Hand Spinning vs. Automatic Spinning

Do you have a need for custom metal forming by spinning, but are just not sure if it needs to be hand spun or automatically spun? When it’s time to discern between hand spinning and automatic spinning in order to create your metal parts, trust Tallmadge Spinning & Metal to create exactly what you need to your specifications.

Our professionals can engineer and design a perfect product for all of your metal needs, giving you an excellent metal product no matter the industry. With seven decades of experience in the manufacturing business, we can create the metal product that you require for any application. Both hand spinning and automatic spinning have important applications, and there are pros and cons to each one.

The Art of Hand Spinning

Metal spin forming, also known as metal spinning, is the process of rotating a tube or disc at high speeds to form it into some type of symmetrical object. This hand-processed product is most often created on a vertical or horizontal lathe using CNC controls. This type of spinning is a throwback to hand-tooled craftwork of days gone by.

When metal workers do this by hand, like our expert team at Tallmadge Spinning & Metal, the operator controls both the forming force and the speed. This intricate process entails the operator using a spoon to shape the workpiece over the block, while using the other hand to apply additional pressure and lubricants.

Hand spinners innately understand the grain of the metal, its structure, and the play within the metal. As trained professionals, the hand spinners create metal products that are used in a variety of applications. Hand spinning is used for mechanical parts for aircraft, semiconductor equipment, beverage cans, and many other applications.

Pros and Cons of Hand Spinning

Pros

Hand spinning is an intricate process, and allows a product to be more decorative and individually crafted. Hand spinning creates intricacies that work the metal’s natural properties to create many products of all different sizes. Hand spinning is perfect for small jobs, or delicate jobs, as well.

Cons

There are several drawbacks to hand spinning. Because hand spinning is more tedious, it will often be more expensive. And since the workman is human, there may be a disparity in one can versus the text one, as these products are not perfectly machine-made.

Automatic Spinning Attributes

Automatic spinning, as the name suggests, creates a process that is highly accurate and repeatable by machines. This process, as one would expect, is much faster than doing it by hand. A CNC machine only needs to be programmed, and then it can hydraulically apply the predetermined amount of force and time to create identical parts.

Along with the speed and predictability of the metal spinning automation, the machines can also finish the edges, which is a plus. The machines are easily programmable, and can even store the formula for the future. Because there is so much involved in programming and machine use, this is best for bigger runs of metal products.

Pros and Cons of Automatic Spinning

Pros

One major pro of using automatic spinning is that it will make the project run faster, and is generally more inexpensive. The parts will also be more uniform if you spin metal this way.

Cons

One con is that this is not appropriate for small jobs, as it is time consuming to program and run the machines. And even if you choose automatic spinning, you might still need to use hand spinning to finish or put on decorations. Short productions can be more cost effective because they don’t have to set up all of the machines.

Extensive Capabilities at TSM

In a perfect world, a metal shop would have both hand spinning and metal spinning, so that the positives of each can be utilized. At Tallmadge Spinning & Metal, we will work one-on-one with you to decide which method is the most beneficial and cost-effective for your project. Serving industries such as automotive, mass transportation, aerospace, solar, and defense, our versatile team and vast equipment will create the right metal piece for your application.

Contact the TSM team today to request a quote on metal spinning for your project.