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About Metal Spinning
Metal spinning is a “cold worked” metal
fabrication technique using a flat round disc of sheet metal which is
rotating on a spinning lathe. The metal spinner applies pressure to the
rotating blank using several tools to shape the metal over a form called
a chuck or mandrel. This pressure can be applied by a single tool or
by multiple levers hydraulically. The finished product, if produced correctly,
should have no wrinkling or warble due to the high speed of rotation
around the mandrel. The process is quick and cost efficient. An average
metal piece will only take from five to 10 minutes, and to change the
spinning shape, one must only replace the mandrel. Aluminum, stainless
steel, copper, pewter, bronze, silver, and brass are preferable for metal
spinning, but any metal that is available in sheet form may be spun.
Metal spinning and metal spinning services can be controlled by hand,
but a CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) machine, which produces a
superior final product, most often controls it. Most shops no longer
utilize full manual creation of parts. The technology allows for multiple
accurate tool passes and a unified number of passes made for a particular
part. This ensures quality and consistency from part to part. When the
forming of the part is controlled by hand, it can be a physically demanding
process requiring a great deal of practice by metal spinning services.
Due to the high speed at which the metal is spinning and the large amount
of human force used in the forming of a piece, extensive training and
safety precautions are implemented.
Metal spinning services have recently become competitive with stamping
and deep drawing with the birth of CNC machining. Another cost-effective
alternative is hydroforming.
This process sends flowing metal around a punch instead of stretching
it with dies, so the material has a more consistent thickness, and is
advantageous because it can perform in one operation what takes other
methods three operations. Everything from household pots and pans to
the jet engine cowling on a plane is made by spinning sheet metal to
a desire shape. The metal spinning process is limited, however, to the
making of concentric shapes. These shapes include those that are hollow
dished, conical, hemispherical and elliptical. Soda cans are often formed
via metal spinning as well as deeper cooking pots and pans. Tanks that
store agricultural and chemical substances have heads that are created
almost exclusively using metal spinning. Many metal spinning shops create
solely tank
heads and serve the agricultural/grain storage markets.
When using metal spinning it is important to note the supplier’s
output capability. Some metal spinning shops are not capable of short
run orders and may have limitations as to the diameter and thickness
of final product desired. However, many suppliers offer sizes from a
fraction of an inch to over 6 feet in diameter. Sometimes, a metal spinning
manufacturer will only have the capacity to spin a certain type of metal,
such as stainless steel or aluminum. Though not all manufacturers can
offer every type of spinning service, metal spinning can mean lower tooling
costs, because spinner dies are simpler and cheaper. Spinning tooling
can also be made in-house by many spinning shops, meaning shorter lead
times. The spinning process often work-hardens the metal product as it
is being shaped, providing a stronger end product. The metal spinning
business continues to grow as the process becomes better through technological
advances.
Featured
Articles
http://www.acmemetalspinning.com/8171.html
http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/ige/ige108.html
Types of Metal Spinning
- fabricates metal parts by rotating aluminum sheet metal on a spinning lathe.
- (computer
numerical controlled) (http://www.cnc-machining.biz)
and related technology are most often
used during the metal spinning process. Today’s modern CNC technology
has made it possible to produce high volume, close tolerance, concentric
metal parts quickly and economically. CNC machine spinners are also
used for the fabrication of other sheet
metal parts.
- are what the majority of metal spinning shops
use. Because of flexible rapid tooling and the short set up times associated
with the technique, the costs of metal spinning can be much lower than
other metal fabrication techniques.
- are still used by some manufacturers but are increasingly
rare. The spinning of the metal is machine controlled but the appliance
of pressure is done by hand, making for a very hard and cumbersome
process; the results sometimes lack uniformity from piece to piece.
- is a tool and die process that uses hydraulic fluid to make components, often for the automotive industry.
- rotate metal circles.
- are the most prominent type of machine
used in the metal spinning shop realm. Most shops however, are capable
of spinning a wide range of common to exotic metals, including aluminum,
brass, copper, hastelloy, and titanium.
- are circular, pressed ends to cylindrical tanks.
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