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Stamping and forming processes

What is ironing in deep drawing and when is it used?

Reviewed by: pending engineering reviewStatus: draft6 cited sources

Answer

Ironing in deep drawing: how wall thinning holds both the inside and the outside diameter Ironing - also called wall thinning or wall ironing - is the operation that turns an ordinary deep drawn cup into a precision housing. A drawn cup usually has a wall that thickens toward the rim and a surface that carries the marks of the draw. Ironing pushes that cup through a ring die whose bore is slightly smaller than the cup's outside diameter, so the wall is squeezed thinner between a polished punch on the inside and a polished die on the outside. The consequence is the reason engineers specify it: the die sets the outside diameter, the punch sets the inside diameter, and both surfaces are burnished in the same pass.

Sources

  1. Ironing in Deep Drawing: Hold Both ID and OD | Balford
    Ironing in deep drawing: how wall thinning holds both the inside and the outside diameter Ironing - also called wall thinning or wall ironing - is the operation that turns an ordinary deep drawn cup into a precision housing. A drawn cup usually has a wall that thickens toward the rim and a surface t...
  2. Deep Drawing Calculation: A Worked Example | Balford
    Deep drawing: process, materials and defects Precision deep drawn components Deep draw force calculator Ironing and wall thinning Deep drawing materials guide...
  3. Automotive Sensor Housing Design Guide: Stainless Steel
    Starting thickness is set by the strength the housing needs, not by the drawing. A thinner blank draws more easily but may not hold the thread or the sealing face. Wall thinning (ironing) is used where the drawing calls for a thinner wall than the blank. Ask for it explicitly - if it is not specifie...
  4. Drawn Sheet Metal & Deep Drawing: Complete Guide | Balford
    Complex deep drawing and precision stamping Ironing (wall thinning) Ironing in deep drawn stamping Ironing instead of machining Ironing tolerances and surface finish Ironing for solenoid valve housings Ironing vs forging and casting Process comparisons Deep drawing vs press forming Deep drawn vs pro...
  5. Ironing in Deep Drawing: Hold Both ID and OD | Balford
    thickness and surface finish all matter at once - and where ironing removes the turning operation that would otherwise be needed. Two materials dominate: DT4E electrolytic pure iron - the soft-magnetic grade used for solenoid and sensor housings, where coercivity and permeability are part of the spe...
  6. Resources — Case Studies, Stock Parts & Cost Calculator
    Which process the geometry actually needs, and how much secondary machining drawing can remove. Deep drawing materials Steel, stainless, aluminium, brass and copper — and the formability each one actually offers. Ironing and wall thinning How a thinned wall holds the inside and outside diamete...

What an engineer still needs from you

  • material and material condition (grade, temper)
  • material thickness, plus the key diameter, height and wall thickness
  • tolerances, burr direction and the visual acceptance standard
  • annual volume - it decides whether tooling is single-hit, progressive or transfer
  • surface finish, and any secondary machining, annealing or plating
Next step. Send the drawing for a manufacturability review, or send the part data for a process and cost route.
Submit a drawing / RFQDFM review

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This page is an engineering answer, not a quotation and not a dimensional acceptance. It is generated from Balford's published material and held to the verified company fact sheet.