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Why use a CNC Turret Press for your Sheet Metal Fabrication Project?

A Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) Turret Punch Press is ideal for medium or small run sheet metal fabrication. It can be a great alternative to building hard tooling and stamping parts with a standard punch press. By eliminating the need to build tools and perform manual labor, the Turret Punch Press can save time and money. The CNC Turret Punch Press also offers flexibility to make design changes with fewer consequences. Another advantage of a Turret press is for cutting red metals, which cannot usually be cut by CNC laser cutters. Most newer Turret presses also feature a brush table design, to protect the surface finish of parts cut with this piece of equipment. These convenient features make the CNC Turret Press an excellent choice for short run metal fabrication.

How Does the CNC Turret Press Fabricate Sheet Metal?

A Turret Press nibbles the parts out of a sheet of material. It can also do some minor forming with the stock and purchased tools held in its magazine. Turrets make "shaker" parts, as they're known in the industry. When the Turret Press is nibbling the parts out of a sheet of material it leaves several "micro-ties" that will hold the cut parts together in the sheet. After the sheet is run, the operator with shake the sheet, or lightly tap the parts with a rubber hammer, and the parts will release onto a table.

Each Turret Press has a Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) panel for programming. It is possible to upload an electronic design file into the machine and run parts the same day. Many Turret Punch Presses stock nearly 75 standard tools. These tools are great for:

• Basic punching
• Piercing
• Nibbling
• Embossing
• Extuding
• Slotting and recessing
• Louvering
• Coining
• Countersinks
• Forming tabs
• Creating ribs
• Creating hinges
• Specialized tooling can be purchased if needed

Most CNC Turret Presses hold sheets of material as large as five feet by twelve feet and perform up to 1,200 hits a minute. The Turret Press can punch metals as thick as one-quarter inch. For thicker metals, Dayton Rogers suggests a CNC Laser. Some CNC Turret Presses at Dayton Rogers also have an automatic loader/unloader, so they can run lights-out.

Is a Turret Press Always the Best Metal Forming Solution? Over the life of the project, there is usually a point at which the CNC Turret Punch Press is not the best choice. This usually occurs when part quantities reach the thousands or the design becomes more complicated (highly irregular contours or large holes require long machine operating times for the CNC Turret Press). At this point, we suggest an investment in modular or progressive tooling.

Contact the Dayton Rogers Process Engineering Department to learn more. Contact Us