What equipment is used for stamping?

Mechanical presses can deliver the highest production speeds, specifically for simple, shallow-formed parts from coils of sheet metal. Mechanical presses are fast and efficient and can be depended upon to produce high volume production runs with consistent results in repeated cycles. Mechanical presses use a motor connected to a flywheel mechanism to transfer and store energy. These presses can be found in a wide range of sizes varying from 20-6,000 tons. Mechanical presses are typically used for progressive and transfer stamping. Many automotive, appliance and hardware components fall into this category.

Hydraulic presses do not possess the high production speeds of a mechanical press, however they do offer wider flexibility with variable stroke lengths, die opening space and pressure. The hydraulic press is often the most suitable option when producing parts with deep, complex shapes that involve a lot of material flow and are not reliant on production speed. Components such as tanks, cylinders and bowls are frequently manufactured using hydraulic presses.

Mechanical Servo presses deliver much of the variability of the hydraulic press, at production speeds approaching that of mechanical presses with the addition of finer control for stroke, slide motion, slide position and speed. The programmable additions allow for many different combinations that can work with a wide variety of dies, part types and production speeds.