Sheet metal embossing is a

metalworking Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals in order to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term, it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on e ...

process for producing raised or sunken designs or relief in

sheet metal Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Thicknesses can vary significantly; extremely thin sheets are considered foil (metal), foil or Metal leaf, leaf, and pieces thicker than 6 mm (0.25 ...

. In contrast to coining (which uses unmatched dies), embossing uses matched male and female dies to achieve the pattern, either by stamping, or by passing a sheet or strip of metal between patterned rollers. It is often combined with

foil stamping Hot stamping or foil stamping is a printing method of relief printing in which pre-dried ink or foils are transferred to a surface at high temperatures. The method has diversified since its rise to prominence in the 19th century to include a var ...

to create a shiny, 3D effect.

Process

The metal sheet embossing operation is commonly accomplished with a combination of heat and pressure on the sheet metal, depending on what type of embossing is required. Theoretically, with any of these procedures, the metal thickness is changed in its composition. Metal sheet is drawn through the male and female roller dies, producing a pattern or design on the metal sheet. Depending on the roller dies used, different patterns can be produced on the metal sheet. The pressure and a combination of heat actually "irons" while raising the level of the image higher than the substrate to make it smooth. The term "impressing" refers to an image ''lowered'' into the surface of a material, in distinction to an image ''raised'' out of the surface of a material. In most of the pressure embossing operation machines, the upper roll blocks are stationary, while the bottom roll blocks are movable. The pressure with which the bottom roll is raised is referred to as the tonnage capacity. Embossing machines are generally sized to give of strip clearance on each side of an engraved embossing roll. Many embossing machines are custom-manufactured, so there are no industry-standard widths. It is not uncommon to find embossing machines in operation producing patterns less than wide all the way up to machines producing patterns wide or more.

Characteristics

The metal embossing manufacturing process has these characteristics: * The ability to form

ductile Ductility refers to the ability of a material to sustain significant plastic deformation before fracture. Plastic deformation is the permanent distortion of a material under applied stress, as opposed to elastic deformation, which is reversi ...

metals. * Use in medium to high production runs. * The ability to maintain the same metal thickness before and after embossing. * The ability to produce unlimited patterns, depending on the roll dies. * The ability to reproduce the product with no variation.

Commonly used materials

The following materials are suitable for embossing: *

Aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

(all

alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which in most cases at least one is a metal, metallic element, although it is also sometimes used for mixtures of elements; herein only metallic alloys are described. Metallic alloys often have prop ...

s) * Aluminium (T1/T2) *

Brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

* Cold rolled

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

Copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

* Galvanized steel * High strength, low alloy, steel * Hot rolled steel *

Steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

(all alloys) *

Zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

References

External links

*
The Art and Science of the Sheet Metal Embossing Process
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({{webarchive , url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208094651/http://www.advantagefabricatedmetals.com/embossing-process.html , nolink=y , date=dmy ) Metal forming

Process

Characteristics

Commonly used materials

See also

References

External links