What Is a Turret Press?

Punching holes in sheets of metal is a tough job, especially if that metal is thick and sturdy. To form numerous metal enclosures, a turret press is indispensable. Also known as turret punches, these heavy-duty machines are used for metal forming. They force a “punch” through the metal, creating holes in a carefully planned formation. Without turret presses, the mass production of metal electrical enclosures would become vastly more complicated and time consuming. Now that you have the basic idea down, let’s dig a little deeper. What is a turret press, and why is it so integral to the construction of electrical enclosures?

What Is a Turret Press?

At American Products Contract Manufacturing, we use state-of-the-art CNC (computer numerical control) turret presses to manufacture our premium metal enclosures: an Amada Vipros 3510Nt Turret Press, an Amada EMK 3510Nt Turret Press, and multiple Amada Vella 2 Turret Presses. Our presses are great at blanking out metal parts, especially when special formations are needed. Dimples, louvers, lances, and other unique forms and patterns are a cinch. Plus, our turrets accept large sheets (up to 60″ x 96″ sheets), and they can hold 56 turret tools per machine.

The turret is the rotating receptacle that holds the tools, all of which are relatively small and light. They require more punches than heavier tool presses, but they are also faster and can achieve 600 strokes per minute. These highly efficient machines are capable of cutting a variety of materials, including carbon steel, galvanized steel, stainless steel, and aluminum.

Although presses greatly improve the mass production process, they also require a large upfront investment. For this reason, they aren’t well suited to small-volume projects and prototypes. Turret presses, however, can contain a number of standard punching tools that vary in size, edge, notch shape, hole shape, etc. This assortment of tools can be used to make a variety of parts without the formation of a specialized press tool, saving you time and money.

Punches lack the flexibility of lasers when it comes to cutting compound shapes, but they are faster when you need to cut repetitive shapes, like louvers in a grille. They typically use computer numerical control, which means the automated tools are operated by “precisely programmed commands encoded on a storage medium.” Manual control of hand wheels and levers is unnecessary, and computers handle most of the work, including positioning and programming.

_____

So what is a turret press? It is an absolutely essential component of the enclosure manufacturing process, allowing for the quick and efficient cutting of large sheets of metal.

If you’re on the hunt for a company that can manufacture premium metal enclosures on your behalf, check out American Products Contract Manufacturing. Manufacturing metal enclosures is our specialty. Our high-quality, innovative enclosures enable our customers to assist the telecommunications industry in expanding and improving their network services. We offer NEMA type 1, type 2, type 3, type 3-R, type 3-X, type 4, and type 4-X metal enclosures, and we form these enclosures from aluminum, galvanized steel, carbon steel, and stainless steel to create a rugged and reliable structure. Give us a call at 1-877-736-2228 to learn more, or request a free quote online.