Sheet metal stamping questing

15 square inches is approximately 4" x 4". To move that much metal by half an inch, it requires more tonnage than you might expect.

Punching Tonnage:
To punch a 4" round hole (which is smaller than a 4" square), it requires at least 20 tons.

Press Brake Tonnage:
For each foot, 16 gauge metal requires approximately 3.5 tons. This is mainly for bending a line, 0 x 12".
Press Brake Tonnage Table

Cold working 16 gauge metal at 4" x 4" likely needs between 50 and 100 tons for a semi-production mode. A commercial stamping shop would probably use 100-ton presses.

Heating the metal, even just to a black heat of 800 to 1000 degrees, would make it more pliable and easier to work with. This can be achieved with an electric heat treating oven or pottery kiln, resulting in less scale and roughness compared to heating with a torch or forge.

Consider using AK (aluminum killed) or similar deep-drawing alloys for the sheet, as they are easier to work with than regular cold-rolled 1018.

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Thank you, that looks like the recommendation I'm looking for. I'm also getting some other books another member offered me.

If possible, you should add a flange around the edge. As Garwood mentioned, it's probably not feasible to make that without trimming after the shallow draw. If you could have a small flange, then you can do the trim as a second operation in a press. With your current shape, you would need to post machine. Be cautious about using a pinch trim on such a thick wall, as pinch trims tend to leave a sharp edge due to the draw radius on the die, which varies from 4 to 8 times the material thickness. The minimum thickness at the top of the wall will not be an issue since the material will be thicker than the initial thickness due to the reduction in surface area.

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Recommended article:
Everything You Need to Know about Stamping

I was hoping it would be possible to have the blanks cut to final size without trimming the edge after stamping, but I assumed it wouldn't work well. A small flange could be acceptable. One thought was to trim the edge in a lathe. In that case, it might be better to make the part by CNC spinning so it could be formed and trimmed in a lathe all in one setup.

For runs under 5,000 per year, does CNC spinning or even manual spinning make more sense for this part? I considered stamping other parts, but that could wait if spinning is better for this part and the initial investment is much less. Is using a CNC turning center a viable option for spinning? I aim to keep the initial machine investment under $15k before rigging costs, if possible. If I can handle the rigging with a gooseneck flatbed and a 7k forklift, that’s a bonus. If it doesn’t work out, it might be hard to sell an industrial stamping press or spinning machine to recoup the investment compared to a CNC turning center. I could likely find work for a turning center if I kept it. If things go well, I can always upgrade to better machinery later on. Is there a market to support keeping an industrial stamping press or spinning machine for small job shop work? I'm guessing not.

I've done a 14" diameter part almost exactly like that from 12 gauge 4130N in a 35-ton H-frame press using C-clamps for the pressure pad. I broke the press frame after a couple dozen, but I did them.

I assumed an H-frame press wouldn't work. If it could for prototyping and very low volume first production runs, that would alleviate a lot of risk. I’m not seeing stamping presses for sale on the used market in my area, and the weight definitely requires professional riggers.

Let me know if anyone has recommendations for metal spinning books.

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