Aluminum Metal Stamping

Aluminum metal stamping uses the deep drawn metal stamping process to form aluminum sheet metal with a punch and die. The sheet metal is fed into the metal stamping press and progressively formed by a punch that stamps the metal into a die. Complex and even asymmetrical shapes can be created via aluminum stamping.

Aluminum Stamping Companies

• Jones Metal Products Company is a world-class provider of deep draw aluminum stamping and other metal finishing services. The company carries certifications and approvals in aerospace, defense, medical, transportation, medical, and commercial industries.
• Trans-Matic Manufacturing: Trans-Matic is a world-leader among deep drawn metal stamping companies with over four decades of experience in stamping nearly every kind and grade of metal, from low carbon and stainless steel to many grades of aluminum stampings.

Aluminum is an increasingly popular metal in the metal stamping industry, due to its high strength to weight ratio. While not nearly as strong as steel or stainless steel, aluminum is an incredibly lightweight metal with great strength. Aluminum also has a great benefit over the steels in that it is comparatively inexpensive.

Aluminum Grades Used in Stamping

Like all metals used in manufacturing, aluminum is available in many different grades, each with its own specific characteristics. While just about any grade of aluminum can be used in the metal stamping process, the following aluminum grades are the most commonly desired for part manufacturing:

• 1100 aluminum
• 3003 aluminum
• 5052 aluminum
• 6061 aluminum

Advantages of Aluminum in Metal Stamping

The principle advantages of aluminum are the already stated strength to weight ratio and low cost. The light weight of aluminum can actually extend into additional cost savings, since a comparable number of parts stamped from aluminum will weigh considerably less than if manufactured from steel, and thus have lower transportation costs associated with them on top of the lower materials cost. Aluminum is also a metal that will not rust, a characteristic shared by stainless steel. The rust-proof nature of aluminum makes it desirable for many additional applications; however, unlike stainless steel aluminum is not corrosion resistant and requires anodization to provide corrosion resistance to aluminum parts. As a metal, aluminum is very formable in the deep drawn process, making it easier to achieve certain complex shapes or variable wall thicknesses. However aluminum also results in very high tool wear and a metal stamping company unfamiliar with aluminum could see failure in parts with tight tolerences if the tool wear factor is not taken into account. Also, unlike steel, aluminum has very low work hardening characteristics, which can be either a benefit or a drawback depending on the part being manufactured.