Sheet Metal Stamping, Thickness Constraints

[aspearin1]

I have a design, which I will be putting out to quote soon, which includes a custom shaped washer made of 304 SS sheet metal. For ease of manufacturing, I'd like to limit the design to that which can be stamped, instead of cut and ground. What is the maximimum practical thickness I can make this washer for it to be stamped in production? I'm currently looking at up to 0.060" thickness. Is this reasonable for stamping?

ChemE, M.E. EIT
"The only constant in life is change." -Dan Andia; 1999, Chemical Engineering Progress

 

[TVP]

Stainless steel at that thickness can be safely stamped/blanked.

 

[limct]

Cutting clearance per side should be kept between 4%~6% for round part or 5%~8% for irregular countour.

Best regards,
ct

 

[dvd]

Consider using laser cut parts instead of building a die, your total costs may be less depending on total quantities. Laser cut parts allow design modifications later on because you don't have a die that needs modification. Also laser cut parts don't have any die roll or breakout on the edges.

If you decide to "stamp" your washer consider that when blanking holes in parts you generally should stay one material thickness away from the edge of the part. Hole diameters less than one material thickness will pose additional challenges and may require more expensive dies and blanking processes. Your tooling builder or parts fabricator can best advise you on their capabilities.

 

[griffengm]

aspearin1,
From a $ point of view, you need to know how many of these you are going to need per month, year, whatever time is reasonable. Then do the math for cost per piece.
From a materials pov, know what you can live with in terms of heat affected zone on the edges if laser cut or work hardening if stamped.
From a design pov, if the design is not set in stone yet, laser will be best for the first few thousand parts. Edge burring and finish enter in here also.
Get out the trusty balance and see which factors weigh in heaviest.

Griffy

 

[aspearin1]

First number estimate out for bid is 500. Very low in relative terms. Admittedly, the market isn't well researched. (But that's not my department.) In my opinion, 500 is a number too high for piece-wise cutting and machining, but adequate for stamping. Method of manufacturing will depend on the contractor's winning bid. But I wanted to make sure to stay with a design that would simplify manufacturing, hopefully dropping the bids.

ChemE, M.E. EIT
"The only constant in life is change." -Dan Andia; 1999, Chemical Engineering Progress

 

[MadMango]

I fing this all very curious [blue]aspearin1[/blue].

A design should not dictate a manufacturing method, unless a specific manufacturing method has a negative impact on the function of the design.

In your first post you mention wanting to avoid cutting and grinding, which raises a flag in my head saying this custom washer is a precision washer of some type, then you say you want it stamped.

I would provide enough information on your drawing and request for qoute to satisfy your design requirements (tolerance/surface finish/material/quantity/delivery) and let the vendors quoting the job decide the best method to manufacture the part.

Ray Reynolds
"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons."
Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949
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[aspearin1]

Thank you for all your input. I have the information I was looking for.

ChemE, M.E. EIT
"The only constant in life is change." -Dan Andia; 1999, Chemical Engineering Progress