This article discusses the most important factors required for cutoff methods. It explains the operations of machines used for the punching, shearing, notching, or coping of plates, bars, and structural sections. The article describes the effects of the blade angle and speed on the shear blade life. It reviews the design requirements and best practices for the production of blades. The article compares double-cut dies with single-cut dies used for shearing of structural and bar shapes. The shearing of specific forms, such as angle iron and flat stock, is also discussed. The article describes the advantages of hydraulic bar and structural shears. It concludes with information on the principle and construction of impact cutoff machines.

The multiple-slide machine, sometimes called a four-way, four-slide, or multislide machine, is a somewhat specialized item of stamping equipment, although it is very versatile within a limited area of stamping applications. This article discusses the construction and advantages of multiple-slide machines. It presents comparisons of four-slide operations with press operations based on production speed, tooling cost, tool adjustments, and operating cost. The article reviews some factors to be considered while selecting multiple-slide machines. It summarizes the strip materials commonly used in four-slide production. The article examines the design factors of four-slide parts, including tolerances and finishes. It provides the design recommendations for optimal part quality at maximum production speed. The article also discusses various four-slide cutoff methods.

Multiple-slide forming is a process in which the workpiece is progressively formed in a combination of units that can be used in various ways for the automated fabrication of a large variety of simple and intricately shaped parts from coil stock or wire. This article discusses the components of multiple-slide rotary forming machines involved in the blanking and forming of strip stock. It describes a complicated application of the two-level forming, with an example.

Sawing is the process of cutting a workpiece with power band saws, hacksaws, and circular saws. This article discusses the process capabilities and limitations of band sawing. It provides information on band sawing machines, their fixtures and attachments, band construction and materials, blade design, and cutting fluids associated with the band sawing process. The article also discusses the variables considered in band saw machining. In addition, it presents examples representing the comparison of contour band sawing with milling and shaping in various applications. The article concludes with a discussion on the safety precautions to be followed during band sawing and on friction band sawing, circular sawing, and hacksawing.

Contour roll forming is a continuous process for forming metal from sheet, strip, or coiled stock into desired shapes of uniform cross section by feeding the stock through a series of roll stations equipped with contoured rolls. This article discusses the materials, roll-forming machines, tooling, and auxiliary equipment used in contour roll forming and its process variables. Tooling used in roll forming includes forming rolls and dies for punching and cutting off the material. The article discusses the additional tooling required in tube mills to weld, size, and straighten the tubes as they are produced on the machine. It describes the roll design for tube rolling and reviews the seam welding operations of pipe and tubing. The article discusses cross-sectional tolerances, the reshaping of round tubing, and factors that affect the quality, accuracy, and surface finish.

Metal is removed from the workpiece by the mechanical action of irregularly shaped abrasive grains in all grinding operations. This article discusses three primary components of grinding wheels, namely, abrasive (the cutting tool), bond (the tool holder), and porosity or air for chip clearance and/or the introduction of coolant. It describes the compositions and applications of coated abrasives and types of grinding fluids, such as petroleum-base and mineral-base cutting oils, water-soluble oils, synthetic fluids, semisynthetic fluids, and water plus additives. The article concludes with information on different types of grinding processes, namely, rough grinding, precision grinding, surface grinding, cylindrical grinding, centerless grinding, internal grinding, and tool grinding.

This article describes the sectioning process, some general practices, common tools, and guidelines on how to select a cutting tool for a given metallographic sectioning operation. It provides a discussion on the consumable-abrasive cutting and nonconsumable-abrasive cutting methods for metallographic sectioning. Other methods, including the use of hacksaws, shears, burning torches, wire saws, and electrical discharge machining, are also reviewed. The article reviews the issues related to the specimen test location for certification work as well as process troubleshooting and component failure analysis.

This article begins with a discussion on the fundamentals of cutting. It focuses on blanking and piercing operations in a press tool to form and shape the final part geometry. The types of piercing operations include conventional piercing, piercing with a pointed punch, piece-and-extrude operations, slotting, countersinking, and cutting and lancing of tabs. The article provides information on the punch assembly, the die assembly, and the stripper and discusses the factors considered during piercing operations. It reviews the applications of the four types of blanks used in sheet-forming operations, namely, rectangular blank, rough blank, partially developed blank, and fully developed blank. It concludes with a discussion on the process capabilities, applications, and limitations of fine-edge blanking and piercing.

This article focuses on the mechanical and nonmechanical cutting methods used in metal fabrication industries. The most prevalent equipment used for mechanical cutting includes shears, iron workers, nibblers, and band saws. Nonmechanical methods of cutting include gas cutting, electric arc cutting, and laser cutting. The article concludes with information on the advantages of abrasive waterjet cutting, which is an alternative to laser cutting, gas cutting, and plasma cutting.