Custom Metal Stamping

Metal stamping is a rapid manufacturing method that utilizes a die and a stamping press to generate accurate, repeatable components. At LCS Company, we offer an array of custom metal stamping services in-house, with the ability to build tooling tailored to a product’s specific requirements. With press ratings ranging from 3 to 330 tons, we are able to stamp material as thin as 0.001″ and as thick as 0.350″. 

Our service offerings of progressive die stamping, deep drawn stamping, fourslide stamping, and more allow us to cater to diverse industries with stampings for applications including aircraft, appliances, cooling systems, electric motors, flow meters, and relays. Read on to learn what metal stamping is, how it works, and how stamping services at LCS can support your business.

What Is Metal Stamping?

Metal stamping, or pressing, is a cold-forming manufacturing method that feeds a strip or sheet of metal or metal alloy into a stamping press. This equipment then applies pressure with dies to shape, pierce, or otherwise form or cut the metal to create a completed component. Metal stamping includes several subcategories, including:

• Bending
• Blanking
• Coining
• Drawing
• Embossing
• Flanging
• Forming
• Piercing
• Pressing
• Punching

A dedicated tooling set of hard or soft tooling carries out these operations in the press. Hard tooling aids manufacturers by making high-volume production runs possible to produce components in one design or shape. Soft tooling, while typically useful for Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining, turret presses, press brakes, and laser profilers, does have a place in short-run metal stamping operations that do not require an extended life cycle for the dies.

How Does the Metal Stamping Process Work?

Prior to a metal stamping production run, custom manufacturers must start with complex tool design. Custom tooling allows LCS to generate precision parts based on customers’ unique specifications. Using computer-aided design (CAD) or computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) engineering software, manufacturers can produce accurate tooling with the proper clearance so that the stamping process can create high-quality components with the expected design. Each tool 3D model is intricate enough to contain hundreds of components.

Once the tooling is ready and in place in the stamping press, the actual stamping process begins with feeding either coil- or blank-format flat metal sheeting into the press. From there, tool and die sets will cut, punch, and form the metal into the desired configuration utilizing one or more of the discussed metal stamping techniques. 

What Is the Typical Lead Time for Metal Stamping?

Lead times for metal stamping projects are typically four to six weeks, depending on the processes involved, production run size, part complexity, any needed finishing treatments, etc. The first products off the line can be available within the first one or two weeks for approval.

At LCS, we offer both short-run production for one unit or low volumes as well as long-run production for high-volume or bulk orders of several million components. To best serve our customers, we also have capabilities for rush services available. Our team will be happy to provide quotes on a project-by-project basis.

What Are the Benefits of High-Volume Metal Stamping?

Industries like automotive, aerospace, construction, electronics, medical, and military defense rely on metal-stamped parts. The biggest advantage of the stamping process for these sectors is the capability for high-volume production of quality components coupled with a high rate of repeatability. The ability to get stamped parts tooled to specific measurements in large quantities yet in an abbreviated time frame is highly beneficial for industries with high output. 

Several factors play into metal stamping’s capacity for high-volume production runs. The process itself is fast, and it does not require time-consuming setup. It also enables manufacturers to produce various complex geometries as part of a single process. These factors lead to a lower per-unit price and, given that the precise processes produce little scrap waste, metal stamping can save on material, as well. 

Even for intricate parts, metal stamping is highly customizable due to the process of designing tools and dies for the product run, thereby giving LCS the capability to create custom parts to serve our customers’ exacting requirements.

Partner With LCS Company

Since 1959, the team at LCS has met the needs of our customers with affordable precision parts and on-time deliveries. In addition to our metal stamping options, LCS also offers secondary processes such as degreasing, deburring, finishing, and plating to help make us a single-source supplier and contract manufacturer for clients. LCS adheres to ISO 9001:2015 and AS 9100 and 9003 quality management standards in our custom sheet metal stamping, and our commitment to innovation and automation has helped us build a reputation over the last 60 years for rapid production and accurate, high-quality work. 

Contact LCS to learn more about our custom metal stamping capabilities, or request a quote today to begin your next project.