Customer
Part
Manufacturing Issues
Customer’s Goals
- Select a tooling shop that could design and build a progressive stamping die of this size and complexity.
- Select a metal stamping supplier with the capability and capacity to produce these larger-sized, highly cosmetic side tables.
Design and Manufacturing Process
Ultra designed and built a 144-inch progressive stamping die equipped with multiple stations and in-die sensors to produce the side table on our 800-ton press. The part’s stringent cosmetic requirements made manufacturability a significant challenge.
To remove sharp edges on the side table during metal stamping, Ultra utilized two methods; hemming and coining. Hemming works better on longer, straighter edges, so this method is primarily applied on the side edges of the tables. Hemming precisely wraps the sheet metal back around itself and forms a clean, radius edge. Coining operations are then used to remove the sharp edges on the remaining areas of the side table including interior locations; resulting in a stamped cut edge.
Another key component to maintaining the cosmetic standards was locating a steel supplier that could provide sheet metal with one-sided plastic coating and within the specified material thickness.
To maintain clean cosmetic surfaces throughout stamping, two systems were implemented:
- A permanent sprayer inside the progressive die to clear away plastic and metal shavings.
- A vacuum‑like operation in the final die station to remove all remaining debris.
Metal Stamping a Highly-Cosmetic Part in the 800-ton press
Customer Outcome
Side tables are delivered defect‑free, meeting the customer’s cosmetic and dimensional standards.
The customer benefits from significant time and cost savings by using Ultra as their all‑inclusive supplier for die design, tool building, metal stamping, packaging, and die maintenance.
