Manual & CNC Metal Spinning

E.H. Schwab is committed to your project, regardless of size.

We make anywhere from one piece per project to a few thousand in the course of a year. For higher volume-work, we utilize our CNC metal spinning equipment, which has the benefit of both speed and consistency, as well as the ability to offer secondary operations. CNC machines can also form thicker materials, as the force is generated hydraulically or via electric motors. Due to its force, it does require steel tooling.

A typical run for our CNC spinning lathes are 50-a few hundred parts at a time, and they are versatile, with the capability to form parts from less than 1” in diameter up to 50” in diameter in materials up to 0.187” thick in mild steel, or 0.250” thick in aluminum.

Our hydraulic-assist and manual spinning lathes are often used for lower volume prototype work or parts with geometries that are difficult or impossible to form on a CNC machine. Our hydraulic-assist machine can swing up to a 96″ diameter blank.

In this video, an aftermarket recreational component is being formed on one of our CNC spinning lathes. The part is 0.187” thick 6061-0 aluminum. For this specific part, it is critical that we maintain a heavy wall thickness, so we are using a larger radius roller to do the bulk of the forming. First, the blank is lightly sprayed with a lubricant just before the spin forming begins. At 0:43, we shift to a smaller radius roller to “set” the corner. Finally, the trim tool descends from above, and machines the diameter to its finished dimension, with a tolerance of +/- 0.005”.

Spun Metal Product Gallery

Benefits of Metal Spinning

Short Turnaround

Standard lead times range from 2-3 weeks for laser cut parts and 4-5 weeks for most custom metal spinnings. E.H. Schwab also offers expedited deliveries for a small additional charge, depending on the urgency, part geometry and complexity.

Lower Tooling Cost, Increased Tooling Flexibility

Compared to other metal forming processes, metal spinning has a fast turnaround time, with significantly lower initial investment costs. Initially, custom metal spinnings are typically finished using a prototype wood tool with samples shipped in 4-5 weeks. Production steel or phenolic tool can be produced in the same time frame for most parts. Unlike many custom metal spinning facilities, E.H. Schwab is proud to make all tooling in-house.

Ease of Design Change

Changes in part design can often be made through changes in tooling, particularly if the change is a reduction in size. In addition, prototype wood tools can often be modified into production tools either for secondary forming operations or as fixtures for welding or layout/fabrication.

Small to Large Volume

E.H. Schwab is proud to offer customer prototype through to full volume production capacity. Manual or semi-automated equipment can be used to handle prototype or small production runs. Large volume runs requiring tight tolerances are produced on state-of-the-art automated CNC equipment. Tooling is always made to adapt to the equipment best suited to produce the required volume. In today’s market, our manufacturing flexibility enables E.H. Schwab to meet customer requirements.

Multi-Process Production

Metal spinning can be combined with other processes such as deep drawing, rolling, and welding to manufacture challenging designs. We routinely produce production volume quantities of assemblies produced from 4 or 5 different spun components.

Improved Metallurgy

Metal Spinning, when compared to other technologies, improves the metallurgy by realigning the grain structure of the metal. Tensile strength is improved, allowing lighter gauge material to be used in similar applications.