Heavy Gauge Stamping Quality Control Concerns

Whether you need a new, custom component for a prototype or a large stock of replacement parts, heavy gauge stamping produces everything from gears to sockets to fittings needed to keep industry and engineering at top shape. Unfortunately, it's harder to find the flaws in a produced piece of stamp-work in a new shipment and more likely that the failure will happen at high revolutions in an expensive failure. To avoid severe problems from failing equipment and to at least give your team some warning before wear and tear reaches its limit, consider a few quality control requirements across the heavy gauge stamping industry.

Part Inspection And Comparison Against Models

When the first product version of a request comes in, it goes through rigorous testing to ensure compliance with the original design. This means looking at the client's drawings or Computer Aided Design (CAD) models and looking for any differences.

This should be done before and after any filing, shaving, or imperfection removal. No matter the model or assembly type, there may be a situation where finishing could unravel integrity in ways that aren't obvious outside of the design process. This can involve removing chunks or splinters of material that pull away from the structure of the main item, leading to a brittle or easily eroded object.

In such cases, redesigning a stamping process that either removes as many imperfections as possible in the process or allows the outsides to be sealed without adding onto the dimensions of the object is critical. This inspection happens at the first stamping, but should happen at random samples to check for any changes in the stamping die or other parts of the stamping process.

Reverse Engineering And Internal Inspection

Taking apart a newly built, well-used, and completely spent product is vital in figuring out the lifetime wear and tear of a product. For this reason, a heavy gauge stamping team will need to perform reverse engineering of your requested part with components that come from your machinery or process.

Every client is different. Even if you're using a design that was suggested to you by another company, there may be something specific in your process that makes the component wear and tear at different rates and in different ways. Never assume that processes are "exactly the same", even if you used the same contractor as a business partner you trust. Send in components at different levels of the process to be dismantled and inspected.

Contact a heavy gauge stamping professional to discuss prototyping, quality control, and product life-cycle concerns.

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