EMI Shield Can
EMI Shield Can
Thin 5052 aluminium shield with fine walls and formed tabs.
| Material | 5052 aluminium |
|---|---|
| Wall thickness | 0.2 mm |
| Draw depth | 8 mm |
| Tolerance | ±0.05 mm |
| Forming route | Progressive draw + pierce |
| Measured LDR | 1.80–1.95 |
The challenge
The shield is shallow but dimension-critical: the walls are thin, the part is small, and the tabs have to line up with the board footprint. Spring-back in thin aluminium can make one wall sit differently from another, and a shield that does not seat cleanly leaks EMI.
At 0.2 mm the wall has almost no stiffness of its own, so it wants to follow the tool’s spring-back rather than hold a dimension. That is why we draw and pierce in one progressive tool — the pierce station sees the wall while it is still located by the draw, so the tabs register to the walls instead of drifting.
Downstream, the shield presses onto a board with a gasket or lid, so the seating face has to be flat and the tabs have to clear the connectors. A shield that is right on a caliper but wrong on the board still leaks EMI.
How AUNOV draws it
5052 is a 5xxx alloy chosen because it draws well; a 6xxx grade would tend to crack at this wall and depth, or only work after T6, which adds cost and lead time.
- 5052 thin-gauge aluminium drawn within the measured LDR of 1.80–1.95
- Progressive draw and pierce in one tool so the tabs and walls stay aligned
- Wall height and tab position checked against the board footprint
- Flatness and seating check before packing
Process control and inspection
Because the wall is only 0.2 mm, we check seating on a board footprint gauge rather than a caliper alone; the shield either seats across all four sides or it does not, and that is the test that matters for EMI.
The progressive tool is kept on the shelf between orders, so the draw and pierce stations stay registered to each other and the tab positions repeat within ±0.05 mm run to run.
What this means for your part
If your shield is a thin aluminium can with fine walls and tabs, doing the draw and pierce in one progressive tool is what keeps it dimensionally consistent. Send the board footprint and we lay out the tool.
For repeat orders the same tool is kept on the shelf, so the seating and tab position come back identical run to run — useful when the shield sits next to sensitive RF components.
- Send the board footprint with the shield outline; the tabs have to register to it, not just to the can.
- If the shield walls are very short, expect to trade a little wall height for flatness at the seam.
- Specify the EMI gasket or lid if there is one, so we hold the seating face it depends on.
Frequently asked questions
Can an EMI shield be deep drawn in thin aluminium?
Direct answer: Yes. A shallow 5052 aluminium shield can be drawn and pierced in one progressive tool, which keeps the thin walls and tabs aligned. AUNOV holds ±0.05 mm on the wall and tab positions.
Why draw and pierce an EMI shield in one tool?
Direct answer: Doing the draw and the pierce in a single progressive tool keeps the tabs registered to the walls, so the shield seats on the board footprint without spring-back mismatch.
How thin can a drawn EMI shield wall go?
Direct answer: AUNOV draws EMI shield walls down to 0.2 mm in 5052 aluminium and holds ±0.05 mm. Below that the wall loses the stiffness to hold dimension through seating, so 0.2 mm is the practical floor for a shield that must seat repeatedly.
Have a similar part?
Send the drawing and material — AUNOV returns a DFM review and a quote within 24 hours.
Request a quoteSources Behind These Examples
Each example is built on measured material data and the process taxonomy set out by these standards. We keep the lot data behind each part on file for first-article review.
- ASTM E646 — Standard Test Method for Tensile Strain-Hardening Exponents (n) of Metallic Sheet Materials. The n-value sets how much a wall can thin before necking.
- DIN 8584 — Manufacturing processes, forming: classification of deep drawing operations and their subgroups.
- ISO 20482 — Metallic materials: Erichsen cupping test, a formability measure complementary to LDR.
- Wikipedia: Anisotropy — explains the r-value and why earing directions form.
- Wikipedia: Work hardening — why redraws and intermediate annealing matter.