Commercial metal stamping and metal fabrication are often used interchangeably, but these terms and manufacturing services aren’t the same. Each service offers its own unique set of processes, benefits, and applications.
So how do customers know which service is right for them and their needs? Winco Stamping breaks down the factors that determine which service to use.
Defining the Process
It’s critical to define clearly what each manufacturing process is and how it’s completed.
Commercial metal stamping relies on presses and hard tooling known as dies to blank, pierce, bend, and form parts from sheet metal. Typically, manufacturers can combine multiple outputs into one, known as a progressive die. This is an extremely repeatable process once the tooling is in place.
Fabrication, however, is more of a broad term that encompasses many different types of manufacturing or secondary services such as laser and plasma cutting, punching, bending, machining, or welding. Some of these services are used in combination with one another to create parts or assemblies from sheets and other forms of metal.
Common Applications of Commercial Metal Stamping
Metal stamping products are used in a variety of industries, each with their own unique applications.
- In the automotive industry, companies rely on metal stamping for body panels, brackets, clips, and chassis components.
- Connections, terminals, shields, small brackets, and precision hardware are examples of commercial metal stamped parts that serve the electronics and electrical industries.
- Precision small parts, housings, and components that require consistency and durability at varying scales, such as knobs, can be metal stamped for industries such as appliances, HVAC, and medical.
- Winco Stamping works with numerous industries, including aerospace, agriculture, lighting, medical equipment, and more.
Key Benefits
Commercial metal stamping comes with its own set of benefits that serve customers well and are usually deciding factors in electing for this manufacturing service.
- Commercial metal stamping offers low costs per piece when operating at medium to high volumes.
- Tooling allows for fast, automated production.
- Tight and repeated tolerances that feature integrated qualities such as holes, embosses, coined features, bends, and more are traditionally completed in one pass as opposed to fabrication services.
- With the use of coil feeding and nesting, commercial metal stamping saves on material costs.
How to Identify Which Service is Right For You
Ultimately, knowing which service is right for you is the most important thing when comparing commercial metal stamping to fabrication. These identifiers should help make your team’s decision a little easier.
- Elect stamping services if:
- Your team needs thousands of identical parts per year, where total lifetime volume justifies tooling costs
- Parts are primarily a sheet metal blank with holes, cutouts, and bends.
- You need tight, repeatable tolerances
- Stable design that features minimal anticipated changes once production begins
- Elect fabrication services if:
- Your team is in the prototyping phase of manufacturing.
- Uncertain volume amounts or inconsistency in volume throughout a given year
- The part is large and has multiple 3D aspects requiring welding for assembly or other custom variants
- If your team expects constant or ongoing design changes, but it doesn’t justify constantly changing the tooling, or changing the tooling isn’t quick enough
Contact Winco Stamping For Your Commercial Metal Stamping Needs
Winco Stamping has been your trusted, reliable, and experienced metal stamping manufacturer since 1948. For nearly 80 years, we’ve created quality, durable metal stamped products.
Winco works with numerous metals, including copper, brass, annealed steel, stainless steel, and more, creating the components that you need, when you need them. And with our ISO 9001:2025 certification, our customers know that quality products are being created every time.
Have questions about commercial metal stamping applications, or have a design ready to go? Contact us today and discover the Winco difference.
