Sheet Metal Operations,

Layouts, Tools, and

Measuring Instruments
 SHEET METAL
– It is a metal that is formed into thin, flat pieces.
– It is generally produced in sheets less than 6 mm.
– It is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking and can
be cut and bent into a variety of different shapes.
1.1 Sheet Metal Gauge:
Gauge sizes are
numbers that indicate
the thickness of a piece
of sheet metal, with a
higher number
referring to a thinner
sheet.
 1.2 Common Sheet Metal Materials

• Galvanized Steel Sheet

– consists of soft steel coated with a thin layer with zinc.
– one of the least expensive
– the most commonly used of all types of sheets in the general
sheet metal shop but seldom used in applications requiring welded joints.
– popularly known as GI sheets
– use to make pans, buckets, heating ducts, gutter, etc.
 1.2 Common Sheet Metal Materials

• Aluminium Sheet
– often used in the metal shops because of its pleasing
appearance, corrosion resistance and lightness.
– used in refrigerator trays, lighting fixtures, window panels,
airplanes, etc.

• Stainless Steel Sheet – possesses untarnished surface appearance

and corrosion resistance as its main advantages
– it can be welded and cut without damaging its corrosion
resistance
 1.2 Common Sheet Metal Materials

• Black Iron Sheet – coated with a thin layer of oxide to provide moderate
protection against rusting.
– use is limited to things that are to be painted such as tanks,
pans, stove pipes, etc.

• Tin Sheet – thin sheet of iron coated with tin to prevent rusting
– very bright silvery appearance
– used in roofs, food containers, dairy equipment, furnace fittings
 Tools, Machines, and Equipment in Sheet
Metal Work
1. Working bench – very sturdy, 2. Bench vice – primarily made to
strong, durable, and stable. It is hold or clamp metal, but is also
used for shaping metal by welding, ideal for clamping any large, heavy
grinding, and light castings materials due to its strength and
ability to stand pressure
 Tools, Machines, and Equipment in Sheet
Metal Work
3. Hammers -
3.1 Ball Peen Hammer – ideal for 3.2 Claw Hammer – mainly used
shaping metal, closing rivets, and for pounding nails into, or
rounding the edges of pins and extracting nails from, wood.
fasteners.
 Tools, Machines, and Equipment in Sheet
Metal Work
3.5 Club Hammer/Lump Hammer 3.6 Framing Hammer - heaviest
- often used for light demolition type for assembling frames or
work or masonry work. driving large nails into wood.
- When used with a steel
chisel, a club hammer can be an
effective tool for cutting stone or
metal.
 Tools, Machines, and Equipment in Sheet
Metal Work
3.7 Tack Hammer - used to install 3.8 Chipping and Riveting
upholstery fabric. Hammer – great for breaking
- delivering just enough power concrete
in as small an area as is practical. - It can also used for removing
slag from welds
 Tools, Machines, and Equipment in Sheet
Metal Work
3.9 Rubber Mallet – is commonly 3.10 Welding Hammer - used to
used in woodworking, upholstery, remove welding slag from a weld
and sheet metal, which requires and welding spatter from along
softer but firm blows. side welds.
 Tools, Machines, and Equipment in Sheet
Metal Work
4. Cutting Tools
4.1 Snips or Shears – use to cut thin sheets into required shapes and sizes
 Tools, Machines, and Equipment in Sheet
Metal Work
4. Cutting Tools
4.2 Pliers – use for holding, bending, and cutting work.
Needle nose Combination Diagonal cutting
plier plier plier
 Tools, Machines, and Equipment in Sheet
Metal Work
4. Cutting Tools
4.3 Chisels - used for carving, cutting, shaping hard materials such as wood,
stone, metal.
- made of hexagon or octagon cast steel bar or high carbon steel bar.
 Tools, Machines, and Equipment in Sheet
Metal Work
4. Cutting Tools
4.4 Notcher - specialized for folding and fabricating sheet metals

Hand notcher
 Tools, Machines, and Equipment in Sheet
Metal Work
4. Cutting Tools
4.5 Nibbler - is a tool for cutting sheet metal with minimal distortion.
 Tools, Machines, and Equipment in Sheet
Metal Work
4. Cutting Tools
4.6 Angle Grinder – is a power tool used for cutting, grinding, and polishing,
etc. It uses a rotating disc suitable for every application
Grinding: gentle pressure at an angle will
smooth the material to perfection.
Cutting: smaller sized wheels are used for precision pipe or
metal cutting.
Sanding/Polishing: angle grinders are a
perfect choice for woodwork.
 Tools, Machines, and Equipment in Sheet
Metal Work
5. Bending Tools and Equipment
5. Anvils – used to perform operations like bending, seaming or forming
on sheet metal, when suitable machines are not available. It actually
work as a supporting tool as well as a forming tool.
 Tools, Machines, and Equipment in Sheet
Metal Work
5. Bending Tools and Equipment
5. Plier benders - Great for adding curves to wire, rods, and metal strips.
 Tools, Machines, and Equipment in Sheet
Metal Work
6.

• Prick punch – used to

make small marks on
layout lines.

• Center punch – used to

make prick punch
markers larger at the
center holes that are to
be drilled.
Tools, Machines, and Equipment in Sheet
Metal Work
7.
7.1
 Tools, Machines, and Equipment in Sheet
Metal Work
7.
7.2 7.3
 Tools, Machines, and Equipment in Sheet
Metal Work
7.
7.3 7.4
 Tools, Machines, and Equipment in Sheet
Metal Work
7.
7.5
Sheet Metal Operations and Machines used,
Layout, and Joints
• Marking – It is done over the sheet before proceeding to another
operation

• Layout – is the process of planning and drawing the initial flat form of a
metal part before it is cut and formed. It ensures that the sheet is used
efficiently and that the parts fit together as intended in the final
assembly.
 Sheet Metal Operations
1. Shearing - cutting through a Machine Used: Shearing Machine
sheet of metal in a straight line, at
an angle or curve.

Tool used: Snip or Hand Shears

 Sheet Metal Operations
2. Blanking – cuts an enclosed Machine Used: Blanking machine
sheet metal part from a large sheet
by applying high shear force. As a
result of the blanking operation, the
blank is the finished product.

Tool used: Punching tool and a die

 Sheet Metal Operations
3. Punching - removes the scrap
material from the larger pieces of
sheet metal stock.
- For cutting sheet metal part,
a combination of punching
operations in various sizes and
shapes are used.
- As a result of the punching
Machine Use: Punching tool and a die
operation, the punched out piece
is the finished product.
 Sheet Metal Operations
Punching Operation
3.1 Slotting - involves cutting a rectangular 3.3 Notching – removes material from the
piece of metal out of the larger sheet workpiece in sheet metal bending sections.
- Notching happens to the edge of the
metal sheet and is used to attach the sheet to
something else.

3.2 Piercing – create an extruded hole or

slot in a workpiece
 Sheet Metal Operations
4. Bending – a vital step which refers
to the process of shaping the metal
sheets.

Machine Use: Press brakes and

rolling machines.
 Sheet Metal Operations
5. Hemming – a forming operation which
refers to the bending of a sheet metal
edge onto itself
- It reinforce an edge, hide burrs or
just improve the overall appearance of
sheet metal parts
- Two types are single hemming and
double hemming.
 Sheet Metal Operations
Hemming benefits: Machine Use: Die hemming and rolling
1. Hems strengthen the sheet metal edge hemming machines
2. They improve the surface appearance
and surface quality
3. They hide defects such as rough edges
and burrs
4. They can connect parts
5. They make the edges safer to handle
 Sheet Metal Operations
6. Hallowing – a process used for the production of shallow rounded, dish, or bowl
shape items.

7. Folding – Small work may be folded by holding in the vice and knocking round, or
by bending with pliers.
 Sheet Metal Operations
8. Swaging – making a groove in
sheet metal in round job by swaging
machine
- a process of forming desired
shape by passing sheet in between
two rollers.

Machine Use: Swaging Machine

 PATTERN DEVELOPMENT
• Development – the term development is given to the flat shape required
to produce a three-dimensional object. This is done by bending and
folding the development to produce the item required.
– Boxes, funnels, small tanks and other containers are produced in
this way.
 PATTERN DEVELOPMENT
Example 1: The development of a
parallel sided cylinder is a simple
rectangle. Once the required
dimensions are known, it may be
drawn straight out on the metal,
remembering to mark on any
allowances for seams, overlaps
and edge finishes.
After cutting out it may be curved
or rolled by whatever method or
operation is required.
 PATTERN DEVELOPMENT
Example 2: Developments for
rectangular boxes and containers
are a little less straight-forward but
may still be easily drawn straight
on to the metal.
Remember to allow any extra
metal required, such as for
soldering tabs at corners, or for
wired edges.
 PATTERN DEVELOPMENT
Example 3: Development for
pyramid shapes.
To draw this development,
first draw that one side, obtaining
the true lengths of its edges and
their angles from the working
drawing. Then draw the next
abutting it, and so on. Until all four
sides have been drawn. Lastly,
put in any soldering or riveting
tabs as required.
 Sheet Metal Joints
1. Seam Joint – This method of joint is classified into two, mechanical and
welded.
- Mechanical seam is used when joining light and medium grade gauge
metal. Also known as folded joints.
- Welded seam is necessary for heavier metal but it can also be riveted.
 Sheet Metal Joints
Seam Joint
- It is used to fasten sheet metal sections together using locks, rivets, screws, brazing,
or soldering.

- They can be made by hand, on a brake, or on a bar fold.

- The type of seam made and the fastening method depends on the type of metal,
its thickness, and its fabricating machinery available to the worker.

- Mechanical seam is used when joining light and medium grade gauge metal. Also
known as folded joints.

- Welded seam is necessary for heavier metal but it can also be riveted.
 Sheet Metal Joints
1. Lap joint (Plain and Flush)
• Plain lap joint – requires no fabrication • Tools used: Hole Punch and Riveting
and can be as simple as two edges offset Gun
simply by their thickness and some length
along the edge.
 Sheet Metal Joints
1. Lap joint (Plain and Flush)
• Flush Lap Joint - involves offsetting • Tools used: Hole Punch and Riveting
one edge to slide under the other piece Gun
of material, with the face of each piece
being on the same plane
- They can be joined in a wide
range of methods like spot welding, solid
welding, rivets, and soldering.
 Sheet Metal Joints
2. Standing Seam Joint – It requires the • Tools used: Hole Punch and Riveting
forming of both edges. Gun
- Suitable for large pieces of material
that need joined together
- This can be done with rivets or weld.

• First, bend the edge of the first piece at a

90-degree angle into a flange. Similarly,
bend the edge of the second piece at a
90-degree angle, but with an additional
hem formed over it.
 Sheet Metal Joints
3. Grooved Seam Joint - This joint is a • Tools used: Hole Punch and Riveting
curious combination of a flush lap and Gun
open hems.
- Used for large pieces of material
that need to be locked in place.

• Form the edges of two pieces into open

hems that can subsequently be joined to
create this type of joint. It is reminiscent
of two hands locking fingers together.
 Sheet Metal Joints
3. Grooved Seam Joint
 Sheet Metal Joints
4. Corner Joints (Raw and Flange) - The raw
and flange corner joint is a type of sheet metal
joint that closely resembles a plain lap joint and
involves a flat stock piece joined to a 90-degree
bend to form the corner.
• To join the two pieces, overlap the flat piece (raw)
across the corner bend (flange) and then join by
spot weld, rivet, or solder. Use tack or solid
welding when joining heavy gauge materials.
• Creating a flange joint involves forming a flange
on each piece and then placing one on top of the
other, with both types being formed in a similar
fashion.
 Sheet Metal Joints
5. Double Corner Seam Joint – It is
some kind of mix between a corner
seam and a grooved seam.
- Constructed with two open seams
like a grooved seam, the double seam
has a 90-degree angle to form a corner.
 Sheet Metal Joints
6. Pittsburgh Lock Seam – The two parts are the flanged edge and the pocket with
the projected edge, which is known locking flange after it has been bent over.
After the pocket is formed, the flanged edge is inserted into the pocket, and the
projected edge is then bent over the flanged edge. It then forms the locking flange
that completes the Pittsburgh lock seam.
 Sheet Metal Joints

• Soldering – metals are joined together by melting another metal, the solder,
around the joint.

Tools and Equipment:

• Soldering irons
• Solder/Solder wire
• Flux
 Rivets and Riveting
• Rivets – are short pieces of metal rod which have a head, or swollen portion, on one end.
– They are placed through aligning holes in the metals being joined and a second head
is formed on the other end, so holding the two, or more pieces of metal together.

Pop rivets
 Rivets and Riveting
•Riveting
– Rivet joints are used where strength is required or when the
metal sheet is too thick to be handled by seam joints.
– A successful riveting depends on the condition and size of
the rivet holes and on the correct size and spacing of the rivet.
– The hole of the rivet may be punched or drilled, depending
on the thickness of the metal.
– Thin sheet is usually punched, while the heavier metal or
thicker metal is drilled.
 Sheet Metal Joints
•Riveting Steps.
1. Drilling. Drill or punch the hole/s through the metals to be joined.
2. Drawing. Insert the rivet into the metal. Center the hole in the rivet
set over the rivet and tap the set a few times with a hammer. This
operation will draw the rivet and the metal tightly together.
3. Upsetting. Tap the shank of the rivet with a hammer until the
shank spreads to the approximate size of the head required.
4. Heading. Place the dimple of the rivet set over the rivet. Tap the
rivet set over the rivet. Tap the rivet set with the hammer until the
head is formed on the rivet.