Three facts that decide this page
- Cold reduced close annealed sheet behaves consistently in the press because thickness and yield are tightly controlled, which is why IS 513 and EN 10130 grades are the default for repeat stamping.
- Ganesh runs mechanical presses from 20 T to 300 T, a 250 T punching press and an in-house tool room at Mumbai (Vasai), so tool design, build and maintenance stay under one supplier.
- The grade decides more than the steel price. CR1 draws poorly where CR4 will form a deep cup without splitting, and a DD or EDD grade costs more per kilogram but removes a draw station. Thickness tolerance matters as much as nominal thickness: a 1.2 mm CRCA coil that runs 1.15 mm changes the bend allowance and the tonnage.
What changes when you stamp CRCA
The grade decides more than the steel price. CR1 draws poorly where CR4 will form a deep cup without splitting, and a DD or EDD grade costs more per kilogram but removes a draw station. Thickness tolerance matters as much as nominal thickness: a 1.2 mm CRCA coil that runs 1.15 mm changes the bend allowance and the tonnage.
The commercial consequence is that CRCA is priced on its own material line, not blended into a steel rate. Material grade, thickness, tolerance and finish are quoted separately from conversion, so a change of specification is visible in the price.
Tolerance, edge and finish
Ganesh quotes to the drawing first and to ISO 2768 general tolerances where the drawing is silent. For CRCA stamping, the practical starting points are in the table below. They are starting points, not a guarantee: the part geometry, thickness and fixturing decide what can actually be held, and the quotation states the tolerance offered.
How Ganesh runs this route
Blanking, piercing, forming and drawing are quoted as one press route; the number of stations, not the tonnage alone, usually decides whether a part is worth tooling. Hot-rolled IS 2062 E250 plate above 6 mm is cut and formed, not pressed, on Ganesh's route: the 12 kW fibre laser cuts to 20 mm and the 200 T brake forms to 10 mm. The route is quoted as one sequence so the customer does not have to coordinate a cutter, a former, a welder and a coater.
When stamping is the wrong route for CRCA
CRCA stamping is the wrong route below roughly 2,000–5,000 pieces a year for a simple bracket, and wrong for any part whose design is still moving. Laser cut and bend the first revision, then tool once the drawing is frozen.
A manufacturability review before quotation is the cheapest place to find this out. Send the drawing, material, finish and annual quantity and the review comes back in writing.
Typical parts
- Brackets and mounting plates
- Enclosure and chassis panels
- Deep drawn cups and housings
- Battery trays and covers
Decision rule: when to choose stamping
Use stamping when the geometry is frozen and the annual quantity repays the tool. As a working rule, a simple bracket in a single-stage tool becomes cheaper than laser-cut-and-formed at roughly 3,000–8,000 parts a year; a progressive tool needs more volume because the tool itself costs more. Below that range, laser and bend keeps the cash free and the revision cheap. Between the two, quote both and compare total cost over the programme life, not the first order. For CRCA the practical constraint is rust: cut, formed and coated parts should not sit unprotected in a humid shop, and the route is sequenced so pretreatment follows fabrication within the same production window. CRCA is also the easiest material to change late: a grade swap from CR1 to CR4, or a 0.2 mm thickness change, can be made without retooling in many cases, which keeps the decision reversible while volumes are still uncertain.
What to put on the drawing
State the material grade and blank thickness, the tolerance on every functional feature, the burr direction and height where it matters, the grain direction if the part is drawn, and whether the tool is customer-owned or supplier-built. Name the inspection level. If the part will be welded, say so, because the burr and the flatness that a welding fixture needs are not the same as for a plain bracket.
Quality evidence and inspection
Inspection covers dimensional features, burr height, material thickness and hardness at sample frequency, plus a first article report before production. Ganesh holds tools in the in-house tool room, so die maintenance records and tool history are available with the part. PPAP documentation is available where the programme requires it.
What drives the cost
Cost splits into material, tooling, press time, secondary operations and inspection. Tooling is a one-off and is quoted separately, so the piece price only makes sense against an annual quantity. Press time is driven by stroke rate and the number of stations, not by part weight. Secondary operations such as deburring, tapping, welding and coating often exceed the press cost on a small part. On CRCA / mild steel, material is quoted as its own line at the prevailing rate for the grade and thickness, so a change of specification is visible rather than hidden in a blended rate.
| Specification | CRCA / mild steel stamping | Ganesh limit or note |
|---|---|---|
| Grades | IS 513 CR1–CR4 (D, DD, EDD), IS 2062 E250 for hot-rolled plate | Mill certificate on request |
| Thickness | 0.5–6 mm sheet; up to 20 mm plate | 20–300 T mechanical, 250 T punching |
| Tensile / property | 270–410 MPa | 7.85 g/cm³ density |
| Delivery condition | Skin-passed, oiled coil or cut sheet | Check mill certificate for grade and oiling |
| Typical yield strength | 210–350 MPa depending on grade | Higher yield needs more tonnage and more overbend |
| Springback | Low to moderate | Press brake and die both compensate |
| Stamping | 20–300 T mechanical, 250 T punching | Tonnage sized from perimeter, thickness and shear strength |
| Tolerance basis | ISO 2768-m unless drawing states otherwise | Critical features inspected |
| Finish | Seven-tank pretreatment then powder coat or wet paint | Specified per part |
Sources and review
- IS 513 — Cold reduced carbon steel sheets and strips · reviewed 2026-11-03
- EN 10130 — Cold rolled low carbon steel flat products · reviewed 2026-11-03
- IS 2062 — Hot rolled medium and high tensile structural steel · reviewed 2026-11-03
- IS 513 CR4 formability and deep drawing · reviewed 2026-11-03
Combines Ganesh machine limits (20–300 T mechanical, 250 T punching) with CRCA / mild steel grade and property data. The "what changes" section is written for this material–process pair and is not reused on another page.
Send the drawing and we will check the route
Material, thickness, tolerance, finish and annual quantity are enough for a manufacturability review. Tooling is quoted separately from the piece price.
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