From stamping to CNC shear forming lighter pans, less material and faster product changeovers CNC shear forming for optimised thickness distribution and reduced material consumption.
Lighter cookware, improved process flexibility and automated production.
The Challenge
A leading manufacturer in the housewares and cookware industry sought to modernise its production
process for steel frying pans (a concept also applicable to aluminium products).
Until then, the company manufactured pans using traditional stamping presses, a process that imposed
several structural limitations in terms of material consumption, product weight and tooling costs.
Press forming typically requires uniform thickness across the entire component, which creates two mains’ drawbacks.
First, high material consumption and trimming waste.
To guarantee the final geometry, the starting blank must be larger than necessary, increasing raw
material usage and scrap.
Second, heavier final products.
With uniform thickness (for example around 3 mm across the entire pan), larger diameters produce noticeably heavier cookware, reducing usability and competitiveness in the market.
At the same time, the manufacturer wanted to achieve:
- Faster product changeovers
- Lower dependency on expensive press tooling
- A more flexible production system capable of handling multiple product variants
The goal was to improve material efficiency and product performance while enabling modern automated production.
The DENN Solution
DENN approached the project as a complete process transformation, moving from traditional stamping
to a CNC shear forming-based production line.
The solution was implemented using a DENN NTR60 CNC rotary metal forming machine, integrated
into an automated production cell with robotic loading and downstream finishing operations.
The shear forming process allows the material to flow and redistribute during forming while reducing
wall thickness in a controlled way. This enables different thickness profiles across the part.
This makes it possible to maintain a stronger base at the bottom of the pan to prevent deformation, while
reducing thickness along the sidewalls to decrease weight and material consumption.
The production line incorporates several key elements.
First, CNC shear forming on the NTR60 forms the pan from pre-cut blanks while precisely controlling
thickness distribution. Typical configurations may maintain approximately 3 mm at the base while
reducing the sidewalls to 2 mm or even 1.5 mm, depending on the product design.
Second, a robotic loading system feeds the machine with cut blanks, enabling continuous and stable
automated production.
Third, a dedicated finishing unit designed by DENN performs the final trimming operation, delivering
a clean and homogeneous edge without burrs and producing parts ready for subsequent operations.
Fourth, a controlled crown geometry is introduced at the base of the pan during forming. This ensures
that when the pan heats up during cooking, it remains flat and stable instead of warping.
Finally, the CNC system enables dynamic compensation during production, automatically adjusting for
thermal expansion and minor process variations. This ensures consistent dimensional accuracy and
eliminates the need for constant manual adjustments.
In addition, product changeovers are significantly simplified, since only the forming mandrel and tailstock
configurations need to be replaced. Compared with press tooling, the cost is considerably lower and the
setup time is much shorter.
The Result
The transition from stamping to CNC shear forming delivered significant improvements:
- Approximately 15% reduction in starting material consumption
- Lighter final products, particularly noticeable for large-diameter pans
- Improved ergonomics and perceived product quality
- Greater industrial flexibility with faster product changeovers
- Stable and burr-free edge trimming ready for handle welding and downstream processes
- High repeatability and dimensional stability thanks to CNC compensation
- Fully automated production line with robotic integration
Most importantly, the success of the solution led the manufacturer to replicate the concept by installing additional automated lines, extending the same approach to aluminium cookware production as well.r base for final finishing operations while significantly reducing downstream machining requirements.
Why It Matters
CNC shear forming does more than replace a stamping press — it transforms both the product and the production model.
By enabling controlled material redistribution and wall thinning, manufacturers can reduce raw material usage, optimise thickness distribution and produce lighter, higher-performing cookware.
At the same time, CNC-controlled processes provide greater flexibility, lower tooling costs and production lines ready for full automation and scalable manufacturing.
At DENN, we do not simply replace forming technologies.
We engineer more efficient production processes that improve both product performance and industrial productivity.
