What is sheet metal shearing?

Introduction

In sheet metal manufacturing, metal can be cut. In addition to several common cutting processes, there is also a more common and special cutting process - the sheet metal shearing process. Due to sheet metal manufacturing being complex and diverse, so the processing technology that was born also shows a trend of diversification.

In this guide, we will explore the topic of sheet metal shearing in-depth to give you a clear understanding of sheet metal shearing technology. The following are the details.

What is sheet metal shearing?

Sheet metal shearing is a cold mechanical subtractive cutting process that uses the moment when the lower blade or a specific die hits the upper blade to generate huge pressure, thereby achieving the cutting effect of the metal material.

In this process, when the bearing force of the metal sheet is less than the pressure formed by the die or punch, that is, when the shear limit strength of the metal sheet is less than the shear force of the die punch, the material will be cut.

In shearing technology, the most commonly used tools are ordinary desktop shears or power shears.

What is the working principle of sheet metal shearing?

By using special shearing equipment or tools, sheets, profiles, and bars are separated from each other along a predetermined straight line or curve, thereby obtaining blanks with various straight and curved shapes.

In the process of sheet metal shearing, when the two sides of the shearing component are subjected to lateral external forces of equal magnitude, opposite direction, and very close action lines, the cross-section between the two forces will undergo a relative displacement deformation form.

Manual shearing and mechanical shearing are the two main shearing methods. Manual shearing includes steps such as cutting and removing excess material and is suitable for shearing of almost all shapes in thin plate parts.

Mechanical shearing is carried out through equipment, such as a CNC shearing machine, which consists of a synchronization system, a slide part, a material stop mechanism, and a workbench part, and achieves precise shearing through hydraulic transmission and CNC system control.

What types of sheet metal shearing are there?

‌The main types of sheet metal shearing include manual shearing, mechanical shearing, and sawing. ‌

Manual shearing: Manual shearing is a traditional shearing method that uses manual shearing tools such as metal shears or seat shears. This shearing method is suitable for shearing thin sheet materials. It is easy to operate but inefficient.

Therefore, in general, manual shearing methods include shearing straight lines and curves, as well as shearing concave angles and angle materials.

Mechanical shearing: Mechanical shearing uses various shearing machines for shearing, and uses front and rear stoppers for precise shearing. It has high production efficiency and is suitable for mass production.

Sawing: Sawing relies on the saw blade to see back and forth on the saw bow to achieve the purpose of cutting, which is suitable for occasions where precise cutting is required.

What raw materials can be cut by sheet metal shearing?

Since sheet metal shearing is a cutting method for sheet metal processing, it can cut many raw materials, including cold-rolled plates, hot-rolled plates, galvanized plates, copper plates, aluminum plates, and stainless steel.

Each shearing method has its specific application scenario. There are many specific sheet metal shearing methods, including:

‌Shearing machine shearing‌: Use a shearing machine for shearing, suitable for simple strip materials, low cost but can only process materials without holes and corners.

‌Punching machine punching‌: Use a punching machine to punch and form on the sheet in steps or one step, suitable for mass production, but mold design is required.

‌NC cutting‌: Punch various shapes on the flat plate through CNC programming, low cost, and high precision.

‌Laser cutting‌: Use the laser cutting method, suitable for various complex shapes of flat plates, but the cost is high.

‌Sawing machine cutting‌: Mainly used for aluminum profiles, square tubes, etc., low cost but low precision.

What are the application areas of sheet metal shearing?

In mechanical manufacturing, sheet metal shearing technology is used to make the shell, bracket, and internal structural parts of mechanical equipment. These parts need to have good mechanical properties and meet the protection and aesthetic requirements during use.

The sheet metal shearing process can effectively meet these needs and ensure that mechanical equipment can work normally in various harsh environments. The specific application areas mainly include mechanical manufacturing, electronic equipment, automotive industry, construction industry, and medical equipment manufacturing. ‌

What is the difference between shearing and die-cutting?

‌The main differences between shearing and die-cutting are their application scope, process mode, and product form. ‌

Shearing is a process that relies on shearing force to separate materials and is usually operated using a shearing machine. Shearing machines can adapt to different shearing needs according to different transmission methods (such as motor transmission or hydraulic transmission) and blade shapes (such as parallel blades, oblique blades, etc.).

The shearing process can be divided into two steps: the blade presses into the metal and the metal slides until it breaks. Commonly used materials include metal, paper, etc. ‌

Die-cutting is a cutting process that is mainly used for post-processing of printed materials or other paper products. The die-cutting process can make a die-cutting knife plate according to a pre-designed graphic, and cut the material into the desired shape or cut through pressure.

The die-cutting process is usually combined with the creasing process, using a die-cutting machine and a creasing knife or creasing die for simultaneous processing to achieve more complex shapes and patterns ‌.

In terms of application scope, shearing is mainly used in metal processing, paper cutting, and other fields, while die-cutting is widely used in the production of products that require special shapes, such as printed materials, self-adhesive stickers, and promotional cards.

From the process point of view, shearing is a direct cutting action, while die-cutting requires making a die-cutting plate first, and then cutting and creasing. Finally, from the product form, shearing usually produces straight-edged and right-angled shapes, while die-cutting can produce complex and irregular graphics and shapes.

Do you provide sheet metal cutting services?

At RT Manufacturing, we provide a wide range of sheet metal manufacturing processing for the world. Sheet metal cutting services are one of the processing sections we provide and also one of our core manufacturing projects.

Therefore, if you have a sheet metal parts project that needs to be manufactured, you can chat through our online chat function, or click to enter our business team to choose a business personnel you think is more suitable to communicate about your manufacturing project. Or upload your CAD file directly, and we have a dedicated quotation engineer to provide you with free quotation services.

Conclusion

In this article, we introduced the definition, working principle, and some types of sheet metal shearing. If you are interested in sheet metal fabrication, please pay attention to our website blog at any time. We will update it from time to time to facilitate you to obtain some of the latest dynamic information about the manufacturing industry.