12 Reasons Your Metal Sheets Need Leveling

Why Sheet Metal Leveling?

If the metal workpiece is flat and stress-free, subsequent processing will be smoother. Therefore, in order to achieve this high-quality effect, the metal workpiece must be leveled. In this article, we will list 12 reasons why it is worth adding leveling as a process. CNC high-precision leveling machine, hydraulic leveling machine Four- and six-layer precision leveling machine specializes in leveling various metal sheets and workpieces with a thickness of 0-50 mm. It can eliminate the internal stress in a few seconds and create high-precision flat workpieces.

12 reasons you need leveling

1. Poor quality of metal workpieces received

Steel is now more scarce than ever before. What if the metal workpieces received are warped far beyond the tolerance range? Returning the material will not solve the problem, because without the material in hand, how can it be processed? One of the most effective solutions is to level the sheet metal. Levelers can make the bent sheet flat, so the tolerances return to the correct range.

2. Customers complain about deformation of metal workpieces

Stamped parts will deform, and parts processed by thermal cutting processes such as laser cutting, plasma cutting, and flame cutting are no exception. The reason is: the processing releases the internal stress of the material. The deformation caused by the stamping process or the heat during the cutting process aggravates the deformation of the material. Although the deformation is caused by the process, it does not mean that customers will accept deformed parts. There is a remedy: the part leveler can level the bent parts in seconds.

3. Angle errors often occur after bending. Wrong angle after bending?

This may be due to the material. Because the sheet metal often has its own internal stress, although it is not visible to the naked eye and difficult to measure. If the springback during bending is different from the expected value, it may be caused by internal stress. Flattening can also help solve this problem. Flattening not only straightens the bent sheet, but also minimizes the internal stress in the sheet. This benefits all subsequent processing and allows you to obtain stable processing results.

4. The adjustment time in the welding area is too long

Parts are piled up in front of the welding area because the actual operation adjustment time is longer than planned? This may also be because the internal stress of the metal workpiece slows down the employees’ work speed. If the metal workpiece cannot be clamped in the fixture smoothly as required, time is taken up for unnecessary adjustments. If the sheet metal parts sent for welding have been flattened, the welding process will be much faster.

5. The components after welding must be reworked

It seems that there is no problem before welding, but the result after welding is unexpected! If the processing result does not meet the tolerance requirements, it must be reworked. Welded components are also affected by internal stress: invisible, but still present. The heat during welding exacerbates the deformation and exceeds the tolerance limit. It is therefore advisable to perform leveling before welding in order to eliminate internal stresses as much as possible.

6. Tolerance accumulation beyond limits

During the process, each tolerance was acceptable, but after welding, it was found that the tolerances were clearly not acceptable. One reason could be that the individual processes were too close to the tolerance limits of their processes. In the end, the cumulative effect exceeded the permissible tolerance range. It is therefore advisable to produce as accurately as possible from the beginning. This is not difficult to do if the sheet metal is leveled.

7. Problems with the quality of the finished product

Even if the finished product looks good, the sheet metal parts inside it may still have internal stresses. Depending on the loads on the component, the internal stresses can be released later – which can damage the finished product. So the quality problems that the customer complained about can most likely be solved by leveling the parts.

8. The stability of the component’s shape is affected

The laser cutting machine was set up perfectly; the stamping mold was also fine. But the shape of the part was not as stable as it should be. The internal stresses of the metal workpiece could also be the reason. Therefore, it is best to perform leveling first to prevent problems before they occur.

9. The tool life is too short

Tools are expensive. It is even more annoying when they last shorter than expected. But this can be avoided: Flattened sheet metal causes less wear and tear on the tool than sheet metal with higher internal stresses. Above all, there are fewer tool failures. Thus, flattening can increase productivity.

10. Punching machines face the problem of increasing capacity

The more strokes a punching machine has, the more parts it can punch out. This increases its productivity and economic efficiency. But it is not enough to simply set a higher stroke number on the machine. Without further process adjustments, there is a risk of damaging the tool or the part. One way to adjust the process is to use flattened sheet metal. This allows the punching machine to have a higher number of strokes – and thus a higher output.

11. Fully automatic welding machines reject too many scrap parts

Fully automatic welding machines have extremely tight tolerance requirements. If the actual value of a component deviates too much from the rated tolerance, it will quickly be classified as unacceptable and become scrap. This in turn reduces the economic efficiency of fully automatic welding machines. However, if you level the parts before feeding them into the welder, you can really make full use of their capacity.

12. Popped-up sheet metal can damage the laser head

During the laser cutting process, sheet metal sometimes releases its own internal stress. If a cut part suddenly jumps up and pops out, it is very likely to hit or even damage the laser head, causing unnecessary losses later. To prevent this from happening, the sheet metal should be leveled first.