How Do You Straighten Sheet Metal?

The principle of straightening is the use of an external force such as pressure or heat to straighten a deformed sheet of metal into its correct shape.

The principle of straightening is the use of an external force such as pressure or heat to straighten a deformed sheet of metal into its correct shape. To explain how the forming process works, we can first think of sheet metal as a collection of many parallel fibers. In normal circumstances, the fibers are placed in parallel in a sequence that strengthens the sheet metal and keeps it parallel. Here are two methods of straightening that may help to make the sheet metal flat again.

The first is a manual straightening method using a hammer. Suitable for the reshaping of small workpieces, it is the most convenient method that can be easily achieved by everyone using metal straightening tools and operational progress. You will need to apply some oil to the sheet metal hammer before it is hammered into the correct shape to avoid slipping and prevent potential injury to the operator. Different hammers will be used to handle different adjustments:

● Flat-head hammers.

A flat-headed hammer is usually used to strike flat surfaces, deep recesses or corners.

● Stabbing Hammer.

Arc-shaped parts and components can be adjusted by means of a stabbing hammer. The rounded part of the stabbing hammer helps the curved part to retain its shape compared to a flat hammer.

● Arched hammers.

Similar to the stabbing hammer, the arch hammer is often used for deformed arch sections on workpieces.

● Intermediate hammers.

Intermediate hammers, as the name implies, prevent the hammer from striking the workpiece directly. The intermediate hammer acts as an intermediate part between the workpiece and the hammer. With this special hammer, the workpiece is not directly struck by the hammer and the risk of damage by high external forces is reduced.

● Flat-head plastic hammers.

A flat-headed plastic hammer is usually used to trim the corners of boxes.

● Crane hammers.

Crane hammers are often used to remove small pits that make the surface of a workpiece uneven and unsightly. The hammers listed above are commonly used. There are other types of hammers depending on the various needs of the surface of the workpiece to be treated.

The second method is to use a machine. When the deformation is so severe that the use of a hammer is no longer the best solution, a straightening machine becomes a better alternative. Typically, machines used to straighten workpieces are often used to correct larger workpieces that cannot be easily adjusted with a hammer. The most common method of straightening distorted sheet metal is to use rollers to flatten the sheet metal. Depending on the size of the sheet metal, one or two workers are required to operate the progress. When straightening sheet metal, the deformed sheet metal passes through the gaps between the roller gaps, which then presses the entire sheet evenly and equalizes their thicknesses as well:

● Flame straightening.

Flame straightening uses heat to bring the sheet metal back to its correct shape again. This is because if the temperature reaches a certain level, the metal can be bent without the fear of breakage. The following are the three main methods used to heat metal: spot heating, linear heating, and triangular heating.

When applying the heating method, the flame will be used to contact the sheet metal at different ranges and points. For example, point heating tends to form a circle when heated, while linear heating causes the flame to advance and retreat along a line, and triangular heating causes the heated area to become triangular, usually at the edges of the sheet metal.