Calder Metal solutions have a comprehensive range of CNC Leifeld and Denn metal spinning lathes based in our Halifax and Croydon factories. We can spin up to 6mm stainless with a 1250mm maximum blank diameter.
Advantage
- Faster production times
- Improved tolerances
- Lower Part costs
- Repeatabilitly
- Thickness can be increased
Metal Spinning
Overview
Metal Spinning is a metalworking process that converts a disc of metal to a axially symmetrical product.
As the name suggests, the metal spins at high speed and is formed around a form or mandrel to produce a wide range of products, from light fittings to vases, from scuba tanks to cartridges.
Metal spinning is advantageous for you in a number of ways:
- Almost any metal can be used, from aluminium and stainless steel to high strength alloys
- There is very little waste, as metal spinning does not involve the removal of material
- Tooling and production costs are low, compared to other processes
- Parts produced by metal spinning have no seams, so no weak points
- Metal spinning is used to produce prototypes as well as both short & long production runs
We will work with you to…
- Identify and source, if needed, the metal needed
- Develop and produce the form or mandrel (tooling) needed to spin the metal around
- Our production team has years of experience and we guarantee your products will be delivered on time and perfect
Frequently Asked Questions
HERE TO HELP
If you are unsure if the shape of your part is a good fit of the spinning process, please contact us. We are happy to assist you with modification that can make your part more spin-friendly.
Metal spinning is actually considered to be one of the oldest methods of forming sheet metal. It is an age old art that has been practiced manually for centuries. Metal spinning is a ‘cold worked’ metal forming process in which sheet metal is formed over a rotating mandrel or form. In metal spinning, the forming process is accomplished by the use of a spinning lathe.
The spinner skillfully shapes a flat piece of metal (steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, and copper) over a specially designed form/mandrel to create the shape you want. A flat circle or blank piece of metal is shaped around a preformed form/mandrel with a series of passes of a roller on a shaft or a tool housed under the arm. The form/mandrel can be deisgned for hundreds of different shapes.
The most common shapes are hollow dished, conical, hemispherical, and elliptical shapes. Edge configuration that includes beads and hems are also accomplished with metal spinning. Due to the nature of the process, most spinnings are round. In some instances spinning can be combined with other forming processes to produce slightly irregular shapes.
If the design change needs the inside diameter to decrease in size, the change can be relatively inexpensive. If the inside diameter increases, new tooling may have to be produced. If you need a prototype, this is the cheapest way to go; changes are the least expensive by the spinning process.
Spun parts can be made from many metals. The most common metals are aluminium, mild steel, stainless steel, galvanised steel, aluminised steel, brass and copper. Silver, zintel, iconel and other special metals or alloys can also be used.