FAQ

General

What is deep drawn stamping?

Deep drawing is a metal forming process in which a flat metal strip is drawn into a forming die by the mechanical action of a punch. The process is considered "deep" drawing when the depth of the drawn part exceeds its thickness.

What metals do we work with?

Truex has supplied parts in Aluminum, Anodized Aluminum, Copper, Brass, Steel, Coated Steel, Plated Steel, and Stainless Steel

How long will you honor your quotations?

Truex quotations are good for 30 days unless there is a significant change in the cost of raw material during that period. We price our quotations to reflect the current cost of raw material such as Brass, Stainless Steel etc. When you place an order with Truex, it will be based on our quotation and the price will not change for the stated quantity.  Annual or semi annual blanket orders with releases at a fixed price are a good way to protect your company from the fluctuations of the metals marketplace.

What is the minimum number of parts that can be purchased?

Standard parts in inventory
We maintain an inventory of standard parts in box quantities. These quantities range form 1000 /box to 5000/ box depending on the size of the part. We can also supply parts in special packaging such as small bags or large gaylords.

Customer parts or parts not in inventory:
Because a transfer press runs at hundreds of strokes per minute, and a part is produced with every stroke, it does not take long to produce thousands of parts. Setting up the punches and dies to run a part takes a few hours. If the best price is required, in order to absorb the cost of the set up and produce parts at the most economical price, we generally need to run between 20,000 and 30,000 parts. Lower quantities are available but will require higher pricing. Historically, we usually do not run less than 5000 pieces.

 

Transfer Press

What is a transfer press?

A Transfer Press is a stamping press generally used for the deep drawing process. An initial blank is stamped from a strip of metal and moved or transferred into individual dies (forming/ blanking stations) by fingers as it transfers through the press. 

What are the advantages of a transfer press?

Unlike progressive stamping, there is no single tool incorporating all of the punches and dies into an expensive base unit, stripper unit and punch holder.  Only the punches and dies are required. These are mounted in existing stations in the press. In addition to significantly less tooling costs, less material is used since a carrier strip is not required to carry the parts through a stamping die.

 

Tooling

What tooling is Customer owned?

The punches and dies required to be built in order to make the part.
In many cases, Truex can use existing tooling for the initial bank and draws leaving only the remaining draw and trim tooling needed to be purchased, saving you money.   

Can Transfer press tooling be transferred?

Generally, transfer press tooling is designed to accommodate the punch and die holders for the press it is used in. It is not easily transferred to another press or facility

How long can deep drawn tools be expected to last before they need to be rebuilt?

When you place an order with Truex, we will maintain the tool for the life of the program. Truex will never ask a customer to pay for a tool rebuild unless there is a customer directed design change.

 

Parts and Capabilities

How long does it take to make the first samples of a new part?

Tooling for straight sided parts such as deep drawn cans or ferrules can generally be tooled, setup in the press, and stamped with first article samples shipped within 6 to 8 weeks.  More complicated parts with additional features such as multiple ID’s, tapers, holes pierced the side, etc. can take 8 to 10 weeks.  Situations where only a few tooling stations need to be built will take less time.

You can expect to add an additional 1 to 2 weeks if your requirements include a PPAP. PPAP submittals involve numerous samples parts, measurements, engineering, capability studies, etc. that take time to complete.

Can you provide prototypes?

Yes. It should be noted that prototype tooling usually costs almost as much as production tooling.  Although it can be made from less expensive tool steel with a limited stamping life, most of the cost in making deep drawn tooling is in the fabrication. Prototype tooling must necessarily mimic the production tooling.  Because of the cost of prototype tooling, it is usually only used when design changes are expected after the prototypes are tested.

What size part can we make?

The size of part we can make is dependent on the distance between the die stations in our presses (part width and height) and the shunt height or length of the press stroke (part height). These attributes vary with our different presses. In general we can produce a part as small in diameter as 3/8 inch, to a max diameter of 6 inches.  Height can vary from 3/8 of an inch to 4 inches.  For either max dimension we can offer a part 6 inches in diameter and 1 inch deep or ¾ inches in diameter and 5 inches deep.

How thick a part can we stamp?

Our ability to deep draw a part is limited by the thickness, type of material and the severity of the forming process. In general we can draw the more ductile materials such as Copper, Brass or Aluminum in thicknesses of .060 inches or less. Steel and Stainless steel fall into the .040 inches or less range.

Can the wall thickness of a deep drawn part vary?

Since a deep drawn part starts with strip of metal, and the metal is drawn down into the die, the metal thickness remains relatively uniform throughout the stamping process. There is no ability to form thicker sections within the part. For example, if a reduction in ID inside the part is required, such as a bump or step, there will be a corresponding reduction to the outside of the part.

Note: There will be some thinning of the material thickness as it is drawn. This reduction increases with length. This thinning is generally less than 5%.

Are our Brass parts lead free?

Our Deep Drawn products are manufactured from a CDA 268 alloy that is held to under 100 parts per million (less than .01 percent) lead content. This is well under the 1000PPM and 2500PPM State and Federal standards currently in use.

When our parts are mated with machined Brass products, such as a female garden hose fitting with a machined octagonal nut, we offer products that meet the 1000PPM and 2500 PPM standards.