Deep drawing & stamping

Deep drawing and stamping are forming processes that transform flat metal sheets into three-dimensional concave components — bowls, caps, casings, body panels — by applying high forces through presses and shaped tooling. In deep drawing, the blank is held by a blank holder while a punch forces it downward into the die, progressively pulling and thinning it without tearing: controlling the draw ratio and the blank-holding force is critical to avoid wrinkling or splitting. Stamping adds punching, flanging and sizing operations to the forming in a single press cycle.

The ideal materials are mild and stainless steels, aluminium and its alloys, copper and brass — materials with good ductility and a low tensile-to-yield strength ratio. Applications range from automotive to domestic appliance components, from cookware production to aerospace. In the maker context, manual metal forming (spinning and planishing) and small hydraulic bench presses allow the production of custom metal components formed over mandrels or handmade dies.