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CNC or automatic metal spinning is ideal for higher volume production requirements with highly accurate part-to-part tolerances.
Shaw Metal is an expert in CNC metal spinning using the latest Leifeld metal turning lathes. We are one of the few metal spinners who can offer a complete turnkey service from in-house tooling manufacture to CAD design support and a full range of value-added fabrication and finishing services.
We work with all common metals, including aluminium and mild steel, through more challenging materials such as stainless steel and Inconel.
This short video shows the CNC metal spinning process.
See how we turn a sheet of aluminium into a lighting pendant in less than three minutes!
Metal Spinning is one of the most essential methods of metal fabrication. Shaw Metal Solutions advises that you consider spinning before incurring the high costs of stamping or punching since producing a product could be exorbitant. A metal spun prototype can often be a much more cost-effective solution and better quality.
By definition, metal spinning forms a flat metal disc on a lathe into many shapes. Metal spinning is necessary when you need a prototype if tooling costs are high, quantities are low, and lead time is crucial. Our metal spinning process usually produces higher quality and lower costs than stamping, deep drawing or die casting.
In metal spinning, the forming process is accomplished by using a spinning lathe. The spinner skilfully forms a flat piece of metal (cold roll steel, stainless steel, aluminium, brass, and copper) over a specially designed chuck to create the shape you want, much like a master potter at the wheel.
A product often starts its life as a hand spinning and then moves to be spun using the automatic CNC process when production quantities increase.
This is a short video of the hand metal spinning process. See how we turn a sheet of aluminium into a fan housing in just over 1 minute
Shaw Metal Solutions offers a complete in-house metal spinning tooling service. We can respond quickly to new product requirements or changes to an existing design using precision CNC turning equipment and our expert-trained tool makers. As metal spinning is a blend of craft and technology, having an in-house tooling service means we can quickly try new spinning tools and make fast changes to ensure perfect production parts.
Tooling is an essential part of the metal spinning process, in which a circular disk, or blank, of material, is spun at high speed and stretched over the tool to form the desired shape. Tools can be manufactured from wood, plastic, aluminium or steel. The choice of spinning tool material is determined by the material being spun and the production volume of parts required. We often start with a wooden tool for prototype parts to prove a design, but these will have a limited life and then move to metal for high-volume production.
Compared to other metal processing methods, such as die-casting or stamping, the tooling process for metal spinning is much faster and cheaper.
The most common type of tool is a male tool in which the metal is formed over the tool to replicate the shape of the tool.
A female tool surrounds the blank, and the tool’s interior forms the final shape; female tools are often used to create return edges and flanges.
Collapsable tools are the most complex design used to form parts with variable diameters; the tool must be dismantled to extract it from the finished part and then reassembled to start the next part.
Our complete in-house tooling service is staffed by skilled tool makers with extensive metal spinning experience. This means we can quickly produce tools for your spinning design and spot potential design issues in real-time, avoiding the need to trial tools and potentially having to send them back to subcontractors for modifications.
