Shearing is just one form of metal fabrication, and it is highly common in many types of fabrication and manufacturing facilities. It involves trimming and removing unwanted material from sheet metal with great precision, thanks to the kind of machinery used in the process.
Let’s dive into an overview of the metal fabrication process of shearing in Phoenix, AZ to get you acquainted with it, including its benefits and how it works.
The benefits of metal shearing
Unlike other forms of metal fabrication, there’s no heat required to perform the shearing process—the metal is capable of being sheared while at room temperature. It also doesn’t produce nearly as much waste as other types of fabrication, which makes it a very attractive option for fabrication facilities.
The process goes extremely quickly—you can cut through sheet metal in just seconds when shearing, and the resulting cuts are smooth and clean. There aren’t many material limitations, as you can shear sheet metal that comes in a wide variety of diameters. You can also cut through numerous types of metals, including steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, bronze and iron.
If you need to create parts in high volumes, shearing is an attractive option due to its scalability. It’s an extremely cost-effective method for high-volume manufacturing applications.
There aren’t many disadvantages, though it’s worth mentioning that shearing probably isn’t the best choice if you’re working with low-volume applications. While there are many metals that take to shearing quite well, certain extremely hard metals like tungsten cannot be sheared due to their toughness and density. Some sheet metals may experience deformities after being put through the shearing process.
How it works
The process of shearing metal is quite simple. Sheet metal gets sent through a machine or tool with a special blade, which slices through the material to your specifications. Most machines or tools used for sheering will have a squaring arm, giving you greater control over where the cut runs. Once you’ve got the sheet metal in place with the squaring arm, the top blade will drop down and slice through. As that blade lowers, the bottom of the sheet metal gets pressed into a lower blade.
There are several types of tools or machines that might be used in the sheering process. A bench shear is probably the most common. It gets mounted to a workbench or other type of working surface, and is designed to be small and easy to use, so long as you’ve got the stable surface for mounting.
Other types of machines, known as power shears, are much more complex, and can be powered hydraulically or mechanically. In using the powered blade, the machine cuts through sheet metal much faster and more efficiently than what you can accomplish with a standard bench shear.
Interested in learning more about the shearing process and when it’s an ideal form of metal fabrication? Contact Metal Pro Inc. at our machine shop and CNC mill in Phoenix, AZ today. We’d be glad to provide more information.