Precision engineering is a mandatory requirement in the world of the automobile industry, where every year a good number of units are produced. These flat sheets of metal are stamped into highly complex structural parts that give way to car bodies, chassis frames, and interior sections. The bulk stamping needs to happen so that the companies can get consistency, strength, and low cost across the board in mass production. Sheet metal stamping has just the right blend of technology and skills with San Automotive, such that it works as one of the finest mobility solutions in the world, making parts that are reliable and meet the very high standards in the industry.
Single-stroke stamping suffices for simpler shapes. But many car parts, characterized by complex shapes, must be formed in an ordered manner in a sequence of steps. The best practice of San Automotive is metal stamping components using progressive dies that have simultaneous cutting, bending, drawing, and trimming functions. These consist of several operations in a sequence as the metal strip travels through the die stations. This way, complex flanges, embossments, and undercuts can be achieved that were otherwise impossible through conventional methods.
Over the ages, sheet metal stamping has been subjected to immense loads due to changing car designs. Today’s cars are made of multiphase materials, ultra-high-strength steels, and aluminum magnesium metals. All these materials serve to ensure that cars are made lighter while not compromising on their safety during crash activities. San Automotive's manufacturing teams create new lubrication techniques for their materials, modifying the forces holding their blanks and their tooling design. By using advanced computer simulation software, these teams can predict even before the dies are manufactured how the metal is going to flow, where the highest stresses will occur, and how it will thin down, so that trial-and-error steps in prototype development are significantly limited, thereby enhancing the speed-to-market for new model introduction by leaps and bounds.
Car OEMs implement very stringent Six Sigma quality standards; therefore, even the finest stamping lines demand periodic inspections while in productive work. All metal stamping components producare is inspected without interruption by very high-resolution cameras for any surface defects, dimensional differences, and incorrectly cut edges. Coordinating measurement results for methodically selected reference features with CAD models is possible. Statistical process control charts can be generated for operational monitoring of tonnage signatures and strip growth. In case of excessive deviation, machinery settings are modified in a very timely manner via automated feedback loops such that non-conforming parts never reach assembly locations.
In the coming years, the two most significant metal stamping components will be mechanical engineering and computer interchange. San Automotive was one of the first to realize the concept of smart factories. This factory is guided by framework systems that collate data from the IoT-enabled stamps that communicate with those systems. In stamping, AI is used to analyze data from past runs for optimizing settings for feed rate, lubrication quantity, and die clearance of each current production run. Robotics capable of fully autonomous operation, with built-in vision guidance for parts handling, do not require human intervention. Digital Twins create virtual representations of the stamping lines, allowing for offline process improvement and rapid changeover planning.
From concept initiation to mass production, modern automotive designs feature parts that have been stamps out from metal. The arsenal of digital production, progressive tooling, and advanced materials is rare among companies. For San Automotive, that means being able to guarantee that every stamped part of the car contributes to its performance, safety, and marketability. Among the pillars of precision and reliability remain sheet metal stamping, even as the engineers are attempting to fashion structures that are ever lighter, stronger, and more gas-efficient.