The Benefits of Metal Spinning for Equipment Manufacturing

Equipment manufacturing often requires metal components with exact specifications, tight tolerances and often expensive materials. If you need copper or brass parts that are symmetrical in shape, metal spinning can be a cost effective option. Metal spinning is a technique for forming complex, symmetrical, 3-dimensional shapes from sheet metal disks. The spinning disk is shaped either manually or by a CNC lathe, which allows for easy customization. Metal spinning is a perfect solution for producing components in a wide range of industries such as:

• Electrical
• Cookware
• Architectural
• Lighting
• Manufacturing equipment

Metal spinning has a number of benefits compared to other fabrication techniques. Not only is it ideal for custom, complex forms, spun components are seamless, stronger and often less expensive to produce.

1. Perfect for Complex Forms

Because components are formed by stretching metal on a high speed lathe using CNC control systems, they can be shaped to your exact specifications and can assume nearly any form that is axially symmetrical. Pressure vessels for example require good conductive metals to be shaped into spheres with depth and without seams. Therefore, copper spinning is the manufacturing process recommended for pressure vessels. Heating techniques are used to neck down or close off forms when cold techniques aren’t possible. If you’re working on a prototype and need to make minor alterations, this can be done quickly and easily.

2. Stronger Parts

The spinning process actually realigns the grain of the metal, which improves the tensile strength. That means you can use a lighter gauge material to do the same job as a heavier component fabricated by a different method. Each component is created from a single disc of metal so that there are no seams in the final product. The lack of seams makes a component made by spinning capable of withstanding greater pressure from inside or outside. This is why fire extinguishers, oxyacetylene tanks and other pressurized canisters are usually made using the metal spinning technique.

3. Less Expensive

Metal spinning is one of the most affordable techniques for producing custom metal components. This is primarily due to low-cost tooling and lack of waste material during the spinning process. Because of the flexibility of CNC technology, design changes can usually be implemented without additional costs to the client. Most custom metal forming manufacturers embrace sheet metal spinning as a viable alternative to metal stamping with dies and power presses when clients are looking for circular shapes.

If you need decorative reflective metals for your metal parts, copper spinning, brass spinning or another process called hydroforming sheet metal may be the perfect solution. Consult with a custom metal spinning company in Pennsylvania to find out if metal spinning is the right technique for your next metal part.

When Is Metal Spinning a Good Process to Produce a Metal Part?

There are only a few metal spinning companies in the United States that do big production runs. This process, also sometimes referred to as metal turning or spin forming, involves rotating a piece of metal at an extremely high speed against another metal part. The initial metal is then exposed to a high temperature, allowing it to be molded and shaped.

What Shapes Can It Produce?

You know you require metal spinning when you require a certain shape out of your metal. The shapes that are best-suited for this process include:

• Cylindrical
• Hourglass shaped
• Hemispherical
• Donut shaped
• Parabolic
• Conical

The process is excellent for making cookware, brass instrument bells, gas cylinders, liquid vessels and nose cones. It is also great for urns and ornamental lighting and lampware. All of these are often used in various commercial applications.

How Does Spinning Compare to Other Processes?

Similar metal forming processes include metal stamping and deep drawing. Metal stamping is essentially passing sheets of metal through a forming die and works best for rectangular shapes with limited depth. Deep drawing occurs when the depth of the component is greater than the diameter, which is achieved through compressive stresses.

There are several ways a metal spinning service can be leveraged over these production methods. Some of the benefits include shorter lead times, more flexible quantities and low-cost tooling. Another big perk companies should take note of is that metal spinning is a more environmentally friendly process. It produces much less waste and results in fewer emissions.

What Metals Does It Work For?

There are various metals that are great for spinning. One of the most common is carbon steel, and responds very well to the metal spinning process. It is far less prone to deformation and warping from spinning when compared to harder high alloy metals.

Copper spinning is quite common. While it is typically more expensive than steel, it does come with great electrical conductivity. Copper is softer than other metals, making it more susceptible to forming. Aluminum is generally used, and it is also highly malleable. It is much easier to create intricate shapes using aluminum than other types of metals. It is also naturally resistant against corrosion.

There are times when it is recommended to find metal spinning companies in Pennsylvania to help you create the parts you need. When dealing with a cylindrical shape a metal spinning service is often the only way to craft the component you need.