The four main stages of a sheet metal stamping cycle

• Sheet positioning — the blank or strip is positioned on the die, either manually (piece-by-piece) or automatically (via feeder/straightener for strip work).
• Forming — the ram descends and the punch forces the metal into the die cavity, producing the plastic deformation that creates the three-dimensional shape.
• Ejection — the formed part is released from the die by the ejection system (pneumatic or mechanical) — the ram returns to TDC.
• Quality control — dimensional and visual inspection of the formed part. With an integrated force monitoring system, process control can be performed in-cycle at 100%.