Metal Stamping — Short Run & Production Stamping

What we machine on this process

Metal stamping is our route for flat and formed parts that repeat at volume: brackets, clips, shields, contacts, washers, housings and chassis pieces. We run blanking, piercing, forming and bending on progressive, compound or single-station dies, choosing the die by the part’s features and the quantity you need. A progressive die carries the strip through several stations, cutting and forming a little at a time, while a compound die completes several flat cuts in a single stroke — the choice is driven by geometry and volume, not by habit. Where a stamping carries threads, precision bores or flat faces, those features are machined on our CNC machining floor to ±0.01 mm, so a formed part and its machined details leave as one finished part. For thin-gauge enclosures that are laser cut and bent rather than die-formed, see our sheet metal fabrication page.

Materials and finishes

We stamp carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminium, brass, copper and titanium sheet, with grade and temper agreed in DFM against the part’s strength, spring and corrosion needs. The same drawing can then carry tapping and finishing — deburring, plating, anodising and other treatments are arranged through our vetted partner network, managed under one quality process. Stamped edges are deburred and rounded as part of the same job, so a part arrives ready to assemble rather than needing a secondary hand-finishing step. Because the material and finish sit on one drawing and one order, you are not coordinating a blank from one supplier and a finish from another. For part materials outside sheet, see our materials page.

Size, tolerance and capacity limits

Stamped features follow the die plan; anything that must be exact is machined after forming to ±0.01 mm, with general dimensions to ISO 2768-m unless the drawing states otherwise. Secondary machining is limited by our 800 × 500 mm milling envelope, and the floor runs over 100,000 parts per month across all processes. Strip width, material thickness and die station count are evaluated per drawing before tooling is cut, so you get a firm size and capacity answer in the quote rather than after the die exists.

Documents and shipping

Stamping, machining and finishing are managed as one job from our factory in Qidong City, Jiangsu Province, China. Where a step sits better with a specialist — a large press die, a plating line — it runs through our vetted partner network, managed under one quality process, with a single drawing, a single contact and a single delivery. Parts ship with a material certificate (MTR) and pre-shipment photos, so you can see the finished part before it is packed. Send a drawing through the request a quote form and we lay out the full route in one reply.

Industries we support

Stamped parts feed general machinery, automation, electronics enclosures, instrumentation and consumer hardware — anywhere a formed metal part must repeat cheaply at volume. When a stamped part pairs with turned or milled fittings, we run both under one order; for example a stamped bracket with a machined pivot bore. For parts better made from a cast blank, see die casting; for plastic housings, see injection molding.

Design guidelines for cost and manufacturability

The dominant cost lever in stamping is the die, so design for a die that is simple to build and run. Keep hole sizes and spacing above the sheet thickness where you can, keep hole-to-edge distance generous, and use consistent bend radii across a part. Radius inside corners, avoid features that need a thin die section, and state tolerances only where they matter — a ±0.01 mm callout on every hole drives the die and the price up for no functional gain. Tooling is quoted separately and amortised across the quantity, so we show the unit cost at several volumes where stamping crosses under machining. When the drawing needs only a handful of simple bends, a single-station die keeps tooling cheap; when every hole and form must repeat across a long run, a progressive die pays for itself quickly. Send the drawing and we return DFM feedback within 24 hours.