Forming Stainless Steel Sheet Metal

Sheet metal forming bags hold any shape workpiece steady while you pound on it with a hammer.

Forming stainless steel sheet metal.

Sheet metal is metal formed by an industrial process into thin flat pieces. Stainless steel sheet 16 gauge 304 2b the rolling process also introduces a grain direction in the microstructure of the sheet. Sheet metal is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking and it can be cut and bent into a variety of shapes countless everyday objects are fabricated from sheet metal. This added hardness increases the amount of force needed to place a bend on a stainless steel sheet.

Also known as duplex stainless steel it has twice the strength of 316 stainless steel. The sheet metal is bent so plastic deformation is reached. These alloys also tend to respond well to cold forming. It should also be noted that austenitic stainless steels can t be heat treated meaning that cold forming may be your only option.

Typical automotive skin panels are just 0 65mm thick so 3mm thick is a huge increase in material mass and means the press has to be many times larger to stamp thicker 3mm material successfully. Chromium and nickel give stainless steel its stain resistance and attribute to the hardness of the metal. 2205 stainless steel resists cracking even when faced with a combination of tensile stress corrosive chemicals and heat. Thicknesses can vary significantly.

In addition elon has specified 3mm thick stainless steel which greatly increases forming tonnages required. Forming blocks and punch sets for domed shapes. Bending is a forming process in which sheet metal is bent into the desired shape by applying bending stress. Item 168753 model 11786.

An example drawing note might read material. Another good alternative is duplex stainless steel which combines the properties of austenitic and ferritic stainless steels. As you bend a stainless steel sheet the bend area cold hardens increasing the amount of pressure required to finish the bend. This micrograin runs parallel to the edge of the ribbon of sheet metal as it comes out of the roller.

Air bending with a v die. They are called stainless because a chromium or nickel oxide film forms on the sheet surface effectively protecting the steel against corrosion. These bags are commonly used for initially shaping sheet metal also known as roughing before it s finished on a solid surface such as a forming block dolly or anvil. Stainless steels are alloy steels with iron as the primary constituent and chromium nickel and manganese as principal alloying elements.

Extremely thin sheets are considered foil or leaf and pieces thicker than 6 mm 0 25 in are considered. Hillman 12 in x 24 in cold rolled steel expanded sheet metal.