Embossing (manufacturing)

Sheet metal embossing is a metalworking process for producing raised or sunken designs or relief in sheet metal. In contrast to coining (which uses unmatched dies), embossing uses matched male and female dies to achieve the pattern, either by stamping, or by passing a sheet or strip of metal between patterned rollers. It is often combined with foil stamping to create a shiny, 3D effect.

Process

The metal sheet embossing operation is commonly accomplished with a combination of heat and pressure on the sheet metal, depending on what type of embossing is required. Theoretically, with any of these procedures, the metal thickness is changed in its composition.

Metal sheet is drawn through the male and female roller dies, producing a pattern or design on the metal sheet. Depending on the roller dies used, different patterns can be produced on the metal sheet. The pressure and a combination of heat actually "irons" while raising the level of the image higher than the substrate to make it smooth. The term "impressing" refers to an image lowered into the surface of a material, in distinction to an image raised out of the surface of a material.

In most of the pressure embossing operation machines, the upper roll blocks are stationary, while the bottom roll blocks are movable. The pressure with which the bottom roll is raised is referred to as the tonnage capacity.

Embossing machines are generally sized to give 2 inches (5 cm) of strip clearance on each side of an engraved embossing roll. Many embossing machines are custom-manufactured, so there are no industry-standard widths. It is not uncommon to find embossing machines in operation producing patterns less than 6 inches (15 cm) wide all the way up to machines producing patterns 70 inches (180 cm) wide or more.

Characteristics

The metal embossing manufacturing process has these characteristics:

• The ability to form ductile metals.
• Use in medium to high production runs.
• The ability to maintain the same metal thickness before and after embossing.
• The ability to produce unlimited patterns, depending on the roll dies.
• The ability to reproduce the product with no variation.

Commonly used materials

The following materials are suitable for embossing:

• Aluminium (all alloys)
• Aluminium (T1/T2)
• Brass
• Cold rolled steel
• Copper
• Galvanized steel
• High strength, low alloy, steel
• Hot rolled steel
• Steel (all alloys)
• Zinc

See also

• Diamond plate
• Repoussé and chasing
• Paper embossing

External links

• Metal Embossing on YouTube
• The Art and Science of the Sheet Metal Embossing Process (Archived 15 April 2024 at the Wayback Machine)
• Embossing metals (Archived 8 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine)