First attempt at embossing thin aluminum.

[Sonicmook56]

Hi! I hope I'm posting this in the correct forum. I've been thinking about embossing thin aluminum for weeks using the tools I have in my shop. So, today I cut out a simple die on my mini lathe, stuck it in my floor press with some .001" aluminum flashing I got from the home improvement store. Below is the result. I used different materials to "compress" the aluminum into. Foam, wood and lastly two layer of vinyl, which seemed to work the best. In one test with the foam, it cut the foam instead of the aluminum.




First I cut down the inside about .03" to leave room for a "cutting" ring on the outside edge.

Then cut some circles inside the area. This is the simple patern I hope to press into the aluminum.

Next I cut an edge around the outside. I was hoping this would "cut" the outline around the piece being pressed.

Everything loaded up in the floor press

It cut a circle out of the foam I was using. Not really what I was going for at all.

I tried wood instead of foam, but that didn't work. I then tried some vinyl material folded over a couple times, which gave me the best results.

This is as best as I could get it. As you can see something is off somewhere . I'm just sticking the die under the ram and getting is as close to center as I can, then pressing it.


I've been reading a lot, and it seems the proper way to do this is building some sort of shoe to hold the die? I have a couple ideas for some designs, but I was hoping others here on this forum could give me some pointers. It should also be known (if it's not obvious) that I am a complete hack and I have no idea what I am doing. Thanks!

~B

[mactec54]

Sonicmook56

Urethane works the best for doing this kind of forming, you can get different grades & have to put it in a housing to contain it

[Sonicmook56]

Thanks for the fast reply. So you get a block of urethane and build a holder around it so it doesn't squish out? I'll check what McMaster Carr has.

I believe I've solved my issue of uneven pressure by boring out a hole the size of ram on my press. This centers the die and gives it a pretty flat surface. I am now getting consistent pressure all around.

Now my problem is the outside ring that is supposed to cut the piece out, is doing a horrible job, and the inside rings are making a nice cut. I'm a bit confused because the inside rings are .03" below the outside ring.

I'll post pic's soon.

[mactec54]

Sonicmook56

Normally you don't do a cutting operation when forming like this in urethane,You really have to have a fixed die on the outside, with a moving die in the centre,you may need to make your die so the urethane is in the centre of top die with a cutting edge on the outside if you want to do this, you will have to make it out of tool steel, & heat treat the cutting edge as well, or it won't last very well, The other way you form it, then put it in your lathe on a matching form,& hold it with your tail stock pressed againest the form, Then trim it off

[Sonicmook56]

Great info. I'm going to try some new dies, upper and lower. I guess I can use liquid urethane and pour it into the center of the lower die?

I'm just using aluminum to to play around with and make sure I can do this kind of operation with the tools I already have.

[rowbare]

See:

Machining Jewelry on the Taig CNC Milling Machine

He refers to a book there. You might look into that if you are going to do a lot of this.

bob

[RomanLini]

I think for good results you need both male and female dies, in a press setup to ensure alignment. Then press it using lots of lubricant.

[mactec54]

Sonicmook56

For good form 95 durometer urethane is best

[packrat]

A cheap source of urethane for forming like this, is a Harbor Freight dead blow hammer.
They have several different sizes that can be cut to the size you need.

[roninB4]

Alignment between male/female, top/bottom is essential in every type of die I've ever built. Without achieving a repeatable action/interaction you never know what the tooling is really doing or not doing. This leads to wierd, unpredictable results and/or tool breakage. Close enough is NOT good enough unless you've measured the alignment and locked down both top and bottom. A die set goes a long way to allowing the tool to do what it's supposed to. Sure, you can work around the die set but if you're learning then why would you want to go through that much trouble testing a potential design? Do yourself a favor and scare up an old die set on Flea-Bay or talk to any stamping house, they likely have old die sets that need to be thrown out now and then.

[grttt3]

You could always purchase some bolt on pins and bushings from anchor lamina or misumiu and make your own die set.

[grttt3]

Impressive for your first attempt