Sheet metal processing is a type of metal processing technology, usually referring to a comprehensive cold deformation processing technology for metal sheets, including shearing, punching/cutting/compounding, folding, welding, riveting, splicing, forming, etc. During the processing, the thickness of the metal sheet does not change. The metal processing technologies corresponding to the sheet metal process include casting, forging, machining, etc., and the metal thickness of their products is usually inconsistent.
According to different processing methods, sheet metal processes are divided into manual sheet metal, stamping and CNC sheet metal. At present, manual sheet metal is mainly concentrated in the fields of automobile repair, art, advertising, etc.; stamping sheet metal is suitable for products with a single variety, large output, small structure and relatively stable types, such as medical equipment metal parts, energy equipment metal parts, industrial equipment metal parts and daily consumption metal stamping products.
Of course, the main raw materials of the sheet metal processing industry are non-ferrous metal alloy plates and thin steels, and the non-ferrous metal industry and the steel industry account for about 40% of the total cost of the industry. In addition, forging machinery and molds are required to process raw materials into sheet metal products. Therefore, the above four industries are the upstream of the sheet metal processing industry.
Since sheet metal products are widely used, their downstream industries include almost all manufacturing industries, mainly the communications and electronics industry, automobile manufacturing industry, motorcycle manufacturing industry, aerospace industry, instrumentation industry, and home appliance industry. Generally speaking, most of the metal forming parts of various electromechanical products are produced by sheet metal technology.
Returning to the development of China’s sheet metal processing industry, for international customers, China’s sheet metal processing technology is already at the forefront. Whether it is equipment or technology, it can meet 99% of customer requirements, even high-precision customer requirements. Covering many sheet metal parts demand industries such as industry, agriculture, energy, transportation tools, and medical equipment. Details are as follows:
1. R&D status
With the development of industrial manufacturing technology and electronic information technology, the technical requirements for sheet metal processing products are also constantly improving. From 2011 to 2017, the number of patent applications in China’s sheet metal processing industry increased year by year; in 2014, the number of patent applications in the industry reached a peak in recent years. In 2016, the number of patent applications in China’s sheet metal processing industry was 83, a year-on-year increase of 6.4%; in 2017, the number of patent applications in China’s sheet metal processing industry was 52.
2. Market status
With the global economic expansion and industrial adjustment, the global manufacturing industry has accelerated its transfer to emerging markets such as Asia and Latin America since the 1980s. At present, China has become an important base for the world’s manufacturing industry. The rapid development of the manufacturing industry and the huge market capacity of industrial products have driven the development of my country’s sheet metal processing industry. The market demand for sheet metal processing products in my country is very strong. From 2011 to 2020, the market scale of China’s sheet metal processing industry continued to expand; in 2016, the market scale of China’s sheet metal processing industry reached 688.5 billion yuan. However, generally speaking, the sheet metal processing industry started late, the industry scale is generally small, and there is a shortage of production technicians. It is difficult to form the core competitiveness of enterprises. The market competition is becoming increasingly fierce, and it does not yet have the strength to compete with international multinational companies.
3. Analysis of the economic benefits of the industry
At present, overall, the economic benefits of China’s sheet metal processing are good, and many industry enterprises have operating profits of more than 20%. The sheet metal processing industry mainly provides distribution processing for industries such as automobiles, shipbuilding, precision machine tools, precision instruments, communications electronics, and elevators, and most of the partners are large foreign companies (GE, BOSCH, OTIS). As the cooperative relationship deepens and lasts, advanced technologies, processes, and strict and standardized production environment, production process and other aspects of management experience can be learned from them, so that key components and key technologies can be gradually localized, which will reduce the purchase of key components from foreign foreign enterprises and reduce the production costs of manufacturing enterprises.
As China becomes more and more an international processing and manufacturing center, coupled with the continuous increase in foreign investment, the demand for metal processing capacity continues to increase, and the electrical control boxes and machine housings in the metal processing industry are generally sheet metal parts, so the demand for sheet metal processing capacity is also increasing. In addition, as far as sheet metal processing is concerned, sheet metal processing companies usually need a variety of mechanical equipment to meet different process requirements, and the punching accuracy of sheet metal is generally around ±0.1mm, and the bending accuracy can generally reach ±0.5mm, so compared with sheet metal processing, the accuracy is much lower. Therefore, the advancement of industry technology has also brought high profits. For example, the profit margin of stamping in sheet metal processing can generally reach about 30%, while the profit of laser cutting is as high as more than 50%.
The above is a brief introduction to the development of China’s sheet metal processing industry, providing international customers with an overview of the industry to assist in decision-making when seeking cooperation or finding Chinese sheet metal service providers.
For information about metal surface treatment processes and sheet metal fabrication services, feel free to contact Mulan Group Sheet Metal Fabrication, a leading sheet metal manufacturing service provider in China. We specialize in ODM/OEM metal processing and continuously update industry insights while delivering high-quality sheet metal services for your reference.
Here is our Sheet Metal Sample Display
