Deep press sheet material

Normally we do not simulate. In all the years we have made pressing tools, we didn’t make simulations. If this is asked or if it is really necessary, we have to do this with an external company. We have at our firm not the software for this.

This is very difficult to say. It depends on several items. For example the shape and complexity of the part is here a big issue. There are also more ways to create a part, so we suggest that if you have a part or problem, please contact us and we can start an open discussion to come to a solution.

For making pressing tools in “soft material”, we use ebablock from Ebalta. Here there are a few types available. Mostly we use the grey material called ebablock W.

With rubber pressing we have also done some experiments here at our company and investigated if it is necessary to invest in a machine. But at the moment this is not the case. The difference is that with rubber pressing you mill just one side of the tooling. When you are making a part, the tool is closing in a rubber block. Not every shape is possible to press with this technique. The more difficult parts need a two side tool, mostly in steel, so that the shape is 100% formed. We mill for our press always two sides in steel or in softtool. The big advantage is, that we can press the part better and the shape will be more tight. Grooves will be better pressed. Hydroforming is a other technique for making metal parts. Also used with tubes. No Rubber form is used on one side, but high pressure is build up with liquid. With this technology you need a “closed system” to get the high pressure. There are different kind of ways to do this, but below you see a sketch. [We are working on adding pictures to the website. Sorry for the delay.]

If necessary yes, but first we try without. Also a foam can be used to lower friction.

This is done partly by hand and partly with the pressing tool. We press the edge already in an angle of for example 120deg. After laser cutting, we bend it over by hand. Over the angle of 90deg. Than we put the part back in the tool and press it to 0deg. [We are working on adding pictures to the website. Sorry for the delay.]

Sometimes we use a welding jig, depending on the quantity and the difficulty of the assembly. If you refer to this part below, we have spot welded it with clamps and with special made positioning pins. See CAD pictures below. [We are working on adding pictures to the website. Sorry for the delay.]

This is difficult to say. Depends on delivery of raw material, capacity at that moment, complexity,… If you have a project where pressed parts are or can be used, please contact us and we can discuss the possibilities. Normally for the tools we need 2-3 weeks. And 1 week for manufacturing the parts.

We create the hole with 3D laser cutting after the deep drawing. If this is possible depends on shape of the part and mainly the depth of the pocket. See also pictures at question 10, if this is what you mean.

Yes, we have made several parts in stainless steel. See pictures below.

We do a combination of both. Depending on the quantities and difficulty, we can use holes in the parts and use pins for positioning or the 3D shape of a product. With manual clamps and pins we can do the positioning. Weld it and remove the clamps and pins again. When the amount is high or very small tolerances are asked, we create a welding jig. [We are working on adding pictures to the website. Sorry for the delay.]

For prototyping, yes it could be used, but it is still not very easy to control. For example heating up a small difficult area.