What Is Metal Stamping?

Metal stamping is a process that is used in all types of manufacturing. It is a highly elaborate system using a combination of machine presses and pure craftsmanship. It is performed in rapid succession and involves various techniques for the type of shapes and designs that are being created. Any type of metallic product sold in the marketplace has been shaped and designed through the use of metal stamping. 

Definition

Metal stamping is the industrial process of stamping or shaping designs on sheets of metal. A metal sheet alloy is stamped or pressed on a machine using dies and a hydraulic machine to create the designs. 

Designs

Some of these designs are used to create familiar, everyday products such as sheet metal machines, car parts, audio/video devices, aerosol spray cans, pots and pans. Uses also include military tanks. 

Types of Metal

Most types of metal are commonly used in metal stamping, though they are generally flexible and can be easily manipulated under the machine process. These metals include aluminum, zinc, steel, nickel, bronze, copper and certain other alloys. The metal is fashioned into sheets of various sizes and thicknesses. Metal presses are designed to shape and design all types of metal sheets regardless of size and thickness.

You can use stamping designs for much more than just scrapbooks and school materials. You can spruce up tired household items, decorate plain clothing and make personalized invitations and greetings cards, to name just a few. There are even various kinds of stamping inks and paints that work better with one material over another. Take a step back and make your own stamps with which to decorate your world. Involve the kids, too, because stamping is easy enough for them to do alone. 

Lampshade Decor

Decorate a lampshade with stamps; the light will shine through them and illuminate your stamped shapes, producing great visual effects. Remove the lampshade from the lamp. Dip foam or rubber stamps into craft paint and press them firmly onto the lampshade with a smooth surface. Carefully rock the stamps back and forth to apply the paint around curved shades. Allow the paint to dry thoroughly before replacing the shade and turning on the light. 

Stamped Shirt

Use stamps on a tee shirt to create all kinds of designs and write favorite sayings. Dip stamp shapes or letters into fabric paint and press them onto a clean tee shirt. Write something funny, inspiring, cool, thought-provoking--whatever you want. Use "puffy" fabric paint to trace your stamps in 3D when the stamped paint is completely dry. 

Food Stamping

Create your own stamps out of fruits and veggies. Kids have a lot of fun with this and it requires very few materials. Cut an apple in half, dip the inside surface into some craft paint and press it onto paper. All of the seeds and the outline of the apple come through in the stamped image. Try the same process with other fruits and vegetables, like mushrooms, citrus fruits, cucumbers and watermelon, for starters. 

Greeting Cards

Create homemade greeting cards that you decorate with stamps. Use a blank piece of card stock as your card. Fold it in half so that it opens like a traditional greeting card. Press a rubber stamp onto an ink pad and then press it onto the surface of your card. Design the front of the card with stamped letters and shapes; allow the ink to dry. Once the front of the card has dried, do the same with the interior. 

Operation

Metal stamping occurs under a process that involves various machine parts working simultaneously. The machine press has two processes: the dies and punches. The die is a metallic tool mounted on the machine's table. It shapes the design that is being stamped onto the sheet of metal. The punch is a carbine or steel tool that is also shaped in the design that is being stamped but is much smaller and capable of clearing space between the die and punch. The carbine is mounted on the head of the press machine and punches designs into the metal in a rapid downward motion. Craftsmen are important in the stamping process to supply precision in the designs. They do this by employing other processes such as jig boring, grinding, electrical discharge machining (EDM) and lapping machines. 

Techniques

Different techniques are used for specific jobs during metal stamping. This depends on the type of designs that are being punched into the sheet metal. Some of these techniques include deep-drawn stamping, which forms holes in parts of the sheet metal, and progressive die stamping, which rapidly designs small parts on sheets at the same time.