Stamping10 min read
Stamped busbars and current-carrying plates
When a flat conductor should be punched from strip rather than machined from plate, and the geometry that decides whether the stamped route holds its current rating.
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Sourcing notes for custom parts
Drawings, tooling, quality and landed cost, from the team that runs the programmes.
All guides, page 38
Browse the full library.
Stamping9 min read
What is sheet metal stamping? Processes and part types
A plain guide to the press, the die and the operations behind a stamped part, plus the geometries and volumes where stamping is the right route.
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Wireforms8 min read
Crack detection for formed wire: visual, penetrant and eddy current
A crack in a formed wire part rarely starts in the middle of a straight run. It starts at a bend, a cut end or a weld, and the method you choose has to suit that location and the material.
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Wireforms10 min read
Extension springs: hooks, initial tension and fatigue
An extension spring carries its load through two hooks and a coil that is already tight. Here is how initial tension is set, where the hooks fail and what to put on the drawing.
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Wireforms10 min read
Nitinol shape memory wire: design limits for production
The strain, temperature and fatigue limits that decide whether a nitinol wire part can be made repeatedly, not just demonstrated once.
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Wireforms9 min read
Prototype wireforms without tooling: when CNC forming pays
Hand forming, CNC forming and soft tooling compared for samples, with the point where a prototype route stops being the cheap option.
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Wireforms9 min read
Spring load testing: how to specify and verify load at length
The fixture, the load point, the sample size and the records that turn a load call on a drawing into evidence that the spring will work.
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Stamping8 min read
Stamped washers, shims and spacers: flatness, thickness and burr direction
Why three flat parts that look alike need different drawings, different tolerances and different inspection.
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Wireforms10 min read
Flat springs vs wire springs: selection for tight spaces
A flat spring uses height and width. A wire spring uses diameter and length. Which one fits a tight envelope depends on the direction of the load, not on the size of the gap.
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Wireforms8 min read
Free length measurement: fixtures, tolerance and gauge R&R
Most free length disputes are measurement disputes. A flat fixture, a stated preload and a gauge study settle the number before the first batch arrives.
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Wireforms9 min read
How to specify a wireform drawing: title block, bends, datums and finish
A drawing checklist for formed wire parts, from the material call and bend table to the datum leg, finish note and inspection requirement.
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Wireforms9 min read
Hydrogen embrittlement in high-strength spring wire
Why a plated spring can break below its design load, where the hydrogen comes from, and the process controls that belong in the purchase order.
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Go from reading to checking
The guides are built around the same questions as the free tools. Size a busbar, check an ISO 2768 callout, build a first article report or compare landed cost.
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