Page 78 - MetalForming October 2012

Microstamping
Taken Down to the Wire
With the ability to wire-EDM cut parts using wire diameters down to 0.002 in., Scenic Tool and Stamping meets customer requirements for producing precise microstampings.
Mention stamping and what typically comes to mind are high volumes of parts with required finished-size tolerances rela- tively simple to maintain. But what about the tiny, complex stamped parts such as electric contact connectors, measuring 0.030 by 0.150 in. and with features as small as 0.012 in. that must be stamped to overall dimensional tol- erances within ±0.0005 in.?
Scenic Tool produces connectors to overall dimensional tolerances within ±0.0005 in., stamped on high-speed presses at up to 1200 strokes/min. Approxi- mately 90 percent of the shop’s electrical-connector stampings run reel to reel.
Now imagine having to manufac- ture the intricate tooling necessary to stamp such small components—at Sce- nic Tool and Stamping Inc., in Campo- bello, SC, it happens every day. Although the shop completes a wide range of job sizes, its expertise is in microstamping—and the tooling need- ed for that process. The family-owned full-service tool-and-die shop and pro- gressive-die stamper builds and runs dies for customers. With an elevated level of precision capability, Scenic Tool specializes in providing microstamped electrical connectors for the automo- tive and electronics industries.
In 2011, the firm produced slightly fewer than one-billion electrical-con- tact connector stampings for its various customers, with individual order vol- umes ranging from 50 to several million pieces. Most connectors are tiny and complex, and stamped from very thin material. And while also producing connectors to exacting tolerances is more than enough of a challenge, the shop’s customers continually request that they be made even smaller.
Smaller, More Precise Tools
As the size of many consumer prod- ucts continues to shrink, the compo-
76 MetalForming/October 2012
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