Metal Stamping Services
High Quality Metal Stamped Parts From Short Runs To Production In The Millions.
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The Stamping Process
Metal stamping is a manufacturing process in which coils or flat sheets of material are formed into specific shapes. Stamping encompasses multiple forming techniques such as blanking, punching, embossing, and progressive die stamping, to mention just a few. Parts use either a combination of these techniques or independently, depending on the piece's complexity. Blank coils or sheets get fed into a stamping press which uses tools and dies to form features and surfaces in the metal. Metal stamping is an excellent way to mass-produce various complex parts, from car door panels and gears to small electrical components used in phones and computers. Stamping processes are highly adopted in automotive, industrial, lighting, medical, and other industries.
Artemis 3D Stamping Capabilities
We manufacture custom metal stampings in various materials, including copper, brass, stainless steel, and steel alloys. We offer production volumes of over one million parts and maintain tight tolerances, all with competitive lead times.
Our standard sheet metal stamping services can make small, medium, and large parts. Our supplier network has a maximum press bed length of 10 feet and a maximum press bed width of 20 feet. We can readily stamp metal thicknesses from .025 to .188 inches, but depending on the forming technique and material used, we can go up to .250 inches thick and beyond.
Our project managers and experts personally review and manually quote each metal stamping project to ensure we meet your unique needs while providing a fast and easy manufacturing experience. Learn more in the sections below, or start your quote now.
Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages of Metal Stamping
Stamping is suitable for mass, complex part production. More specifically, it offers:
- Complex forms, such as contours
- High volumes (from thousands to millions of parts per year)
- Processes such as fineblanking allow for forming of thick metal sheets
- Low cost-per-piece prices
Disadvantages of Metal Stamping
Metal stamping's disadvantages are its setup costs and timelines. Production is quick and inexpensive after tool finalization. Its disadvantages include:
- •Longer lead times on first parts (as time is needed to create dies)
- •Tooling, check fixtures, and non-renewable engineering drive upfront costs needed for stamp production lines
- •Suppliers often need to iterate on die design multiple times before production commences to ensure the product can be reliably produced to specification
Metal Stamping Materials
We offer the following materials for both our standard and custom metal stampings:
Steel
CRS steel like 1008, 1010, or 1018 is popular; general-purpose material is perfect for cold forming.
Stainless Steel
Such as 301, 304, and 316/316L. 301 has excellent tensile strength; 304 has more significant performance and corrosion resistance at higher temperatures; 316/316L features the best corrosion resistance of the three, though it also costs more.
Copper
Including C110, which is a powerful conductor and easily formable.
Brass
Brass 230 (85/15) and 260 (70/30) are highly formable and corrosion-resistant. These alloys are also known as red brass and yellow brass, respectively.
We can stamp other sheet metal materials on request—contact our experts about the materials you need. Our stamping materials can be post-processed with bead blasting, powder coating, chem film, anodizing, and plating in gold, silver, or electroless nickel. Learn more on our sheet metal fabrication page.
Types of Stamping
We offer single and multistage, progressive die, deep draw, fourslide, and other stamping methods to ensure the most effective method for manufacturing your products. Our experts can match your project with the appropriate stamping by reviewing your uploaded 3D model and technical drawings.
Progressive Die Stamping
Uses multiple dies and steps to create deeper parts than would typically be achievable through single dies. Enables multiple geometries per part as they go through various dies. Best suited to high volume and large parts such as those in the automotive industry. Transfer die stamping is similar, except progressive die involves a workpiece attached to a metal strip pulled through the process; transfer die removes the workpiece and moves it along a conveyor.
Deep Draw Stamping
Creates stampings with deep cavities, like enclosed rectangles. Creates rigid pieces since the extreme deformation compresses the metal structure into a more crystalline form. Standard draw stamping, with shallower dies used to shape the metal, is also commonly utilized.
Fourslide Stamping
Shapes parts from four axes instead of from one direction. Used to manufacture small intricate parts including electronics components such as phone battery connectors. Offers more design flexibility, lower production costs, and faster manufacturing times. Popular in aerospace, medical, automotive, and electronics industries.
Hydroforming
An evolution of stamping. Sheets are placed on a die with a bottom shape; the upper shape is a bladder of oil that fills to high pressure, pressing the metal into the shape of the lower die. Multiple parts can be hydroformed simultaneously. Quick and accurate; requires a trim die to cut the parts out of the sheet afterward.
Blanking
Cuts pieces out from the sheet as an initial step before forming. Fineblanking, a variation of blanking, makes precise cuts with smooth edges and a flat surface.
Coining
Another type of blanking that creates small round workpieces. Involves significant force to form a small piece, which hardens the metal and removes burrs and rough edges.
Punching
The opposite of blanking; involves removing material from the workpiece instead of removing material to create a workpiece.
Embossing
Creates a three-dimensional design in the metal, either raised above the surface or through a series of depressions.
Bending
Happens on a single axis and is often used to create profiles in U, V, or L shapes. Accomplished by clamping one side and bending the other over a die or pressing the metal into or against a die. Flanging is bending for tabs or parts of a workpiece instead of the whole part.
Metal Stamping Production Volumes
We offer a wide variety of production volumes for sheet metal stamping, including:
Low Volume Production
Any amount up to 100,000 units. Most stamping projects are at least 1,000 units to ensure cost-effectiveness. Customers use smaller orders to bridge development between prototypes and mass manufacturing and to test the market. Low volume also helps for customized products. We offer low per-unit costs even for small volumes.
Medium Volume Production
Between 100,000 and 1 million units. Offers the flexibility of low-volume orders while enabling a lower price per part and lower up-front costs for tooling.
High Volume Production
Orders of over 1 million parts. Metal stamping is very scalable and incredibly cost-effective for high volumes, as this drives down unit costs stemming from the price of creating custom tooling.
Short Run Stamping
Low-volume production run with limited tool revisions. Overall costs are less since you won't need to change processes or equipment as much. Very short runs have no changing factors, enabling the lowest price. Best for parts requiring less flexibility, low volume, or entering a new market.
Long Run Stamping
More involved production run in which all factors are variable, allowing greater flexibility over time as the production line is tuned and optimized for scale. Incurs more costs as each process, material, or machine part may be changed and tested. Provides consistent quality, low per-unit costs, and incredible throughput of up to hundreds of parts a minute.
Tight Tolerances
Our precision metal stamping services can deliver your part's desired shape, whether you're in the aerospace, automotive, telecommunications, or electronics industry. Our suppliers strive to meet your tolerance requirements by iterating on the tool and die design to fine-tune the output. However, the tighter the tolerances, the more challenging and costly this becomes. Precision metal stampings with tight tolerances can be brackets, clips, inserts, connectors, fittings, and other parts in consumer appliances, electrical grids, planes, and automobiles. They're also used to create implants, surgical instruments, temperature probes, and other medical device parts like housings and pump components.
Regular checks to ensure the output still measures up to specifications are typical for all stamping after each successive run. Quality and consistency are part of a Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) program to detect wear in stamping tools (commonly made of D2 steel). Measurements with a check-fixture (or check-gauge) are standard for long-run stamping lines.
Metal Stamping by Industry
We offer metal stamping services that cater to a variety of different industries and applications. Our metal stamping industries include, but aren't limited to: Automotive, Aerospace, and Medical.
- Automotive Metal Stamping — Metal stamping can be used to create hundreds of different automotive parts, from the chassis, to the door panels, to the seat belt buckle.
- Aerospace Metal Stamping — Metal stamping is a critical process in the aerospace sector, and can be used to create a wide range of different parts and components for aerospace projects.
- Medical Metal Stamping — Precision metal stamping can be used to create parts and components with quality and tolerances needed in the medical space.
Why Use Artemis 3D's Metal Stamping Services?
Endless Options
Choose from millions of possible combinations of materials, finishes, tolerances, markings, and certifications for your order.
Easy to Use
Get started with our easy-to-use platform and let our experts take care of managing the project from locating the right manufacturing partner to delivery logistics.
Vetted Network
We are ISO 9001:2015, ISO 13485, and AS9100D certified. Only the top shops that apply to become suppliers make it through our qualification process.
Built-In Tool Management
Our platform has built-in features that make managing tooled projects easier, giving customers greater transparency into production. Find all your tooling quotes and orders in one space with your Tool Library. From there you can explore Tool Details pages, which cover the current status, milestones, tool specifics, and activity related to that tool. You can also easily find and contact the team member assigned to your project, no matter the project's current phase.
- Better management of tooled quotes & orders
- Tool organization & categorization
- Detailed status updates & tooling information
- Easily connect with experts
- Project transparency
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