Die Science: The essential tooling checklist

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It happens …. especially as we get older. Last week my wife asked me to go to the grocery store. She asked me to get two or three basic things. She then asked me if I needed a list and, of course, I told her no. For heaven’s sake, I could remember just a few things, right?

Long story short, I ended up texting her to rediscover the items she wanted. I needed a list after all.

Forgetting a few key things when designing or building a stamping die can prove to be disastrous. That is exactly the reason I encourage you to create and use a checklist of items that are critical in this process.

Mistake- and Error-proofing Tools

Sometimes tooling people will refer to this as “stupid-proofing.” But keep in mind, very intelligent and experienced tooling professionals still make honest mistakes and put a component on backward from time to time. So make sure all of the following are incorporated into the design and build of the tool:

1. Offset one guide enough so that the die cannot be put together incorrectly. Usually 1/4 in. (6 or 7 mm) is sufficient. If the die has only two guide pins, make one guide pin larger than the other.
2. Offset one screw or one dowel in every component so that the component cannot be put on 180 degrees from normal. This includes pressure pads, plates, and strippers.
3. When using similar slides, make them different sizes so they will not go into the incorrect gibbing. If this is not possible, add a mechanical feature to the cam slide, such as a dowel or pin, that will prohibit the cam from going into the wrong area on the tool.
4. Whenever possible, use different body diameters for pierce punches. This will help prevent pierce punches from being installed in the wrong retainer.
5. When designing progressive dies, avoid using a written site stop line as a representative of the first hit line. Instead, use a solid mechanical stop to establish the first hit area on the tool.

Die and Tooling Quality Checklist

Although missing a couple of these things might not be a big problem, it’s still a good idea to follow a checklist (see Figure 1).

Why I can remember 80,000 things about stamping and dies and forget to get bread at the grocery store confounds me. In any case, I now see the value of a list.

So let’s see …

1. Told them what I was going to tell them … Check
2. Explained why it was important …. Check
3. Gave them a pretty decent checklist to work from … Check
4. Summarized the content … Check

That’s it!

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