At Toledo Metal Spinning Company, we use a variety of materials for metal spinning such as cold rolled steel, hot rolled steel, aluminum, stainless steel, brass, copper and exotic metals such as titanium and inconel. Toledo Metal Spinning Company specializes in the forming of stainless steel. With our automated metal spinning lathes and the capabilities of our deep drawing, stamping and welding equipment, our ability to form your part to your specifications and within your budget are realistic. Toledo Metal Spinning Company has over 90 years of metal forming experience and has used the spinning technology for a variety of industries such as aerospace, automotive, military, ordnance, plastics, lighting, pharmaceuticals, dairy, etc…
We have engineers on staff with metal spinning expertise to help guide you on designing a custom part and choose the optimal process to produce high quality spun parts at a competitive and affordable price. Tooling is custom made to form parts to your configuration.
| CNC Metal Spinning Capabilities | English Units | Metric Units |
|---|---|---|
| Max Blank Size, Diameter | 49.0 in | 1,245 mm |
| Max Part Length / Height | 48.0 in | 1,220 mm |
| Max Blank Thickness, Steel | 0.31 in | 8 mm |
| Max Blank Thickness, Stainless Steel | 0.25 in | 6.3 mm |
| Max Roller Force | 19 ton | 169 kN |
TMS has nearly a century of producing preformed blanks with our deep drawing, rolling, stamping & welding capabilities. Since metals can only be worked so much before requiring a thermal treating of some kind or failing, metal spinning alone is sometimes not the optimal processing method. Utilizing a combination of welded blanks with aerospace quality welds or seamlessly deep drawn preforms can reduce processing costs of spun only parts and dramatically improve the level of quality by minimizing the straining or thinning of the material. Minimizing straining of material is especially important in materials that strain harden like stainless steel, nickel, and titanium alloys or materials in general that have low elongation. Applications requiring good fatigue life or need to minimize risk from cracking normally benefit using a gently produced preform then spinning it to the final shape. This two step process can avoid issues common with metals that are well worked or highly strained.
Another added benefit using preforms can be the elimination of weld joints and the need to manufacture multiple parts. Round parts made in two pieces and welded together can sometimes be manufactured in one piece. Using a deep draw preform and spinning a final shape, the once two piece weldment now is a seamless part. This typically improves quality and the ability of the part to perform while normally reducing lead time, supply chain complexity, and or cost. Call us today and we would be happy to see what options you have to do more.
Metal Spinning, or Spin Forming, is the process of moving a spinning roller over a metal blank. The metal spinning process starts with a sheet metal blank that rotates on a lathe. The metal disc is pressed against a tool (called a mandrel or a chuck) with a tailstock. The metal disc, tailstock and tool rotate in a circular motion and a roller manipulated with CNC controls presses against the metal to form the metal over the tool through a series of passes by the roller. The resulting part is a piece that mirrors the tool it was formed on.
The basic shapes in metal spinning are cones, flanged covers, hemispheres, cylindrical shells, venturis and parabolic nose shapes. Metal Spinning is an ideal process when tooling costs are to be minimized and part volume is low enough the unit cost is not going to offset the savings from tooling. In some instances, metal spinning is the preferred method due to complicated part geometry. TMS utilizes CNC technology to develop programs for your part which allows programs to repeat with precision, piece after piece.
Manual spinning, also referred to as hand spinning, is another form of spinning that TMS offers. Manual spinning is much like CNC spinning except the roller used to form the part is manipulated manually. Since the force a person can produce is much less than the 10,000 to 38,000 pounds of force our CNC equipment can produce, manual metal spinning focuses around lower strength materials and thinner part geometries.
Shear spinning is often referred to as shear forming, as well. In shear spinning, the thickness of the material is actually “sheared” through the spinning process. For example, spinning a cone with a 60 degree included angle will result in a 50% reduction in metal thickness through the spinning process in the final product after shear spinning.
Playback spinning is used on spinning lathes with computerized technology. A skilled and talented machine operator needs in-depth knowledge of the spinning process. The operator will teach the machine the strokes and rollers that are necessary to get the desired end part. With sophisticated equipment, the operator can fine tune the strokes and tools necessary to accomplish the desired end measurements of the part. Adjustments will need to be made throughout the process due to the variables that are constantly changing throughout the spinning process. Technologically advanced machines can hold tight tolerances with playback spinning.
Spinning of stainless steel is a forte of Toledo Metal Spinning Company. This is a tricky type of metal to spin due to its metallurgical properties such as tensile strength, work hardening and spring back. It takes a seasoned metal spinner to spin stainless steel and accomplish the desired specifications of the product blueprint. Oftentimes, heat will need to be involved in forming stainless steel. Heat can be in the form of a torch applied directly to the product as it is spinning. Or, we can send the part out to be heat treated/annealed by a certified heat treater. By heating the metal, it places the molecules of the metal back to an original state so that further forming can be done. Stainless steel makes a great choice of material when a customer is looking for corrosion resistance, durability and a material that can be polished. Stainless steel can be polished to a brush finish or a mirror finish, or even could be electropolished.
Another material that is commonly used in the spinning process is Cold Rolled Steel (CRS). CRS is an easier metal to form than some of the stainless steel or exotic materials such as Inconel or Hastelloy or Titanium. CRS is a popular metal to use in the metal spinning process. It forms easier due to its metallurgical properties. Oftentimes, customers require CRS as the primary metal and subsequent to the spinning process, the customer will have the metal painted prior to the end use. CRS is also a less expensive material to use than stainless steel.
Aluminum comes in many different alloys – 6061, 5052, 3003, among others. Aluminum is one of the easiest materials to spin. The softer aluminums form easily. And, the metal is much lighter than CRS or SS. Depending on the customer’s end use, aluminum makes a great material to make parts where the customer is looking for corrosion resistance and a light weight part.
