Choosing the appropriate solution that works best for your specific marking application can be challenging, but once you've identified the most practical, economical solution there is still one more step before you're ready to put your solution to work.
The size and style of the characters on your metal stamps, type, and dies can vary greatly, which is why we thought we'd cover some of the basics.
Flexibility in character sizing is pretty straightforward; the size of the characters can vary from as small as .030” to over 1.0” tall, but we've made even larger characters for custom applications in the past.
The real variety comes in the characters' styles. The good news is that, in most cases, your application will help dictate the appropriate character style.
Sharp Face - Sharp face character styles are most often used for indenting into metal. When stamping into metal, the character is engraved at more of an angle which makes it easier to leave an impression. Sharp face stamps and type are typically found in industrial part marking applications but also are commonly used in cartoning machines for food and pharmaceutical packaging. Narrow beveled sharp face stamps are usually used for die cutting.
Low Stress - A low-stress character style is typically used on parts where stress risers caused by the marking process may eventually cause cracking in the stamped material, which is not allowed or prohibited. This is most common in oil, energy, and aerospace industries, where maintaining the part's integrity is paramount. Low-stress styles can come in full (round face) or dot-face characters.
Flat Face - When hot stamping or branding, a flat face character is typically engraved with a narrower or steeper angle. You can add color using hot stamping foil or deboss directly into the substrate without any foil.
Concave Face - Characters engraved with a concave face are typically used to mark wire or other parts with small diameters. We manufacture OEM compatible type for all of the popular hot stamping and wire marking printers.
Convex or Spherical - Characters can be convex or spherical, used to mark in a round-bottomed slot or into a sunken spherical shape.
Learn More About Steel Hand Stamps
Check out this post about choosing the best hand stamp, including the style, design, font, and shape.
Contact us today to see how Durable Technologies can help you with your requirements for steel hand stamps.
