Punches are fabricating tools used to perforate material and create cuts or holes in the shape of the punch edge. Punches and punching machinery include a variety of dies, tools, and machine stamping devices that are used to produce components with specific shapes. Common punch types include hand punches, gasket punches, hollow steel punches, and arch punches. Typically, hand-held punches come in sets of different-sized dies with handles. They are struck with a hammer or mallet to cut the material on impact.
A gasket punch usually comes in a kit or set of punches or dies of different diameters along with a centering pin to create accurate individual holes. Gasket punches, hollow steel punches and arch punches are all used to punch holes in soft materials, such as plastic, light-gauge sheet metals, cardboard, paper, plastic, fabric, rubber, or leather. A gasket punch has two cutting heads, an outer diameter cutting head and an inner diameter cutting head. A hollow steel punch can be used to cut holes in material or to cut different-sized gaskets out of a sheet of material. An arch punch has one cutting diameter and is usually tapered into a cone shaped barrel. This allows the user to easily remove the punched material from the barrel.
Punches are fabricating tools used to perforate material and create cuts or holes in the shape of the punch edge. Punches and punching machinery include a variety of dies, tools, and machine stamping devices that are used to produce components with specific shapes. Common punch types include hand punches, gasket punches, hollow steel punches, and arch punches. Typically, hand-held punches come in sets of different-sized dies with handles. They are struck with a hammer or mallet to cut the material on impact.
A gasket punch usually comes in a kit or set of punches or dies of different diameters along with a centering pin to create accurate individual holes. Gasket punches, hollow steel punches and arch punches are all used to punch holes in soft materials, such as plastic, light-gauge sheet metals, cardboard, paper, plastic, fabric, rubber, or leather. A gasket punch has two cutting heads, an outer diameter cutting head and an inner diameter cutting head. A hollow steel punch can be used to cut holes in material or to cut different-sized gaskets out of a sheet of material. An arch punch has one cutting diameter and is usually tapered into a cone shaped barrel. This allows the user to easily remove the punched material from the barrel.
Machine stamping, or hard tooling, is another method of fabricating punched or perforated products, and involves creating high volumes of similarly configured parts. Machine stamping includes blanking, which cuts large sheets of stock into smaller ones; piercing, which punches holes or slots into the sheet; and forming, which bends the sheet into specific three-dimensional shapes. Precision machine stamping is used in virtually every area of manufacturing, from making components for aerospace applications to kitchen appliances. The materials used range from titanium and stainless steel to Teflon and Mylar. Teflon and Mylar are registered trademarks of DuPont.
