Some times, sheet metals are used to produce different components by using the process of sheet metal stamping. In the process of sheet metal stamping to produce stamped sheet metal components, a metal sheet is inserted into a die or a press. By applying pressure on the die, the sheet metal is moulded into the required shape and size Sheet metals up to only a certain thickness could be used in these metal stamping machines. For most of the metals, the maximum thickness is ? inch. But, in special cases, machines could be designed to handle thicker sheet metal. Also, only sheets made from specific materials could be used. They include aluminum, brass, steel (both hot rolled or cold rolled), galvanized steel, stainless steel, copper, zinc and titanium.

The design of the die used in stamping is one of the most important part of producing stamped products. The design process of the dies requires that the customer should provide a prototype or at least a diagram of the final product. In case, the customer is unable to do that or even cannot provide a clear idea regarding their requirement, most producer of stamped sheet metal products offer engineering services to the clients for designing the product as well. Some other secondary services like deburring and plating that is required after the actual process of stamping, are also provided by these stamping companies.

The three main components of sheet steel stamping process are the die, the punch and the blank holder or the binder. During the process of stamping, the sheet held between the blank holder and the die and the punch is driven into the die thereby spreading over the die caused by drawing and stretching. The blank holder provides the restraining force for holding the metal sheet that is required to control the flow of sheet metal into the die. This restraining force also prevents the wrinkling and the tearing of the sheet as well as by controlling the quantity of material going into the process. For some processes that require the blank holder force to be quite high for the raw material used, draw beads are used to provide the required restraining force.

Sheet metal stampings are ordinarily referred to as thin stampings. Components produced by sheet metal stamping are used mainly for case-building processes. This process also constitutes the most important part of the whole process, as each of the panels has to be stamped individually.