11/16" to 1" diameter) thru the 1/2"thick stainless steel and C-1018 cold-rolled steel and saved several thousands of dollars a year over his old driling methods. They had been drilling these parts (FIGURE 1) for years and were quite compla- cent until they received the wrong type of stainless steel: a type that work-hardened as it was drilled. It was almost impossible to drill at a profitable rate, since the drills would continually burn up. In the midst of the problem, a metal-fabricating machinery dealer appeared on the scene with a demonstrator hydraulic press and tried punching the tough material, The results were excellent, and the press was purchased to do the job Many people working in metal-fabricating plants can tell at @ glance which process to use, or whether the success of punching or shearing is marginal and deserves experimenting. This paper is intended to acquaint the skeptic with punching and shearing and help all to understand better these processes and their limitations. FIGURE 1: SAFETY DEPOSIT DOORDEFINITIONS 1, DEFINITIONS 6 Many press-working operations that are performed use “shearing” principles Therefore, understanding the theory of shearing enables one to understand the following operations: 1.1. Shear 1.1.1, To cut material with dies or blades. 1.1.2, An inclination between two cutting edges for the purpose of reducing the amount of shear force required, 1.1.3. A tool for cutting metal and other material by a closing motion of two sharp, closely-adjoining edges. 1.2, Punch 1.2.1. A general term describing the process of die-cutting a hole in material, such as sheet metal, plate or some structural shape, 1.2.2. The male part of a die set {usually the male member. 1.3. Perfora 9 A more specific term used in the stamping industry for die-cutting holes in material 1.4, Piercing Penetrating material, using a sharp, pointed punch, leaving a jagged hole, like a bullet hole 1.5. Extruding Forming a flange around a hole in sheet metal 1.6. Blanking Cutting or shearing material to a predetermined contour from sheet or strip stock,47. 1.8. 19. Notching Cutting various shapes from the corner or edge of a strip, sheet or part. Nibbling Progressive notching at a high rate of speed, making either smooth finished edge or a scalloped edge Lancing Cutting into a workpiece without producing a detached slug. This is usually combined with forming, such as producing a louvre. . SHEAR ACTION IN METAL CUTTING The shear cutting or punching action results when pieces of material are placed between two sharp, closely-adjoined edges that have a closing motion. The material is stressed in shear to the point of fracture while going through three phases. These phases are: 24. 22, 23. Deformation ‘As the cutting edges begin to close on the material, deformation ‘occurs on both sides of the material next to the cut edge. Penetration The cutting edges cut or penetrate the material, causing fracture lines. Fracture Fracture occurs when the upper and lower fracture lines meet, At this point, the work is done, but in punching, the punch must continue to move through the material in order to clear the slug. | Li: EL, ZADEFORMATION 2.4, The shear cutting action produces four inherent characteristics found on both the parent material and the cut-off (or punched out) part (FIGURE 2). They are: 2.4.1. Plastic deformation 2.4.2. Vertical burnish-cut band. 2.4.3. Angular fracture. 2.4.4, Burr caused by the fracture above the cutting edge. FIGURE 2 2.5. The amount of each of the above four characteristics depends upon the following 2.5.1, Thickness of the material. 2.5.2. Kind and hardness of the material 2.5.3. Amount of clearance between the cutting edges, 2.5.4. Condition of the cutting edges. 2.5.5. Support or firmness of the material on both sides of the cut. 2.8.6. Diameter of the hole or blank in relation to the thickness of the material 2.6. If all the preceding conditions are satisfied, and the edge condition is not acceptable, there are other press-working methods that can be employed. One of the most cammon finishing methods is shaving, which removes @ small amount of material in order to eliminate the fracture engle. Another is the fine- line blanking process, which uses a special press or die set to compress the material in the shear plane during the cutting cycle and eliminate the fracture angle. 3. DEFORMATION 3.1, Deformation adjacent to the cut plane is an inherent condition of sheared edges. Its amount depends upon the six items given above. Softer and thicker materials deform the most. 3.2. Increasing the clearance between the cutting edges increases the deformation, producing a Moment ‘Arm ("A" in FIGURE 3). The material adjacent to the cutting edge is put in tension and stretched excessively. FIGURE 3 also illustrates the problem of nibbling due to the Moment Arm “A” and the unsupported material that is free to bend as it is compressed by the punch. The combined unbalanced forces in nibbling or notching cause the punch to deflect, and if it is not guided properly, the punch will shear into the die and severely damage the cutting edges. To overcome this problem, a hold-down should be used to support the material. It is preferable to use at least 20% overall die clearance with a concave punchPENETRATION 113. 11.4, 1 MAX, FORCE INSUFFICIENT CLEARANCE iE PROPER CLEARANCE st T 187 ar DISTANCE L we W, ¥K FIGURE 17: STEPPED PUNCHES If the die clearance for punching the three holes was insufficient, the maximum required force would be greatly affected, as shown by the dotted curve. The force requirement of one punch must diminish before the next punch contacts the material. FIGURE 16 illustrates the problem of insutfi- cient clearance. Calculating the effect of applying a shear angle to the face of a punch is difficult, due to many vari ables. FIGURE 18 shows how increasing the Shear Factor (the amount of Shear divided by the thick- ness of the material) results in a decrease in the required Punching Force. For example, if the Shear or Rake (R} of the punch is 1/4", and the Thickness (T} of the material being punched is 1/4", the Punching Force calculated using the formula in FIGURE 13 would be 60% of what it would be if Shear were not applied. This is a 40% reduction. . The effect of Shear as shown in FIGURE 18 holds true only if 15% overall clearance is used. Less clearance increases the area being sheared, as shown in FIGURE 19. Insufficient clearance can increase the Punching Force by as much as 60%a 0 it : = = t Y ‘ T} a a R Max. = ci Dia. 2 4 = Mild Steel 15% Minimum Overall Clearance R = Shear T = Thickness of Material FIGURE 18: EFFECT OF SHEAR ON PUNCH FACE 11.6. An example of the necessity for proper clearance is where a 30-ton hydraulic press will punch a 6 2'-diameter hole thru 1/4" mild steel with a punch having a 1/8" Shear (resulting in a Shear Factor of 1/2). However, with insufficient clearance, the required tonnage approaches the full tonnage of a punch and die without shear (40-ton), and the 30-ton press will not do the job, A die 1/32" larger than ‘the punch should be used in this case to provide proper clearance. \" Force F varies with cutting length L. depends upon clearance, type and 1] |~—.—_+ hardness of the material, FIGURE 19: CLEARANCE EFFECTS FORCE REQUIREMENTS USING SHEARED TOOLING 11.7. There are many ways of applying Shear to a blade, punch and die. The standard practice on a squaring shear is to have the blade inclined from one side to the other, normally at a rate of 3/8" per foot. FIGURE 20 illustrates various methods of applying Shear to the punch and die. It is important to maintain balanced loading of the punch and die to prevent side thrusts on the punch that would cause the punch to crowd over, hitting the die. The problem is the same as the one that is encoun- tered when punching part of a hole at the edge of a sheet of material.de) A q CONCAVE convex crisscross. CONVEX DIE CONCAVE DIE FIGURE 20: TYPES OF SHEAR, 11.8, Shear on a punch and die is an inexpensive way of stretching press capacity, providing the press has sufficient energy to accept the additional work. Many mechanical (flywheel-type) presses do not have sufficient energy to take advantage of Shear. In fact, Shear can decrease capacity if not applied properly. 12, DIAMETER-TO-THICKNESS RATIOS 12.1. Every good thing has its limitations. Punching is no different. One limitation is that very small holes cannot be punched through very thick material. An example is 1/4’-diameter hole thru 1"-thick mild steel. In this case, the hole would have to be drilled, but where is the limiting point?PUNCH DIA. TO MATERIAL THICKNESS 12.2. The old “rule-of-thumb” that the punch diameter must be at least equal to the thickness of material has inexcusably cost industry thousands of dollars. One steel fabricator in New York had the archi- tect increase the hole size specifications from 13/16"-diameter to 15/16" so that he could punch several thousand holes in 1'-thick beams. He consented to pay the extra for larger fasteners, which was far better than having to drill. Unfortunately, he didn’t know that with his portable pre: uld punch 13/16"-diameter holes thru T'thick mild steel consistently, K 12.3. When all the factors involved in the thickness-diameter ratio limitation are considered, it is possible to come up with a new, more realistic set of ratios for non-shock applications. 12.4, The diameter of the punch must be such that the punch’s Compressive Strength is greater than the Force required to punch the hole. This punching force can be found by multiplying the Thickness of the material by its Shear Strength (PS.|), then multiplying by the Length of the cut 12,5. Now let's see how this can be used to determine if a particular punch will endure when used in a hydraulic press for a given job. The following factors must be considered: a CROSS - SECTIONAL ‘AREA (A) OF PUNCH A= Cross-Sectional Area fof the punch, as detarmines —T by hole size and shape T (FIGURE 21) ae FIGURE 21: RELATIONSHIP OF PUNCH DIAMETER, TO MATERIAL THICKNESSRATIO OF MATERIAL THICKNESS Thickness of the material being punched, T S = Shear Strength of the material being punched, Compressive Stress in the punch. L = Length of cut, The Compressive Stress (CS) in the punch can be calculated from the following formule: CS=TxXSxl A 12.6. The maximum allowable Compressive Stress depends upon the type of tool steel from which the punch is made and its hardness. A good grade of oi-hardened shock-resistant tool steel will withstand 300,000 P.S.L compressive stress before breaking and can be used safely at 250,000 P.S.I. with good tool life 12.7. The curves in FIGURE 2 are based on these punch-strength values, For a known Shear Strength of the ‘material being punched, the curves give the recommended thickness-to-diameter ratio, ' h 25 \ h 20 | Yi, I Bs t e woes 10 7 ECOMMENOED Semmes os ra 30 7 700 SHEAR STRENGTH, P51 1000 FIGURE 22: RATIO OF MATERIAL THICKNESS TO PUNCH DIAMETER FOR GIVEN VALUES OF SHEAR STRENGTHeA Sus 12.8. The curve shown as a dotted line represents the ultimate strength (300,000 P.S.\,; the solid curve, the recommended working stress (250,000 P.S.|). For example, to punch mild steel of 50,000 P.S.|. Shear Strength, the recommended thickness-to-diameter ratio is 1-1/4" to 1"; the ultimate ratio is 1-1/2" to 1" ‘Therefore, itis safe to punch a 1"-diameter hole thru 1-1/4"-thick mild steel, 12.9. Quite often a ratio between 1-1/4" and 1-1/2" to 1" is used for mild steel, but punch life is shortened. For example, the Hugh J. Baker Co, (Indianapolis) punches 19/16-diameter holes thru 1-1/8'-thick wide-flange beams, using a 96-ton portable hydraulic press. At this 1.38-to-1 ratio, the punch makes 500 holes before it fails from fatigue. 12.10. Minimum Hole Si ‘The second graph (FIGURE 23) shows the minimum diamet thickness of material. Three different materials are ilustrated, of hole that can be punched through a given &, ey v4 € F & : a Be oF i tm an Piet, aa L TH F / —rl | i E Ee, tr i I PUNCH DIAMETER FIGURE 23: MINIMUM PUNCH DIAMETER (HOLE SIZE) THAT CAN BE PUNCHED THROUGH A GIVEN MATERIAL THICKNESS D>PUNCH & SLEEVE ASSEM 12.11, To use the oraph, locate the thickness of material along the vertical scale and follow across horizontally to the lower edge of the shaded area for the material being punched. From this point of intersection, drop down to the horizontal scale and read the minimum recommended hole diameter. 12.12. The upper edge of the shaded areas represents the breaking point for the punch. Working within the shaded areas will therefore result in a shortened punch life. For example, in punching 3/4”-thick mild steel, 19/32 is the recommended minimum hole diameter. If a 1/2"diameter punch is used, it wil fail inch wil fail in one of two ways when overloaded. If its elastic limit is slightly exceeded, the punch will ree is then required during stripping, causing the 12.13. Ap) ‘expand as it is pushed through the material, A very high punch to break either at the punch end or under the head. 12.14. The second type of failure occurs when the Compressive Stress is greatly exceeded, and the punch simply buckles before penetrating the material 12.15. Keep in mind that we have been talking about plain punches as used for most sheet metal, plate and structural work. Special guided punches (FIGURE 24) are available for piercing material up to 1/2" thick. ‘These offer thickness-to-diameter ratios as high as 2-101 in mild steel pan PUNCH & SLEEVE ASSEMBLY UPPER SLEEVE Guided punch for greater thicknesso-ciameter ratios supports the punch, preventing bucking (Courtesy Durabie Punch ‘and Die Company) LOWER SLEEVE FIGURE 24: PUNCH & SLEEVE ASSEMBLY 13. LIMITATIONS OF PUNCHING 13.1. Punching can cause distortion. In some parts there is nothing that can be done to overcome it, but in many ‘cases, steps can be taken to minimizeCONCLUSION 13.2. One common problem is the closeness of a hole to the edge of the part. If the hole is too close, it will cause bulging along the edge. Preferably, two times the thickness of the material should be allowed from the edge of the hole to the edge of the part 13.3. Another frequent problem, which occurs on strip and bar stock, is camber due to off-center punching. An example is punching a row 13/16"-diameter holes on 3° centers in a 6"-wide, 3/4™thick bar of mild steel, where the commen centerline is 2" in from one side. FIGURE 25 shows the type of distortion that will result. The holes should be on center where possible, and the bar should not be too narrow. Insufficient clearance will cause increased distortion, due to the increased outward forces produced. S— 100 ciose 13/16" HOLES 3/4" THICK MS. DISTORTION FIGURE 25: DISTORTION CAN BE A PROBLEM CONCLUSION This brief introduction should stimulate your thinking and imagination and cause you to “think fabricating” rather then Chip Making, Punching, blanking, notching, shearing and nibbling, if properly applied and understood, can greatly increase your profits and improve your competitive position. 24REFERENCES 1. ASTME: “Die Design Handbook,” McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New York, 1955. 2. Donald F. Eary and Edward A. Reed: “Techniques of Pressworking Sheet Metal,” Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1958. 3. Leonard R. Allingham: “The Importance of Clearance In the Manufacturing Of Blanking Dies,” ASTME Detroit 38, Michigan, 1964. 4, Franklin D. Jones: “Die Design and Diemaking Practice," The Industrial Press, New York, 1951 5. Wemer Eickhoff (University of Darmstadt, Germany): Machine Tool Engineering and Production News, July, 1961