Using aluminum for a blanking project imbues many benefits into the end product. Its advantageous properties include:
Many industries depend on multi-cavity blanking to produce large quantities of identical parts both efficiently and affordably. Blanking refers to the process in which manufacturers insert strips or sheets of raw material into equipment that will punch out shaped components, or blanks, using the shearing force of tools composed of carbide or hardened steel. Multi-cavity blanking allows companies to produce more parts at one time.
Inferior equipment can generate burrs and cracks along the edges of blanks, but high-quality blanking tools can prevent such costly and time-consuming problems and keep post-processing to a minimum. At Ohio Valley Manufacturing Inc., our team has honed the multi-cavity blanking process for the greatest possible efficiency and accuracy, resulting in more economical use of materials and higher-quality products.
Using industry-leading equipment and a variety of material options, we provide large- and small-scale multi-cavity blanking services to heavy truck/trailer, automotive, agricultural equipment, lawn and garden product, and suspension parts manufacturers, among other industries. Read on to learn more about the different materials we use and how multi-cavity blanking from Ohio Valley Manufacturing can support your operations.
Aluminum Precision Blanking
- Affordability. As aluminum is the most abundant metal on the plant, it is also a more affordable material, making it highly effective for high-volume production runs.
- Durability. Despite being a lightweight metal, aluminum has an impressive strength-to-weight ratio that is ideal for creating durable components.
- Corrosion resistance. In addition to its strength, aluminum has the capability to resist degradation when exposed to chemicals or corrosive environments.
- Malleability. Its malleability enables manufacturers to blank, machine, and shape aluminum more easily than some metals.
- Ductility. Aluminum's ductile nature makes it less likely to break when manufacturers deform or shape it.
- Conductivity. This metal is both an electrical and a thermal conductor, lending it to ideal uses in electronics.
- Reflectivity. Aluminum's reflectivity is what gives the material its shiny and aesthetically pleasing appearance.
- Recyclability. Aluminum is highly recyclable, making it a sustainable material.
This unique range of qualities makes aluminum the right choice for applications where steel is too heavy or plastic is too weak. For instance, auto manufacturers require aluminum’s incredible strength-to-weight ratio to provide greater fuel efficiency, and aircraft manufacturers require strong, lightweight materials as well. The power industry relies on aluminum for its ability to efficiently conduct electricity through power lines and resist corrosion.
Stainless Steel Precision Blanking
Like aluminum, stainless steel has its own unique advantages to offer blanked components. These include:
- Strength. Stainless steel is valued for its strength, adding a higher level of structural integrity and durability to an application.
- Resistance capabilities. This steel alloy typically contains between 10% and 30% of chromium by weight. The chromium content enables stainless steel to resist corrosion when faced with acid or alkaline solutions. Also, stainless steel will withstand harsh temperatures and environmental conditions, as well as rust.
- Versatility. Much of stainless steel's versatility is due to the fact that steel alloys can vary greatly in chemical composition. Its alloys might contain aluminum, carbon, chromium, copper, iron, phosphorous, sulfur, or titanium. By varying the amount of these elements, manufacturers can create a wide variety of products with different functional and stylistic properties.
- Minimal maintenance. This steel alloy is simple for users to clean, and components blanked from it are low maintenance.
- Attractive aesthetics. Like aluminum, stainless steel has a shiny, pleasing look to its surface.
Stainless steel is an obvious choice for large-scale construction, architectural projects, and countless modern technologies because of the advances made in steel alloy compositions and manufacturing methods. The aesthetic appeal of stainless steel and its minimal maintenance requirements further increase its demand, and it shows up often in commercial and residential kitchens, restaurants, hospitals, and other locations where cleanliness is crucial.
Hot Rolled Carbon Steel Blanking
An alloy of iron and carbon, carbon steel is available in low, medium, high, and ultra-high varieties, depending upon the amount of carbon in its material construction. This can be as much as 2.5%, by weight. Its benefits include:
- Strength. Carbon steel is a highly durable material, stronger even than stainless steel. It also handles high temperatures better, though not exposure to the elements.
- Versatility. With four carbon steel options, manufacturers can choose the material based on the needed application. For example, when ductility is important, low or medium carbon steels are optimal as carbon steel becomes more brittle and hard as carbon content increases.
- Affordability. Carbon steel is a less expensive metal than some other varieties, particularly given its hardness.
- Recyclability. Like aluminum, carbon steel is another metal that is easily recyclable.
Hot rolling carbon steel makes it easier to form and shape. Blanking with this alloy can create anything from household tools to industrial equipment due to its strength. It has common uses in wire, dies, and springs. Like stainless steel, carbon steel has structural applications in parts like I-beams or pipes for the construction industry. Also, while aluminum is increasingly common, automotive companies sometimes use carbon steel for gears and machinery parts. Ultimately, it’s important to select the proper alloy with the right carbon content according to your purposes because multi-cavity blanking exerts high levels of force.
Benefits of Blanking
Ohio Valley Manufacturing has the capability to rapidly configure our equipment for custom component specifications and continually feed materials into blanking machines. Once we set them up, material and machinery changes are typically unnecessary, enabling our team to complete even long production runs in less time. With our advanced technology and straightforward workflow, we are equipped to generate parts with multiple design geometries within a single process.
Multi-cavity blanking allows for part production on a greater scale, which also increases operation speed and output while maintaining control over accuracy for high-quality products with tight tolerances and minimal part-to-part variations. This also impacts material waste. Precision blanking minimizes the need to rework components and, given the recyclable nature of many blanking materials, they allow us to reuse primary metal stock wherever possible.
Capitalizing on blanking’s processing speed, repeatable accuracy, and material usage provides enormous benefits to industries reliant on high-volume fabrication. Without it, industrial sectors like aerospace, automotive, and household appliances would not be able to keep pace with demand.
Blanking at Ohio Valley Manufacturing
With extensive experience and capabilities in the precision blanking industry, our ISO 9001:2015-certified company can provide custom, intricate, or prototype blanks along with our contract manufacturing, production, and plant assist services. Our 150,000-sqft facility has the capacity to handle low- and high-volume production with eight blanking production methods.
Our multi-cavity blanking processes and highly experienced technicians are capable of working with carbon and aluminum or stainless steel for part thicknesses between 0.020″ and 0.625″. We can generate circular blanks with diameters up to 68″ and configured blanks up to 72″ x 100″.
We utilize blanking equipment ranging from punches and dies to sophisticated computer numerical control (CNC) machines. To set us apart from the competition, Ohio Valley Manufacturing uses larger equipment than is standard with additional tonnage to create molds with two to 10 cavities rather than just one. This allows us to produce more parts simultaneously and save our customers on high material costs.
Contact us today for accurate and efficient multi-cavity blanking services or to learn more about the Ohio Valley Manufacturing difference.
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