Micro Stamping Corp.

Q: I have been in metal stamping for the automotive industry for many years. In addition to overall tolerances decreasing through the years, the quality requirements have also become so strict it is almost getting hard to stay in business. It takes three to four times more maintenance hours to run...

Q: We are stamping a relay spring from 0.008-inch-thick stainless steel. The part is about ¼ in. wide, 1.00 in. long, and stamped across the material grain out of 1.250-in.-wide stock. There are several bends over the length of the spring and holes on each end for staking. The operation runs 24/7....

Q: I work in a stamping facility in the Midwest. We have 40 high-speed stamping presses from 20 to 80 tons, with maximum speed of 800 strokes per minute (SPM). The actual speed at which the press should run is a constant battle between the toolroom supervisor and the production manager. The...

Q: Many people believe that the feed height = passline height. But the way I learned it, feed height + lift height = passline height. If feed height + lift height = passline height and you feed the material, when the die closes, with the stock check open, the material will be pushed down by the...

Over the years I have received many requests from readers asking for suggestions and advice for particularly challenging stamping applications. Some of the issues can be addressed through creative tool design; some can’t. Some stampings by design make it virtually impossible to satisfy all the...

Q: I’m a diemaker for a Detroit Three automaker. We have a job on which we have to change punches halfway through the run. Changing the punches is a lengthy operation and involves quite a bit of downtime. Does anyone in the industry make an automatic or semiautomatic punch removal system that we...

Q: Do you have suggestions for holding washers in the strip in a compound die? High-strength, low-alloy material properties change from heat to heat, periodically causing parts to drop out of the strip. For this reason, we blank up and use a knockout bar to eject the parts. A: Two significant...

Q: I am having a problem stamping a shallow drawn cup about 0.75 in. deep from 0.045-in. 304 half-hard stainless steel. I’m using a mechanical press. What do other press technologies have to offer? A: Years ago I wrote a brief on the major differences between mechanical and hydraulic presses....

Q: In your last column you listed the 10 Tooling Laws. I had never seen these before. Can you please explain each law in more detail? A: I drafted these laws years ago out of necessity. After more than 35 years of experience in the stamping field—many as a master toolmaker, then as a toolroom...

Q: We are running high-strength, low-alloy (HSLA) brackets for a large aerospace firm. We cannot get the hits per service we need from our tooling and are struggling to meet production requirements. Any advice?A: Regardless of how many hits per service you get off a tool, you always want to...

Q: In our stamping division, we do a lot of coining and forming of 300 and 400 series stainless steels from 0.030 to 0.090 in. thick. We coin up to a 30 percent reduction in thickness and form multiple bends with very tight radii. Our punches and form die inserts fail. They break, crack, chip, or...

Q: I read the article “How can I reduce snap-through condition effects?” in the September/October 2012 STAMPING Journal®. If I understand the article correctly, you do not want to stagger the punches too much to prevent the stored energy from releasing before the next set of punches hit. If...

Q: My company stamps right-side and left-side links for conveyor belts. The peanut-shaped parts, made in a changeover tool, are about 0.1 in. thick, 1.5 in. wide, and 3 in. long. Half of the part (lengthwise) is coined offset, one material thickness in depth. This is in addition to a number of...

Q: What is the best-in-class process for developing a new progressive-stamping die? A: Many tool builders think the process of progressive-die development is undefined and difficult to predict, and therefore takes way too long. Development is costly. It ties up engineering, design, toolroom...

Q: What type of hydraulic clamps do you use in your stamping presses for quick-change setups? A: The type of clamp is insignificant; there are many suitable brands. How you use the clamp is the important thing. Before you get into a true lean die-change system, you need to do some homework. 1....