Miniature stamped parts remind us of a game.
Remember the children’s game “I Spy with My Little Eye?” It was so fun as a kid to try and spot what our friends saw from their unique perspective. The more challenging the better, as we closely examined even the tiniest of details within our surroundings to find the winning item.
Well, we do it every day here at Atlantic Precision Spring. But for us, it’s not a game. It’s our business. Because we manufacture miniature stamped parts and produce some of the highest quality materials you can find on the market, making us a leader in the industry. We service a variety of clients with our small metal parts and springs and have the tools and resources to create custom items. It’s an interesting art, working with miniature sizes. Here’s how it’s done.
How to Manufacture Miniature Stamped Parts
Our tolerances are paper-thin (or ever thinner!) as we work to manufacture the most precise small metal parts for you and your business. Our precision process is automatic and allows us to create high volume quantities with ease. With micro-precision stamping, we manufacturing tiny clips, inserts, stamps, springs, and other small parts that custom fit your needs. Working with a variety of metals like copper and stainless steel, we’re able to use the material that works best for unique applications.
Atlantic Precision Spring focuses on meticulous exactness. Miniature parts require no room for error, so tolerances are tighter than ever. The challenge with working on such small details is utilizing the right equipment. We are always improving our technologies to produce the smaller and highest quality metal stamped parts you can find.
Making a high precision part starts with precision tools and components. Within the progressive tool starts with the die set where all the forming and cutting is performed. Using high precision ball bearing die sets and high precision materials makes for a tool with less friction and less wear on the tools. Smoothness leads to a more consistent strike each revolution. Using high precision wire electrical discharge machine programming technology (WEDM) makes tools with tolerances better than .0001! These tools, combined with the ball bearing die sets, are the best beginning to a more precise part.
Using the correct material to cut, form, draw, and extrude reduces the amount of tool wear. This comes from well-trained, highly knowledgeable engineers and tool makers. Also, using equipment that inspects more parts in less time shows more accurate trends and variances that keep the parts performance process controlled. Having a staff that continually inspects not only the parts but also the machines, is critical to high-quality products. Using these tools and techniques reduces extra time troubleshooting jobs because of faulty metals or equipment.
Smaller parts mean smaller machines. And this means that tolerances on these tools have to be greater. This is where having the knowledge comes into play on what materials work best and which ones hold up to the constant pressures involved in manufacturing. Some metals bend while others need to remain rigid. Also, the surface finish plays a key part in a tool’s performance. Some tools are buffed to a shine and others, after being buffed, require further post-operation, adding smoother surfaces.
Small orders of small parts require fast tooling at an inexpensive cost. Atlantic Precision Spring has perfected precision tooling that is able to be used off of standard premade blank form tools of different materials. These tools have already been machined heat treated and ground in large quantities, reducing individual costs, and reducing time for production. This allows custom parts to be made in a fraction of the time and at more competitive pricing.
Our products, measuring in the thousands of a millimeter in size, can be applied to a number of applications and industries. Medical devices, electronic devices, aerospace gauges, and military equipment are all heavily reliant upon our miniature stamped metal parts. Regardless of the size, dimensions, and shape or complexity, we can meet your needs. With accuracy and efficiency, we understand your specifications and get your products underway ASAP.
Atlantic Precision Spring is a leader in small metal parts manufacturing. And we have the resources to back up our claims. We work with precision stamped metal parts that are as small as 0.076 mm in size. That’s about as big as an ink dot on a pad of paper! Our ability to work with such sizes, and produce them on a custom level in quantities selected by our customers, make us one of the leading US miniature parts manufacturers. For more information, please give us a call and reach out to us directly.