Metal cutting at home and on a production scale

Very often there is a need for cuttingparts of large sheets of metal, chipping away pieces from them, cutting out grooves and channels, removing hard crusts, etc. To perform all these procedures, different methods are used.

How to cut metal at home

Home cutting of metal is carried out with the help ofvice, hammer and chisel. The last instrument consists of three parts - shock, medium and working. The working part is made in the form of a wedge, the master tool holds the middle tool, the impact part has a rounded end and tapers to the top.

For the production of chisels used carbonsteel. Before the beginning of cutting, the workpiece carries risks at the site of the future cut. Then the sheet is inserted into the vice so that the risks are visible. The first blow is applied with a chisel horizontally, all the following - at an angle of 25-30 degrees. Sheet metal cutting is a rather complicated and time-consuming procedure, therefore the method described above is only suitable for processing small batches of material. More advanced automated methods are used on an industrial scale.

Cutting large lots of metal

Often in small workshops, and sometimesenterprises for cutting metal sheets use a chipping pneumatic hammer. The worker holds it with both hands, directing the chisel exactly along the intended cutting line. Metal cutting in this way is less labor-intensive and is faster than manual cutting. The pneumatic hammer can operate either from a conventional network or from a compressor.

Cutting metal sheets using a guillotine

At large enterprises, if availablethe need for processing very large batches of metal, a special tool is used that significantly reduces the time of the operation, often making the process fully automated. This is the guillotine. Cutting the metal with a guillotine is done immediately along the entire length of the sheet. Before starting work, the metal workpiece is fixed to the horizontal support of the device using a beam. Then, the knife of the guillotine is placed on the cutting site. The sheet is cut with one blade movement. The cut is very smooth.

Advantages and disadvantages of the guillotine method

Metal cutting with a guillotine has many advantages, such as:

• high speed of work;
• accuracy of cutting;
• high quality (the seam does not require further processing);
• economy (metal losses are minimal).

However, this method has some disadvantages:

• the size of the workpiece is limited;
• steel with a high content of silicon, titanium and chromium in this way can not be cut;
• relatively high cost of cutting;
• narrow range of metal thickness;
• limiting the work in terms of temperature regime (the indicator depends on the technical characteristics of the specific guillotine model).

In addition to electric guillotine in enterprisesoften used manual. Their convenience lies primarily in the fact that you can use such tools in any conditions, even where there is no electricity.

Metal cutting is very difficult, requiring attentionand neatness, the process. With the use of modern devices designed for this purpose, you can significantly reduce labor costs, speed up the processing process and make the result better.