Slitting and Shearing of Stainless Steel

Metal processing is a series of operations involving numerous fabrication methods. Each of them adds value to the metal piece. These include stamping, pressing, cutting, bending and rolling. They alter the surface of metal products and components to improve the appearance, strength and environmental protection features. In short, it is the journey of a metal from its ore to its final product. The global metal-cutting market size was valued at $6.17 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a 5.9% CAGR between 2020 to 2027. Increasing demand for efficient cutting machines from industries like automotive, aerospace and defense, marine and electronics is the key growth driving factor. 

Two such value-added processing services for stainless steel are slitting and shearing. These can be applied to stainless steel coils, plates, bars and angles. They can enhance product quality to a great extent while reducing operating costs. Here’s a detailed overview of how slitting and shearing work to boost your manufacturing output. 

Steel Slitting 

A steel coil is slit into lengths and widths as required by the end application. It is done with a high-speed looping-pit slitter that reduces a computer-controlled digital positioning system enabling precise set-up and quick processing. Steel slitting is often referred to as roll slitting which is processed with extremely sharp circular blades, one upper and one lower, to make the cuts. These knives can be moved to slice metal strips of numerous widths. 

A slitting machine comes in three parts:

• the unwind 
• slitting method 
• the rewind

The gap between the blade and the workpiece must be 5% to 40% relative to the material thickness. Clearance will be measured at a point where cutting will be done and is positioned at 90 degrees to the blade movement direction. The primary reasons to conduct steel slitting are maintaining tight tolerance, reducing waste and producing consistent materials. 

Steel Shearing 

It is a highly intricate process of trimming and removing unwanted materials from sheet metal. Shear machines are categorized as Swing Beam and Guillotine. Cutting blades come together to slice the steel into small and separate parts. The sheet metal needs to be placed with the squaring arm after which the top blade is lowered and the metal is compressed against the lower blade. A small clearance, which is usually 2-10% of material thickness, is present between the edges. This operation method is referred to as hydraulic and mechanical. Bench shear is one of the most common tools. The top advantages of shearing are:

• Metal need not be heated. The room temperature is ideal. 
• Minimal waste in the form of chips that saves the cleanup costs. 
• Besides steel, it can be used on bronze, copper and iron. 

Shearing is a specific cutting process producing straight-line cuts. The machine can be easily operated via pneumatic or electric power. The blades are made from high-carbon steel or low-alloy steel for the best results. 

Both slitting and shearing are cost-effective and efficient methods of metal processing. It is a good idea to get them done by professionals to be able to meet or exceed industry standards.