The Manufacturing Process -HDST Stainless Steel Products Co.,Ltd
Blanking
1 Production begins with rectangular, flat blanks of stainless steel, sterling silver, or in the case of plated flatware, an alloy. Large rolls are stamped in individual blanks, which are flat pieces roughly the same shape as the piece to be produced.
Rolling
2 Through a series of rolling operations, these blanks are graded or rolled to the correct thickness and shapes required by the manufacturer's flatware patterns. First the blanks are rolled crosswise from left to right, right to left, and lengthwise, then trimmed to outline. Each spoon, for instance, must be thick at the base of the handle to resist bending. This gives graded pieces the right balance and a good feel in the hand. Each piece is now in the form of a cleanly finished shape in the rough dimension of the utensil.
Annealing
3 Between operations, the blanks must pass through annealing ovens to soften the metal for further machine operations. The annealing, done under great heat, must be very accurately controlled so the final piece will be resistant to bending and to nicks and dents when in use. The last annealing is the most The First step in cutlery manufacture involves blanking the stainless steel or sterling silver to the proper shape. A series of rolling operations then gives the piece the correct thickness. After heat treatment and trimming, the piece has a pattern embossed on it in a stamping operation. Finally, the piece is buffed and polished.
The First step in cutlery manufacture involves blanking the stainless steel or sterling silver to the proper shape. A series of rolling operations then gives the piece the correct thickness. After heat treatment and trimming, the piece has a pattern embossed on it in a stamping operation. Finally, the piece is buffed and polished.
important, because the pieces must be just the right degree of hardness when they are embossed. Then the metal can be forced easily into all the tiny details in the dies and the ornamentation will be faithfully reproduced.
Cutting to outline
4 The rolled blanks are placed in the cutout press by an operator, to remove the excess metal and to fashion the shape of the piece. This process is similar to cutting shapes from rolled dough. The shape of the piece is cut out of the metal and the excess metal is remelted and transformed back into sheets of metal to be used again. This trimming must ensure an accurate fit of the pieces into the dies when the design is applied.
Forming the pattern
5 The next step is the forming of the pattern. Each pattern has its own hardened steel dies-two dies for each piece, one with the pattern for the front of the piece, and the other with the pattern for the back of the piece. These are carefully set in the hammers by die setters. The operator quickly places a piece in place under the drop hammer, which descends with a hydraulic pressure of 200 tons. (The bases of the drop hammers are bedded in 160 cubic yards of cement.) The metal is squeezed into every tiny detail of the ornamentation in the die, embossing the pattern on the piece. The blow of the hammer hardens the piece for use in the home. Surplus metal around the outline of the piece is then removed by clipping presses.
HDST Stainless Steel Products Co.,Ltd