Custom Metal Stamping Service
Precision Metal Stamping Services
From automobile and medical device components to miniature electronic devices and precision aerospace parts, the demand for high-quality metal components continues to grow across a wide range of industries. Whether you’re developing prototypes or scaling up for full production, metal stamping offers a cost-effective and efficient solution to meet your manufacturing needs. Gazfull can help you take your metal part from initial design and print to production quickly, affordably, and with exceptional precision.
What is Precision Metal Stamping?
Metal stamping is a cold-forming fabrication method that’s simple yet versatile. In this process, flat metal strips are fed into stamping equipment with tooling or dies. The tooling is forced into the metal material, leveraging tremendous compressive force to create parts with desired shapes or features.
The Stamping Process
Metal stamping is a manufacturing process in which coils or flat sheets of material are formed into specific shapes. Stamping encompasses multiple forming techniques such as blanking, punching, embossing, and progressive die stamping, to mention just a few. Parts use either a combination of these techniques or independently, depending on the piece’s complexity. In the process, blank coils or sheets get fed into a stamping press which uses tools and dies to form features and surfaces in the metal. Metal stamping is an excellent way to mass-produce various complex parts, from car door panels and gears to small electrical components used in phones and computers. Stamping processes are highly-adopted in automotive, industrial, lighting, medical, and other industries.
Advantages of Metal Stamping
Stamping is suitable for mass, complex part production. More specifically, it offers:
- Complex forms, such as contours
- High volumes (from thousands to millions of parts per year)
- Processes such as fineblanking allow for forming of thick metal sheets.
- Low cost-per-piece prices
Disadvantages of Metal Stamping
Metal stamping’s disadvantages are its setup costs and timelines. Production is quick and inexpensive after tool finalization. Its disadvantages include:
- Longer lead times on first parts (as time is needed to create dies).
- Tooling, check fixtures, and non-renewable engineering drive upfront costs needed for stamp production lines.
- In order to ensure the product can be reliably produced to specification, suppliers often need to iterate on die design multiple times before production commences.
Accuracy
When it comes to metal parts, precision is critical. A nonconforming component may not fit, form, or function as intended. Metal stamping is highly automated, generating precise parts with great accuracy. This permits us to meet exact specifications in high volumes.
Affordability
Compared to other fabrication methods, metal stamping is less costly. We are also often able to meet machined component tolerances at a significant saving.
Flexibility
Metal sheets or strips can be turned into all types of shapes, from simple to complex, while maintaining tight tolerances. This opens up design capabilities.
Your Stamped Metal Parts Manufacturer
Gazfull is an ISO 9001:2015-, 13485:2016-, 14001:2015-certified manufacturer of precision stamped metal components and assemblies. With engineering support, tooling design, and advanced equipment in-house, our team can overcome just about any metal stamping obstacle.
We take pride in producing stamped metal components with complex geometries. Our lines can produce precision stamped metal parts from materials as thin as .003” (or less) and maintain tolerances as tight as ± .0005”. Looking for thicker parts, such as copper busbars, our Diemasters divison can help, with presses up to 350T capable of stamping materials up to .19″.
Additional capabilities include:
*Processing materials from .003″ to .19″
*Maximum material width of 13″
*Feed up to 6″ long
*Over 75 progressive metal stamping presses, ranging from 20 to 350 tons
*Servo presses, ranging from 60 to 160 tons
*Speeds of up to 1,600 strokes per minute
*In-line vision systems support critical feature monitoring
*In-line degreasing for reel-to-reel applications
*Automated take-up for reel-to-reel operations (multi-reel take ups)
*In-House tooling design and fabrication
In-House Tooling Design and Fabrication
The ability to fabricate carbide progressive precision dies in-house enables us to achieve high levels of precision, no matter the complexities.
Customized tooling improves compatibility, reliability, and durability, providing a competitive advantage to traditional machining, die-casting, or metal injection molding technologies.
Shear Edge Stamping Technology
When your part requires cleanly sheared straight edges with little or no diebreak, excellent flatness and no need for machining, fine blanking had been nearly the only solution until now.
Our proprietary “Shear Edge Technology” process achieves part quality equal to or, in many cases, better than traditional fine blanking with the economies and flexibility of the progressive stamping process.
We can often eliminate the “die roll” condition present in fine blanking and conventional stamping by employing specially designed stations in the progression of the strip advance. The die roll condition is a curved contour on the edge of the side of the blanked part and is developed by the action of pulling the material before the punch travels through the material.
This process eliminates most of the fine blanking disadvantages, such as burrs, and results in a quality-consistent, very cost-effective process.
Shear Edge Technology can be utilized with various applications including mechanical automotive, powertrain, and transmission components.
Gazfull Stamping Capabilities
Gazfull manufactures custom metal stampings in various materials, including copper, brass, stainless steel, and steel alloys. We offer production volumes of over one million parts and maintain tight tolerances, all with competitive lead times.
Our standard sheet metal stamping services can make small, medium, and large parts. Gazfull’s supplier network has a maximum press bed length of 10 feet and a maximum press bed width of 20 feet. We can readily stamp metal thicknesses from .025 to .188 inches, but depending on the forming technique and material used, we can go up to .250 inches thick and beyond.
Client Satisfaction Comes First
Production stops when a batch of components doesn’t fit, form, or function as intended. At Gazfull, quality is paramount.
Automated and manual quality checks occur throughout the metal stamping process, identifying issues immediately. All products we manufacture can be subjected to additional testing upon request.
*Sampling Inspection
*Mechanical Analysis
*Chemical Analysis
*Continuity Testing
*Nondestructive Examination, Or NDE
Metal Stamping Services Tailored To Your Needs
Our build-to-print services are ideal if you have a fully realized design. As a leading precision metal stamping manufacturer, we specialize in producing stamped metal parts using your print, specification, or purchase order requirements.
If you have a great idea but haven’t fleshed out all the details, or if you do not quite have a concept prototype yet, the Gazfull team is here to help. Our build-to-spec solutions involve working with you to take a product from concept to realization. This entails defining critical requirements and what it takes to meet them. Once the final design is acceptable, full-scale production kicks off.
Many times, complex metal parts are machined with tight tolerances, different heights, angles, and patterns, leading to the conclusion that machining is the only option. This is costly and often slow. At the Gazfull we see these situations frequently and, in many cases, can offer stampings as an alternative with little to no design change.
Gazfull does more than just stamp metal, though. With a full suite of value-added assembly solutions under one roof, we can streamline your supply chain.
Materials Make the Difference
*Carbon Steel
*Stainless Steel
*Inconel
*Red Metal
*Copper
*Molybdenum
*Nickel Alloys
When you’re uncertain which material is best, we have you covered. Our veteran engineering team has extensive metallurgy knowledge and is happy to help you select the optimum metal alloy for your application.
Our ideal partner is looking for medium- to high-volume production runs. We’re happy to take on smaller orders if the partnership will flourish into something more extensive down the line.
Metal Stamping Materials
Gazfull offers the following materials for both our standard and custom metal stampings:
Steel: CRS steel like 1008, 1010, or 1018 is popular; general-purpose material is perfect for cold forming.
Stainless Steel: such as 301, 304, and 316/316L. 301 stainless steel has excellent tensile strength, while 304 has more significant performance and corrosion resistance at higher temperatures. 316/316L steel features the best corrosion resistance of the three, though it also costs more.
Copper: including C110, which is a powerful conductor and easily formable.
Brass: brass 230 (85/15) and 260 (70/30) are highly formable and corrosion-resistant. These brass alloys are also known as red brass and yellow brass, respectively.
Gazfull can stamp other sheet metal materials on request, so feel free to contact our experts about the materials you need.
Our stamping materials can be post-processed with bead blasting, powder coating, chem film, anodizing, and plating in gold, silver, or electroless nickel. Learn more about our finishing options on our main sheet metal fabrication page.
Types of Stamping
We offer single and multistage, progressive die, deep draw, fourslide, and other stamping methods to ensure the most effective method for manufacturing your products. Xometry’s experts can match your project with the appropriate stamping by reviewing your uploaded 3D model and technical drawings.
- Progressive Die Stamping uses multiple dies and steps to create deeper parts than would typically be achievable through single dies. It also enables multiple geometries per part as they go through various dies. This technique is best suited to high volume and large parts such as those in the automotive industry. Transfer die stamping is a similar process, except progressive die stamping involves a workpiece attached to a metal strip pulled through the entire process. Transfer die stamping removes the workpiece and moves it along a conveyor.
- Deep Draw Stamping creates stampings with deep cavities, like enclosed rectangles. This process creates rigid pieces since the extreme deformation of the metal compresses its structure into a more crystalline form. Standard draw stamping, which involves shallower dies used to shape the metal, is also commonly utilized.
- Fourslide Stamping shapes parts from four axes instead of from one direction. This method is used to manufacture small intricate parts including electronics components such as phone battery connectors. Offering more design flexibility, lower production costs, and faster manufacturing times, fourslide stamping is popular in aerospace, medical, automotive, and electronics industries.
- Hydroforming is an evolution of stamping. Sheets are placed on a die with a bottom shape, while the upper shape is a bladder of oil that fills to high pressure, pressing the metal into the shape of the lower die. Multiple parts can be hydroformed simultaneously. Hydroforming is a quick and accurate technique, though it requires a trim die to cut the parts out of the sheet afterward.
- Blanking cuts pieces out from the sheet as an initial step before forming. Fineblanking, a variation of blanking, makes precise cuts with smooth edges and a flat surface.
- Coining is another type of blanking that creates small round workpieces. Since it involves significant force to form a small piece, it hardens the metal and removes burrs and rough edges.
- Punching is the opposite of blanking; it involves removing material from the workpiece instead of removing material to create a workpiece.
- Embossing creates a three-dimensional design in the metal, either raised above the surface or through a series of depressions.
- Bending happens on a single axis and is often used to create profiles in U, V, or L shapes. This technique is accomplished by clamping one side and bending the other over a die or pressing the metal into or against a die. Flanging is bending for tabs or parts of a workpiece instead of the whole part.
Metal Stamping Production Volumes
Gazfull offers a wide variety of production volumes for sheet metal stamping, including:
Low Volume Production
Low volume production is any amount up to 100,000 units. Most stamping projects are at least 1000 units to ensure cost-effectiveness for the customer. Customers use smaller metal stamping orders to bridge the development of a product between prototypes and mass manufacturing and to see how well a product will do on the market. Low volume production also helps if a buyer is looking for customized products. Gazfull offers low per-unit costs, even for small volumes.
Medium Volume Production
Medium volumes of production are between 100,000 and 1 million units. This amount of metal stamping production offers the flexibility of low-volume orders while enabling a lower price per part. It will also offer lower up-front costs for tooling.
High Volume Production
High volume production includes orders of over 1 million parts. While metal stamping is very scalable, it’s an incredibly cost-effective manufacturing process for high volumes, as this drives down unit costs stemming from the price of creating custom tooling.
Short Run Stamping
Short-run stamping is a low-volume production run with limited tool revisions. With short runs, overall costs will be less since you won’t need to change processes or equipment as much. Very short runs will have no changing factors, enabling the lowest price. These production capabilities are best for parts requiring less flexibility, low volume, or entering a new market.
Long Run Stamping
Long-run stamping is a more involved production run in which all factors are variable, allowing for greater flexibility over time as the production line is tuned and optimized for scale. Long-run stamping will incur more costs as each process, material, or machine part may be changed and tested. However, these changes provide consistent quality, low per-unit costs, and incredible throughput of up to hundreds of parts a minute.
Tight Tolerances
Our precision metal stamping services can deliver your part’s desired shape, whether you’re in the aerospace, automotive, telecommunications, or electronics industry. Our suppliers strive to meet your tolerance requirements by iterating on the tool and die design to fine-tune the output to meet your needs. However, the tighter the tolerances, the more challenging and costly this becomes. Precision metal stampings with tight tolerances can be brackets, clips, inserts, connectors, fittings, and other parts in consumer appliances, electrical grids, planes, and automobiles. They’re also used to create implants, surgical instruments, temperature probes, and other medical device parts like housings and pump components.
Regular checks to ensure the output still measures up to specifications are typical for all stamping after each successive run. Quality and consistency are part of a Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) program to detect wear in stamping tools (commonly made of D2 steel). Measurements with a check-fixture (or check-gauge) are standard for long-run stamping lines.
Markets Served
From the beginning, Gazfull has believed that delivering quality stamped metal parts on time and within budget will help clients meet project goals, innovate more sustainably, and achieve lasting performance gains. We’re proud to be the trusted precision metal stamping provider for many organizations in the world’s most demanding industries.
Custom Metal Stamping Services
At Gazfull, we offer high-quality, custom precision metal stamping and progressive die stamping for parts and components in many industries including Aerospace, Electronics, and Medical. We believe that our levels of engineering, metal stamped part production and overall performance is an art form. Through the decades we’ve taken advantage of promising technology and applied it uniquely to our advanced systems of getting things done right the first time.
From selecting the best material to tooling for your metal stamping project, we know how to listen and how to hook up our engineering muscle with our customers’ needs. We’ve learned how to provide a level of satisfaction that breeds dependability, confidence, and value that makes our customers feel powerful. Our expertise in custom precision & progressive die metal stamping services will ensure that your part will be manufactured to your exact specifications and to the highest quality standards.
That’s power satisfaction. And we manufacture that into every metal stamped part we make.
Gazful’s CNC machining team specializes in parts with complex geometries, tight tolerances, and rapid iteration cycles.
Ready to get started on your next project?
From one part to thousands of parts, we can help you accelerate your sheet metal projects using CNC machining Services in a cost-effective way. The Gazfull team can provide a range of solutions for your manufacturing needs. Talk to us today about your laser cutting project and how your project can take advantage of its high quality and accuracy.
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Email:info@gazfull.com