Sheet Metal Shearing: What it is And What the Benefits Are

When you were a kid, or even today (We’re not asking!), did you ever fold a thin strip of metal over and over again until the crease became so weak that you were Superman and could tear the strip apart?

As much as we hate to break it to you, you weren’t a budding Man of Steel. In reality, you were demonstrating a simple version of sheet metal shearing. That’s a fancy term for cutting metal at the industrial level. The metal sheets you need cut are thicker and stronger, and cutting them requires specialized equipment. That’s a job your hands have no chance of performing!

How Sheet Metal Shearing Works

Sheet metal shearing is effective in manufacturing and for suppliers of sheets of metal such as aluminum and stainless steel, among others. From a larger roll or flat sheet of metal, the customer can have pieces of metal cut to exact size and shape specifications. It’s a great way to take advantage of the durability and versatility of these metals.

You probably don’t need a deluge of trade jargon, so here’s a simple explanation of how the process works:

The material to be cut goes into a shearing machine that contains several sharp, powerful cutting blades. Once those blades start getting to work, they create enough force (technically called a shearing force) for the sheet metal to fail, fracturing the material and separating it into smaller pieces. The cuts are clean and high-quality, and the cutting blades get the job done quickly so that you can repeat the process.

The Benefits of Metal Shearing

As from the example at the start of this article, and if you’ve ever used tin shears, metal shearing isn’t the only way to cut sheet metal. In industrial applications, though, it’s the best because of the several advantages it delivers. Let’s look at them:

• First, you get a cleaner cut and a straighter edge than you do with, say, torch cutting, another common industrial approach to cutting sheet metal.
• Unlike with torch cutting, there is no burning or melting of the material. This means little or no material is lost during the shearing process (this lost material is called kerf), and it also means that shearing works well with softer metals more susceptible to melting or becoming misshapen.
• The process is fast and easy to repeat, allowing for a high level of production in a short amount of time.
• Metal shearing is effective for cutting a wide range of dimensions, and because the blades can be mounted at an angle, the machines can cut relatively short pieces.

How Sustainment Can Help You

If your business or your customers need metal shearing, you need to find a reliable cutting service that produces high-quality work. After all, it’s not going to be cost-effective to buy your own shearing machine and hire people who can operate it.

At Sustainment, we don’t offer metal shearing services. However, what we do is connect you with companies that do. Using our AI-powered search tool, our knowledge of the field and our research and contacts, we save you time and hassle by recommending companies we know you can trust.