Mechanical Engineering Wiki / Nibbling
Nibbling
Nibbling is a manufacturing process that is used in sheet metal processing. The similarities to punching and shear cutting are unmistakable, as nibbling primarily involves cutting or nibbling simple or complex shapes from a sheet of metal. In some areas, nibbling has clear advantages over punching and shear cutting. Modern CNC machines, special tools and combination machines offer a wide range of applications.
What is nibbling?
In principle, nibbling works in a very similar way to punching, which is why it is often referred to as "punching with repositioning": The material to be processed (sheet metal) is inserted into the nibbler, which is open on one side, so that it lies between the punch and die. Similar to a punch, the punch and die are then brought together and the material is cut. Unlike the punch, however, the nibbler follows suit and literally "nibbles" small pieces out of the material, which is why nibbling is often referred to colloquially as "nibbling". In contrast to punching, with which only a predetermined shape can be punched out of the workpiece, nibbling allows any size and type of shape to be cut out of the material. This is supported by the fact that the sheet can be rotated and moved during repositioning when the punch and die are released from each other.
What are the advantages of nibbling?
Compared to punching, nibbling offers the advantage of greater flexibility: a punch can only cut one specified shape at a time. A certain amount of changeover time is required to cut several different shapes from one material with one punch. With nibbling, these two limitations no longer apply: thanks to the repositioning and variable displacement of the material, all shapes and different sizes can be cut into the sheet during nibbling. At the same time, all changeover times are eliminated. Nibbling also offers many options for combining with other techniques and tools, such as laser cutting or impact shearing.
One disadvantage can be that nibbling often leaves visible marks in the material. They are reminiscent of a kind of ripple pattern, which may have to be removed in a subsequent work step. Furthermore, when nibbling internal cut-outs, it is necessary to pre-drill a hole in order to be able to position the nibbler in the appropriate place.
Where is nibbling used?
There are hand tools for nibbling as well as motor-driven machine tools or special tools, CNC-controlled machines and combination tools. Nibbling is used wherever sheet metal needs to be cut. Examples include the manufacture of computer housings and switch cabinets (often using special tools).