What Is Shearing In Metal Fabrication?
If you’re a regular reader of our blog, you’ve probably come to realize that metal fabrication is a highly intricate craft that employs countless processes and methods. In order to get your project just the way you want it, having a basic understanding of these various processes is essential. Today, we’re going to delve into the topic of metal shearing.
What is Metal Shearing?
Simply put, metal shearing is a finishing process that removes unwanted material from sheet metal. It’s widely become the preferred process for major manufacturers due to the ease with which it can be performed, and the lack of wasteful byproducts that it produces.
Understanding the Shearing Process
Shearing is performed by slicing through a piece of sheet metal with a blade that’s most often affixed to a tool or machine. The location of the cut is controlled by a squaring arm that allows a sheet of metal to be placed in a precise location.
Once the sheet metal is placed with the squaring arm, the top blade is lowered and compresses the metal against a lower blade, creating an exact cut.
One of the most common shearing tools is called a bench shear. Bench shears are mounted on a workbench and are most often, small, lightweight, and easy to use.
Another type of shearing tool is the guillotine machine or power shear. These machines are a little more involved as they use either hydraulics or electricity as their power source. Though a little more complex than bench shears, power shears are considered to be faster and more effective, especially for large-scale manufacturers.
What’s the Difference Between Shearing and Die Cutting?
If you’re familiar with metal fabrication processes, you might be wondering what the difference between shearing and die cutting is. In fact, they’re both cutting or finishing processes that involve the use of a blade to remove excess material or create a desired shape for sheet metal. The main difference is that shearing uses straight-edge blades whereas the blades used in die cutting are curved.
Advantages
As we mentioned in the opening, shearing has become a popular and accepted practice in metal fabrication. Indeed, the process has a number of distinct advantages.
To start, metal doesn’t need to be heated in order for it to be sheared. The process is most often carried out at room temperature or when the metal is cold.
Next, the lack of waste that’s created is substantially less than other fabrication practices. This allows manufacturers to save money on cleanup and carry out the process much faster.
Lastly, shearing can be used on a wide variety of metals including stainless steel, bronze, aluminum, copper, and iron to name a few.
Disadvantages
While shearing has a host of notable advantages, there are some potential drawbacks to be aware of as well.
First, exceptionally hard metals like tungsten can’t be sheared.
Second, if not done carefully, shearing can cause sheets of stainless steel to become deformed.
Final Thoughts
It’s not hard to see why shearing continues to be so popular with metal fabricators across the board. The ease with which it can be performed, and its ability to be used with a host of different metals, allows manufacturers to work more efficiently and achieve exacting results in nearly all their projects.
If you have additional questions about metal shearing, or about your next metal fabrication process in general, reach out to our friendly and knowledgeable staff at Meta Fab in Hillsboro, Oregon. As always, we’re happy to help in any way we can.