For everyday people not involved in manufacturing or the metal stamping business, you may be surprised at just how many stamped items are a part of your daily life.
Take a look around you. Whether you are in your own home or driving down the road. What about the vehicle you are driving? Do you own a motorcycle? Have you thought about the exhaust system of your motorcycle? Where are those parts made or more specifically, how they are made?
Do you notice those electrical boxes at the top of telephone poles? Let’s look a bit closer to home; door hinges, kitchen utensils, kick plates on your door.
Everywhere you look, you will probably see a part that was stamped and ultimately makes our daily lives easier.
Interestingly, the first attempts at the metal stamping process had its beginnings in striking coins.
Thomas Engineering posted an interesting article with a brief history of metal stamping. You can view the full article here. http://www.thomasengineering.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-metal-stamping/
It is believed the first coins were struck in the seventh century B.C. by the Lydians, a people living in what is now modern-day Turkey. The principle behind the process was not all that different than the metal stamping that is done today. A die was created bearing the image of one side of the coin. Another image was carved into a stamp that was struck with a heavy hammer, creating a two-sided coin. These coins were usually made of metals like gold or an alloy of gold and silver.
This process of striking coins, and eventually other objects, remained basically the same until around 1550 when a Marx Schwab, a German silversmith, developed a screw press for stamping coins. The screw press was turned by as many as twelve men to exert the pressure needed to form the metal. Although advances in metallurgy had made it possible to create much harder and durable dies and stamps, the concept behind the process remained much the same.
Metal Stamping does and will continue to change our daily lives. As the manufacturing industry evolves and grows, there are always new ways of producing stamped parts.
What an exciting time to be in manufacturing!
