Every year except 2011Japan hosts an international convention and exhibit on precision metal stamping. The reason it was not held this year was because of the earthquake and tsunami last March. This precision metal stamping event is known as the Japan Metal Stamping Technology Exhibition. Here new methods and processes are introduced.
While metal stamping is an industry that dates back to the Iron Age, it’s a far cry from forming crude tools back then. Now the concentration is on precision and accuracy. Each stage of a metal press process has to be perfect. There is no room for error because for most cases, life is at stake. Thus, whether the finished product has to be pressed, stamped, blanked, embossed, rolled or bent, metal press companies have to maintain a clear vision of their goal for perfection.
It starts with an idea. For example, you want to have a new kind of tape dispenser made of metal. There are several components to that dispenser from the base, body, roller, mechanism, and the final cutting jagged edge. Each component cannot have the same metal thickness. For example the mechanism to allow the tape to rotate should be made of thinner metal than the metal used for the body. Each part of the dispenser should have a mold for mass production. Some metal press companies use software to assist in planning the mold and design. Some of the popular software are Pro Engineer, Solid Works, AutoCAD, and Unigraphics.
From the software, the plan goes to drafters and artists who execute the design and made them workable in the real world with the existing machines. These artists and engineers also use software like Anysis. A test product is done and it has to pass through the FMEA standards. Ideally though, metal press companies use the FMEA standards from the start. This reduces the risk of failure.
Once it passes through the FMEA standards, a trial run is done before the mass production of the tape dispensers.