Benefits Of Using Deep Drawn Stamping

Deep drawing is a manufacturing process in which sheet metal is formed into the desired shape
by pressing between two punch and die pieces.

The process may be used to form parts of nearly any thickness of material that is too large or
difficult to produce using other metalworking processes such as punching or forging. These
include small diameter tube sheets on nuclear reactors, gear housings, trunk lids, automobile
body panels, and automotive suspension components, where high formability and ultimate
tensile strength are required.

The process is suitable for low-cost materials with specific types, including steel, copper alloys,
aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, and brass. It can also be used on higher-cost metals if
economic considerations are done. This means it makes sense to do so within the overall
product strategy that needs to be implemented to turn a profit.

Benefits of Using Deep Drawn Stamping

1. Minimizes the amount of energy used in production

Deep drawing stamping as a metal forming process requires less energy than other
metalworking processes such as punching or forging.

The use of metal drawing to produce sheet metal shapes has been known for more than a
century and evolved from the ancient art of wire drawing. The advantage of this process is that
no scrap is produced, and only one operation is required.

2. Maximize part strength;

Optimization of the material flow during deep drawing produces high strengths in thin-walled
parts, which can be further enhanced by applying cold forming such as bending or rolling.

The energy used during deep drawing is concentrated at the punch tip, higher compressive
residual stresses are developed in part at the end of the draw radius. This effect makes it
possible to increase initial blank thickness until sufficient strength can be achieved without
degrading formability.

3. Improve part surface quality

Other metalworking processes such as spinning or stamping, which are often used for thin-
walled parts, usually deform the shape of the sheet on the contour. This results in a degraded
part surface quality due to wrinkles on the sheet surface. Deep drawing works based on
stretching the material at right angles to its plane and avoids wrinkling on large flat areas,
significantly improving part appearance.
Deep drawing is accomplished for various metal sheets and strips, including carbon steel, alloy
steel, stainless steel, copper-based alloys, aluminum alloys, and titanium.

Carbon steels are generally cold worked with hot-working die steels used to reduce the forming
loads. Aluminum alloys are cold-drawn because these materials respond well to hard work.
Deep drawing is essential in aluminum die-casting processes that produce complex parts such
as gear housings or enclosures for electronic devices.

4. Minimize costs involved

The process of deep drawing can be automated using modern industrial equipment, which
helps manufacturers minimize the cost of production by reducing time consumption and scrap
generation rates.

The material flow during deep drawing can be optimized using special tooling and fixtures. This
helps generate the optimal blank shape and minimizes metal deformation, affecting part quality
and process efficiency.

5. Increase production

The material flow during deep drawing can be optimized using special tooling and fixtures and
automated industrial equipment. This helps manufacturers increase their production rates by
minimizing time consumption and scrap generation rates.

The design freedom exerted by this forming method is high compared with other standard
sheet-forming processes, which require much more expensive tools, dies, presses, etc., to
achieve similar results.

Deep drawn stamping is a technique that allows an acceptable degree of tolerance in producing
even fairly complex shapes from steel or aluminum sheet.

6. Make a variety of components

Deep drawing is most often used to make cylindrical parts, such as bottle caps and cans, but
also can be used to produce square or rectangular bar stock.

It is a typical process in manufacturing various automotive components, including fuel tanks

and transmission cases. Die design involves considering many factors that interact, making it
one of the most challenging operations in the whole manufacturing process, from blanking to
final assembly.

7. Use less force and energy

In deep drawing, material flow around the punch tip is controlled by progressively forming
successive hemispherical cavities behind a circular punch. The workpiece material flows away
from the punch tip through gaps between adjacent pairs of consecutive holes in a generally
inward direction. With each cavity being generally semi-spherical, the material flow is, in effect,
partially curling or helically bending around the rotating punch tip.

The drawing force required to form the blank progressively decreases as this curling action
continues until it reaches a minimum value when the die surface of the fully formed
hemispherical cavity comes into contact with the workpiece material.

8. Reduce scrap

Scrap generated in this process is minimized by the highly efficient material flow pattern around
the punch tip.

The pattern follows a generally inward direction. This helps reduce scrap due to any material
ejected from the die cavity through feeding slots between adjacent cavities. Waste during the
punching stage is significantly reduced since less workpiece material needs to be removed.

Scrap generated during the drawing process is also minimized. This is a progressive action that
starts with lower forming forces until the material assumes the shape of the die cavity. As the
depth of the cavity increases, so does its diameter. This creates a stimulating effect since it
helps further reduce scrap by causing any excess material to be forced out through thinner
cross-sections at entry slots located between adjacent semi-spherical cavities.

The walls of each successive hemisphere are thicker than those corresponding to previous
cavities. This makes their removal more efficient than other techniques such as pressing or
stamping, where a lot of energy is required for punching out larger thicknesses of material.

9. Form large parts

Large items can be formed using deep drawing. This is a simple technique because of its
progressive nature.

The process starts at the bottom part and gradually works its way up to the final stages. This
means that scrap generated in this form of manufacture is reduced compared with stamping or
press forming processes where shearing or blanking off are typically needed, respectively.

10. Minimize mold costs

The progressive nature of deep drawing means that a single forming die may be used in some
cases because the process starts with a small diameter and progressively increases it to
produce the desired final size.

The number of artwork changes required is minimized because progressive drawing processes
start with small holes that can be used to create an appropriate form. Smaller hole sizes mean
using smaller tools, which also reduces tooling costs.
The process works well for producing symmetrical parts, which are subsequently formed into
asymmetric shapes. A classic example is the manufacture of beverage cans, where deep
drawing helps achieve the required final shape after creating operation.

11. Minimize secondary processing

As each level of material curling occurs around the punch tip, not only does this help to
minimize scrap, but it also leads to a progressively increasing thickness in the component being
formed. This means that fewer secondary machining operations are needed than other
techniques such as forging, where a progressive reduction is required.

The progressive nature of the process also helps to ensure that all internal cavities are well-
formed without requiring additional methods such as reaming because this would cause further
reduction in wall thickness.

12. Achieve strong but thin walls

Deep-drawn components are formed from a small number of material thicknesses. Because of
this, they exhibit thinner wall sections than their press-formed counterparts because the metal
flow occurs in an inward direction towards thicker cross-sections. This reduces potential
weaknesses associated with sharp corners and increases resistance to external forces applied
during use.

The metal has more time to redistribute stresses throughout its structure without buckling or
deforming excessively under load.

13. Achieve large tolerances

Tolerances for parts produced using deep drawing can be held quite easily within standard
limits achieved for this type of process. This is especially beneficial for manufacturers who need
to make large items because it enables existing tools and dies.

14. Achieve intricate details

Deep drawing can be used to form a variety of complex shapes by its progressive nature. The
process starts with shallower surfaces. Deep-drawn components often exhibit deeper features
when compared with other techniques such as stamping or forging, where only a single
dimension is reduced compared with the original stock material size. Because these processes
start from larger surface areas, they do not achieve as much depth in part geometry as
progressive actions that help achieve a more significant reduction in thickness in more small
amounts during each successive forming stage.

15. Maximize part accuracy

The progressive nature of deep drawing means that each cavity is well-formed before forming
forces act over increasingly cross-sections of the material. This helps to maximize part accuracy
compared with other techniques where initial forming could be limited due to poor tool
penetration or restricted mobility at shallow depths.

Summing Up;

Deep drawing involves progressive metalworking that enables good dimensional accuracy by
using only one set of dies.

It is well-suited for producing intricate or complicated profiles with fine details, which are
subsequently formed into asymmetric shapes. The benefits of the process are evident in
manufacturability because no secondary machining operations are required.