The term that comes to me today is sketching. A wire is formed by drawing in metals, but it’s also a sheet metal forming method. Wire drawing pushes metal through a die to reduce its diameter and length. Deforming a blank over a curved surface is what drawing in sheet metal entails. As metal fabricators, we’re more interested in the latter procedure, and today’s topic is the variant known as “deep drawing.”
Difference Between Deep Drawing and Drawing
Drawing is a sheet metal molding technique that involves flat material transformation into a hollow. A disc or blank bent into a cup or bowl shape is usually the starting point. When the depth of the bowl exceeds the radius of the beginning blank, it indicates that the metal has been severely bent.
There are two other distinctions:
- Drawing tools clamp the outer border of the blank in place while distorting the middle, and the metal is stretched downwards.
- The punch-to-die clearance of drawing tools is substantially higher than stamping tools.
Applications for Deep Drawing:
The simplest example is a can, which is made by pressing a blank into a circular die with a circular punch. By punching a hole in the bottom of the can, it can be transformed into a short tube.
Any given metal fabrication can usually be made in a variety of methods. Stamping or shearing, press brake bending, and welding are all options, but deep drawing provides many advantages.
Deep Drawing’s Advantages:
These are:
1. Quickness.
A punch press traveling up and down is unmatchable in any other process. If you need many parts, this is usually the most efficient option.
Deep drawing produces shapes with closed ends. That avoids the need to cut and weld multiple pieces.
2. Removes the assembly needs
Deep sketching involves the creation of Shapes with closed ends. It eliminates the need to cut and weld several components.
3. Effortless.
There are no connections in a deep drawn can or tube shape. Therefore, deep drawing is an excellent choice for anything that needs to be water or gas-tight.
4. High accuracy.
Parts coming off a forming press are highly repeatable. Assuming the tooling was made correctly, they’ll also conform closely to the drawing.
5. Creates intricate geometries.
We have discussed simple shapes like cans and sinks, but deep sketching can help build more complex shapes. What about an engine’s oil pan or complicated filter housings?
6. Constructs very powerful parts
Most metal crystal structures allow a specific amount of movement but it may get locked after that particular rate of movement. Deep drawing subjects with maximum deformation can result in very tough finished products.
Is Deep Drawing the Right Approach for You?
However, Deep drawing isn’t a universal answer for complicated sheet metal parts. Because the tooling is expensive and setup might take a long time, it’s better suited to massive volumes and long runs. However, in other circumstances, the benefits of part simplification, strength, and performance outweigh the disadvantages.