By improving communication, supplying critical requirements upfront, creating die standards, using advanced software, and powering up equipment, customers can get better dies, faster.

In deep drawing, if the contact angle between drawing stages is too large, cracks can appear and swelling can occur, resulting in scoring, curving, and imbalanced flange-lip roundness. Keeping the contact angle between 15 and 45 degrees is key to quality drawn parts.

Choosing the right spring for working with HSLA is very important. The author recommends chrome nitrogen springs of well-known brands for proper quality control.

CPF has conducted experiments using finite element simulation of the hot stamping process. The process can help manufacturers predict such final part properties as thickness, temperature, and hardness distribution.

Automakers have held the ground on the sales incentives that had eaten away at the industry's profitability for a decade. As a result, many suppliers are reporting positive financial performances, revenue growth, and a return to functioning outside the panic mode of the last two years.

The forms and positional tolerances called out on product designs often defy the physical abilities of the product's material. Proper product and process design, as well as pressure clamping, can help maintain strict tolerances.

If existing coil feeding equipment is functioning, but productivity needs a boost, stampers can achieve measurable gains in their production efficiency through various types of upgrades to their coil handling and feeding equipment, including servo drives, variable speed controls, and operator interfaces.