The Mind-Blowing Machines that Stamp Millions of Metal Parts – Smarter Every Day 288

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That was the moment where you could see everything and understand what’s happening. It’s a hard manufacturing process to describe. I’ve tried to describe it to people in five minutes or less, and you just can’t.

Hey, it’s me, Destin, and welcome back to Smarter Every Day. I love things that are made in America. I love seeing the Made in America stamp on products. For example, I’m outside a big hardware store. This engine is made in Auburn, Alabama, and it’s assembled in Tennessee. The components for that engine are made all over. In fact, the components for this engine, which I have here, is a Briggs & Stratton engine.

Today, we’re going to learn about a fascinating process called sheet metal stamping. How would you do that? It involves complicated geometry with many little holes and bends at certain angles. Almost everything I interact with, like machines or lawn mowers, has these little bent metal pieces in them.

Today, we’re starting the Smarter Every Day deep dive series into manufacturing, and I am so excited about this. We’re going to start with a process called metal stamping, specifically progressive metal stamping. A coil of metal is unwound and fed into a press, where a special tool shapes the parts and advances them along without anyone touching it, resulting in finished parts falling out the other side.

In this series, we’re going to look at all kinds of amazing processes. If you haven’t subscribed to the Smarter Every Day email list, now would be a good time to do that at smartereveryday.com/email-list so you can know when these videos come out.

I think there are two important things we need to focus on now: getting back to the humanities and learning about manufacturing. Local manufacturing is about to become a significant focus. So, I encourage you to consider learning about a manufacturing process because these skills are going to be incredibly important.

Let’s get started with metal stamping!

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To learn more about how these parts are made, we’re in Athens, Alabama, at a place called T&C Stamping. They are experts in sheet metal manufacturing, and I want to show you some interesting techniques. Let’s meet Weston here at T&C Stamping.

Good to see you again!

This is Weston, and I’m Destin. We have some family connection, but we’re not exactly sure how. Weston, you have a really cool sheet metal manufacturing facility, and I wanted to make a video about it because I love it.

Is it called a plant?

Yes, we call it a plant. We have 100,000 square feet here in Athens.

You actually manufacture things here?

Yes, we manufacture metal stamping and some sub-assemblies as well. What sets us apart is that we build our own tooling, which many metal stamping plants do not do.

We’ll start in the tool shop to look at some dies up close and get an idea of what a stamping die actually is. Then we’ll go out into the factory to see them in action.

This is the tool shop. We have about 15 full-time tool and die machinists and operators here.

So, do you have an example of what you make?

Yes, this is a metal stamping. A metal stamping is anything that can be stamped out of a coil of sheet metal. This particular part is a heat shield for a V-twin motor, specifically for a Briggs & Stratton V-twin lawn mower engine.

This goes to their assembly plant in Auburn, Alabama. What you’re looking at here is actually called a stamping die. This is the bottom half of the stamping die, and this is the top half.

We receive raw material in coil form, and it’s our job to take that raw material, run it through a stamping die, and produce a finished product that comes off the end.

So, if I understand correctly, flat metal comes in one side, and finished parts come out the other?

Correct. We make everything you see here, except for some purchased components. All of the die steels and everything started as raw steel, which we machine into what you see here.

Is it okay if I touch it?

You can touch anything you want to.

Can you show me how it works?

This is the top half of the die. In operation, the top half mates with the bottom half, and this goes into a press. The press moves up and down, and as the material moves through the die, all of these features are being put into the part during the process, resulting in a finished part that falls off the end.

There’s an undercut in there to accommodate a spark plug wire.

So, the material comes in one piece and moves through the die until it’s cut off at the end. This is called a progressive stamping die because it progressively forms and punches the part until you have a finished part that falls off at the end.

If the part were to ever be detached from the strip and continually formed, it would be called a transfer die.

So, progressive keeps it attached, while transfer moves a cut piece?

Yes, and we only do progressive dies here.

This is the top half of the die. Everything has to line up perfectly. You start with a flat blank and figure out how to get these features into the part so that the finished part falls off at the end.

Everything you see in the die started as a piece of raw steel and has to be machined into what you see here. The tooling engineer generates drawings, and then it’s up to the tool makers to figure out how to machine this stuff out of raw steel.

This is raw brute force brain power and manufacturing, isn’t it?

Yes, it is.

This is a little better example. This is the exact same manufacturing process. This is a stamping die, and here we actually have a strip.

This is the actual finished part, an automotive bracket.

How does it work?

We feed the raw material in from this end, and it would be solid without any interruptions. We pierce two holes for the pilots to engage.

Once the pilots engage the strip, we cut a tab, and then we progress one more distance from the pilots, pierce again, and then form the part.

So, in some places, you have radiuses, and in others, you have sharp edges.

Yes, those are hardened steel inserts.

So, this is a shear underneath there?

Yes, and that’s the final cut-off where the final part would fall off.

So, you actually put letters in it too?

Yes, we have stamps in the top side, and we can change that for date codes or specific parts.

So, stamped letters come along, cut the tabs, and the part just falls out?

Yes.

As we get to this area, we kick this down on a 45-degree angle, and then it progresses down two more stations to kick that leg up to 90 degrees.

Different engineers have different preferences for how to do this.

So, you’re more like watchmakers in terms of precision?

Yes, it’s about the fit. Everything has to go together as it should.

You don’t just become a tool and die maker overnight. It’s an apprenticeship program, like a wizard teaching a younger wizard.

This is Brandon, an apprentice here in the tool shop.

Are you learning how to make the machines?

Yes, I am getting the sides parallel and preparing for the mill to put in holes.

Did you go through an apprenticeship program?

Yes, I have about three more years until I become a journeyman.

That’s worth more than a college education, isn’t it?

Yes, it is.

Brandon is making tooling for a die using a process called machining, specifically grinding as a form of subtractive machining.

When people think of making parts, they often think of 3D printers, which is additive manufacturing. But a more common way to make parts is subtractive manufacturing or machining.

One of the coolest machines here is a Bridgeport mill, which every machinist since World War II knows about.

Do all these run?

Yes, they still run quite a bit.

CNC machines are controlled by computers, which allow for incredible precision.

Cody, our CNC programmer, stays busy too.

What are you working on now?

Just some prototype stuff.

How often do you kill a part?

I’ve killed three in three years.

How did you learn?

I self-taught a lot and went to school for machining.

What happens if you have a weird internal sharp radius?

You would use a wire EDM machine, which uses electrical discharge machining to make very precise cuts.

Boyce is programming the wire EDM machine to create specific profiles.

This is the room where T&C Stamping ensures all parts are made to spec.

Weston showed me the quality control department, where they use devices to measure the parts after they’re made.

The factory is full of huge presses stamping out parts.

We ship parts all over the world, and we do it right here in Athens.

This is our raw material warehouse, where we receive all our raw material in coil form.

Every bit of scrap you see today is recycled.

The stamping process has become much safer than it used to be, with measures in place to prevent injuries.

Weston explained the difference between traditional mechanical presses and servo presses, which use electric motors for more control.

This is a serious business, and we are proud to keep jobs here in the United States.

If you want to work with us, you can check out our website for more information.

Thanks for joining me on this journey into manufacturing. If you want to learn more, subscribe to the channel.

That’s it. I’m Destin, and you’re getting Smarter Every Day. Have a good one!

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