Sheet Metal

Fabrication
 Sheet Metal Fabrication
Sheet metal is simply metal formed into thin and flat pieces. It
is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and can
be cut and bent into a variety of different shapes.
 Countless everyday objects are constructed from such
material. Thicknesses can vary significantly, although
extremely thin thicknesses are considered foil or leaf, and
pieces thicker than 6 mm (0.25 in) are considered plate.
Building of metal structures from piece of sheet metal.
Processes involved: cutting bending, shearing, assembling etc.
Contd…
Layout:
Various operations are performed in a sheet metal shop
hence there are many sections in it.
a) Shearing machine(1)
b) Bending machine(2)
c) Circle cutting machine(3)
d) Buffering and polishing machine(4)
e) Working tables(5-8)
f) Inspection table.(9)
 Sheet Metal Processing
The raw material for sheet metal manufacturing processes is
the output of the rolling process. Typically, sheets of metal are
sold as flat, rectangular sheets of standard size.
If the sheets are thin and very long, they may be in the form of
rolls. Therefore the first step in any sheet metal process is to
cut the correct shape and sized ‘blank’ from larger sheet.
Sheet metal fabrication is a classification of manufacturing
processes that shape a piece of sheet metal into the desired part
through material removal and/or material deformation.
Sheet metal, which acts as the work piece in these processes, is
one of the most common forms of raw material stock.
Contd…
The material thickness that classifies a work piece as sheet
metal is not clearly defined. However, sheet metal is generally
considered to be a piece of stock between 0.006 and 0.25
inches thick.
A piece of metal much thinner is considered to be "foil" and
any thicker is referred to as a "plate".
The thickness of a piece of sheet metal is often referred to as
its gauge.
Contd…
Sheet metal can be cut, bent, and stretched into a nearly any
shape. Material removal processes can create holes and cutouts
in any 2D geometric shape.
Deformation processes can bend the sheet numerous times to
different angles or stretch the sheet to create complex contours
(structure).
These parts are found in a variety of industries, such as
aircraft, automotive, construction, consumer products, HVAC,
and furniture.
 Applications
Sheet metal processing is an important process for many
industries, producing home appliances(fridge, washer, dryer,
vacuum cleaners etc.), electronics (DVD- and CD-players,
radios, amplifiers etc.), toys and PC’s. Most of these products
have metal casings that are made by cutting and bending sheet
metal. We look at some of the basic sheet metal cutting and
forming processes.
Aluminum sheets are used extensively in an aircraft industry.
The wings of an airplane are made from reinforced aluminum,
and the frame is also made from aluminum.
 It can easily be welded and has good corrosion resistance
An aluminum sheet finds application in a household also
 Sheet metal has applications in car bodies

AGRO EQUIPMENTS
 Pattern and Template
Pattern is a flat outline or stretch out or
development of a job. The outline of the object to
be fabricated may be first drawn on paper first and
then transferred to metal.
The metal pattern may be laid out in following
methods:
 Parallel line method
 Radial line method
 Triangulation method
Contd…
 Parallel line method
Used for objects like: prisms, cylinders etc. as in the
cases of elbow and joints.
Contd…
 Radial line method
Used for those objects whose generators radiate from a
point like the spokes of a wheel.
Front view and top view do not represent true length
and only after finding out pattern is laid.
Contd…
 Triangulation method
Used for the objects which cannot be developed exactly.
Performed in two steps:
a) The surface to be developed is divided into a number of appropriate
triangles
b) The true length of the triangle is found out and the true lengths are
transferred as sequence to form the pattern.
Contd…
Hems:
• to enhance the appearance of the work, to strengthen the
piece, and to eliminate the cutting hazard of the raw edge,
• determined by the purpose, type of material, and strength of
the edge needed.
• Three types:
 Single hem edge
 Double hem edge
 Wired hem edge
Contd…
 Single hem edge:
 Made by turning the edge over the hatchet stake(sharp-edged outline)
 Can be made in any width so heavier the metal, wider the hem.
 allowance= width.

 Double hem edge:

 Single hem with its end bent under
 is used when additional strength and a smooth edge is required inside as well as outside.
 Allowance= 2*width.

 Wired edge:
 formed from sheet metal that are fabricated with wire edges to strengthen and stiffen the
jobs and to eliminate sharp edges
 By bending the sheet with mallet over a length equal to 2.5 diameter of wire
 Allowance= 2.5*diameter of fabricated wire
Fig.: single hem edge Fig.: double hem edge

Fig.: wired edge

Contd…
Seam:
Section where piece of metals are joined,
Determined by thickness of metal, purpose for which
the metal is being made,
Commonly used seam:
 Lap seam
 Grooved seam
 Single bottom seam
 Double seam
 dovetail seam
 Standing seam
Contd…
 Lap seam:
 Simplest type of seam, one edge overlaps the other and is riveted or soldered.
 Grooved seam:
 Made by hooking two folded edges together using hand groover.
 Single bottom seam:
 Made by joining the bottom to the bodies of vertical container of various shapes.
 Double seam:
 Made by bending the single seamed bodies using hammer to connect parts to get
exceptionally strong joint.
 Dovetail seam:
 Used to join the sections such as one pipe to another, flat plate to pipe, etc.
 Standing seam:
 are used for joining metals where extra stiffness is needed, such as roofs, air
housing, ducts, and so forth.
Contd…
Notches:
 Openings left at the corners of seams and edges.
 To provide certain provision for folded parts so there is
no overlapping of metals.
 Location and size depends upon the shape of object.
 Notches commonly used:
 straight notch
 Square notch
 V- notch
 Slant notch
Contd…
straight notch:
 Used in dovetail seams by simply making a straight cut the bent
edges.
Square notch:
 Used for making square and rectangular boxes and eliminate the
surplus materials.
V- notch:
 Used where the corners of the flange must come together.
Slant notches:
 Used when corners are to meet at 90 degrees by clipped the edge at
an angle of 45 degrees.
Fig.: straight notch Fig.: square notch

Fig.: v-notch Fig.: slant notch

 Sheet Metal Fabrication Processes
Sheet metal fabrication processes can mostly be
placed into two categories –
 Forming processes
It is the process in which the applied force causes the material
to plastically deform, but not to fail. Such processes are able to
bend or stretch the sheet into the desired shape
 Cutting processes
It is the process in which the applied force causes the material
to fail and separate, allowing the material to be cut or removed
Basic Types of Sheet Metal Processes
Sheet metal processes involve plane stress loadings and lower
forces than bulk forming. Almost all sheet metal forming is
considered to be secondary processing.
The main categories of sheet metal working are
 Cutting
– Shearing to separate large sheets
– Blanking to cut part perimeters out of sheet metal
– Punching to make holes in sheet metal
 Bending
– Straining sheet around a straight axis
 Drawing
– Forming of sheet into convex or concave shapes
Contd…
Shearing
 Shearing is a sheet metal cutting operation along a straight line
between two cutting edges by means of a power shear.
Contd…
Blanking and punching
Blanking and punching are similar sheet metal cutting
operations that involve cutting the sheet metal along a
closed outline. If the part that is cut out is the desired
product, the operation is called blanking and the
product is called blank. If the remaining stock is the
desired part, the operation is called punching. Both
operations are illustrated on the example of producing a
washer.
 Sheet Metal Forming
Sheet metal forming processes are those in which force is applied to a
piece of sheet metal to modify its geometry rather than remove any
material
The applied force stresses the metal beyond its yield strength, causing
the material to plastically deform, but not to fail. By doing so, the
sheet can be bent or stretched into a variety of complex shapes.
Sheet metal forming processes include the following:
 Bending
 Roll forming
 Spinning
 Deep Drawing
Contd…
Bending
 Bending is a metal forming process in which a force is applied
to a piece of sheet metal, causing it to bend at an angle and
form the desired shape.
 A bending operation causes deformation along one axis, but a
sequence of several different operations can be performed to
create a complex part.
Contd…
While using a press brake and standard die sets, there are
still a variety of techniques that can be used to bend the
sheet. The most common method is known as V-bending, in
which the punch and die are "V" shaped.
The punch pushes the sheet into the "V" shaped groove in
the V-die, causing it to bend.
If the punch does not force the sheet to the bottom of the die
cavity, leaving space or air underneath, it is called "air
bending".
If the punch forces the sheet to the bottom of the die cavity,
it is called "bottoming"
Contd…
The act of bending results in both tension and compression in
the sheet metal. The outside portion of the sheet will undergo
tension and stretch to a greater length, while the inside portion
experiences compression and shortens. The neutral axis is the
boundary line inside the sheet metal, along which no tension or
compression forces are present. As a result, the length of this
axis remains constant.
Contd…
Bending is typically performed on a machine called a press brake,
which can be manually or automatically operated. For this reason,
the bending process is sometimes referred to as press brake forming.
A press brake contains an upper tool called the punch and a lower
tool called the die, between which the sheet metal is located. The
sheet is carefully positioned over the die and held in place by the
back gauge while the punch lowers and forces the sheet to bend.
In an automatic machine, the punch is forced into the sheet under the
power of a hydraulic ram. The bend angle achieved is determined by
the depth to which the punch forces the sheet into the die. This depth
is precisely controlled to achieve the desired bend.
Contd…
In addition to V-bending, another common bending
method is wipe bending, sometimes called edge
bending. Wipe bending requires the sheet to be held
against the wipe die by a pressure pad. The punch
then presses against the edge of the sheet that extends
beyond the die and pad. The sheet will bend against
the radius of the edge of the wipe die.
 ROLL FORMING
Roll forming, sometimes, is a metal forming process in
which sheet metal is progressively shaped through a series
of bending operations
The process is performed on a roll forming line in which
the sheet metal stock is fed through a series of roll stations
Each station has a roller, referred to as a roller die,
positioned on both sides of the sheet.
 DEEP DRAWING
Deep drawing is a metal forming process in which sheet
metal is stretched into the desired part shape.
Sheet metal forming to make cup-shaped, box-shaped,
or other complex-curved, hollow-shaped parts.
Sheet metal blank is positioned over die cavity and
then punch pushes metal into opening.
Products: beverage cans, ammunition shells, automobile
body panels.
Known as deep drawing (to distinguish it from wire and
bar drawing)
(a) Drawing of cup-shaped part:
(1) before punch contacts work
(2) near end of stroke.

(b) Work part:

(1) starting blank
(2) drawn part.
 Hollowing and Raising
It is the method of forming double curvature work by
beating the metal to shape by means of hammering.
Contd….
Planishing
Planishing is the finished process in forming double
curvature work, in which the work piece is smoothed
off and finally set to its correct shape.
 Beading
Tube beading is a metal forming process that forms a
bead on the end of tube.
Contd…
Tube beads can be used to help hold a
hose(rubber tube) on the end of a tube or to
strengthen the end of the tube.
 Mechanical Press
The ram is actuated using a flywheel. Stroke motion is not
uniform.
 Hydraulic Press
Longer strokes than mechanical presses, and develop full force
throughout the stroke. Stroke motion is of uniform speed,
especially adapted to deep drawing operations
 Assignment
Explain Sheet Metal Fabrication in detail
Explain the following process
 Bending
 Roll forming
 Deep Drawing
 Hollowing and Raising
 Beading
 Shearing
 Blanking and Punching
Explain Hems, Seam and Notches
Thank You