Punching and shearing: Fast & cost efficient processing

Punching: cheapest and fastest process

Punching is a process by which you can create holes by cutting material with a punch and a die. Alternative commonly used processes that create the same shapes as the punching process are drilling, milling or cutting. The great advantage of punching which is a distinctive character compared to other processes as well, is that it is by far the cheapest and fastest process to create these shapes. However, a characteristic of punching is that the tools (punch and die) depend on the shape and size of the hole and even on the thickness of your material. A punch and a die have a different cutting clearance at different types of material strengths and thicknesses, whereby a clearance of 8 to 15% of the material thickness is normal.

What happens during punching?

During punching, the punch goes into your material, causing a fracture in the material at a certain moment (see image below). The shape of this fracture is influenced by the size of the clearance between punch and die. With punching, a difference can be observed between the bottom diameter and top diameter of a punched hole. This means that the hole is not always allowed to use because the surface is less optimal than for example a drilled or milled hole and micro fractures can occur at high dynamic loads.

When allowed - preferred process

If punching is allowed for your projects and your production process shows relatively little variation in thicknesses, hole sizes, shapes and material types, punching can very well be the preferred process. Voortman's punching solutions have tool holders with multiple punches and dies, which increases versatility and hole quality and reduces your downtime due to tool changes. One of these punching solutions is the V550-7 (for flat and angle profiles).

Shearing: cheapest and fastest process for trimming profiles

Shearing is, beside thermal cutting and sawing, one of the three processes offered by Voortman for trimming profiles. Shearing is only available on Flat & Angle processing machines. Where punching is the cheapest and fastest process for hole making, the same applies to shearing with regards to trimming profiles. The edge quality produced from shearing is generally a bit less refined than for sawing or thermal cutting. However, in combination with a deburring machine, perfect results can be achieved and with or without post-processing, the surface created by shearing is acceptable for many applications.

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