Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category
Metal Stamping Technology On Cars And Motorcycles
Automotive technology has come a long way since Henry Ford first started mass producing his automobiles through the use of an assembly line. Nowadays, auto manufacturers spend millions of dollars on the research and development of new methods and technologies that increase their productivity while decreasing their production expenses. Assembly lines are becoming increasingly autonomous, requiring only a few skilled professionals to run the machines whose job was once done by hand by hundreds of men and women.
Precision punching technology is one of the many advancements in the production of cars and trucks, as well as motorcycles, boats, all terrain vehicles, and many other forms of transportation used for both commuting and for recreation. Metal stamping is actually a system of processes including the punching, bending, cutting, and shaping of metals, and that’s just to name a few. These processes that were once done by men with the use of heavy hand and foot operated machines is now accomplished by a single employee programming the specifications into a Computer Numerical Control, or CNC, program which, in turn, tells the stamping machine exactly where to cut, bend, and punch to form the metal into the desired shape. Through the use of CNC programs, automotive manufacturers can achieve a level of precision often greater than one one-thousandth of an inch, which is incredibly difficult for a human to achieve. The machines themselves are exacting in their task.
Modern metal stampings can be done in a vast variety of metals from soft gold and silver to the nearly indestructible titanium and tungsten alloys used today. The precision of metal stamping is so exact, even on these incredibly hard alloys, that even fine jewelry can be made through its processes. Precision metal stamping is also used in the production of technologically advanced computer hardware, which is becoming smaller and smaller in size by the day, as the demand for items like smartphones and tablet pc’s increases.
In the automotive industry, parts like pistons, valves, cams and crankshafts, as well as exhaust system, body, and frame components are made through the metal stamping process. The vast difference in size comparison between an engine’s cylinder valve and the hood that covers the entire engine really illustrates the versatility of metal stamping capabilities with the current advances in technology.