In order to determine what processes I have access to within uni I've spoken to one of the technicians to see what finishes and techniques I could use when producing the metal packaging. Consequently I discovered that you can emboss and cut into metal but unfortunately you can't print onto metal as we don't have the necessary facilities.
Embossing:
Metal embossing commonly uses a combination of heat and pressure on metal, depending on what type of embossing is required. Metal sheets are drawn through male and female roller dies creating a pattern/ design on the metal. The combination of heat and pressure 'irons' the design into the metal whilst raising the image higher than the sheet metal to achieve a smooth finish. Impressing refers to an image that's pressed into the sheet metal in comparison to an image that's raised out of the metal. In most pressure embossing machines the upper roll blocks are stationary and the bottom roll blocks are movable, the pressure with which the bottom roll is raised is referred to as the tonnage capacity.
Plasma Cutting:
Plasma cutting involves creating an electrical channel of superheated, electrically ionised plasma. This is done by a compressed gas which is blown through a nozzle at a high speed. Consequently an electrical arc is formed which ionises some of the gas creating an electrically conductive channel of plasma. As electricity from the cutter torch travels down this plasma it delivers sufficient heat to melt through the work piece. At the same time, much of the high velocity plasma and compressed gas blow the hot molten metal away.
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