Die Basics 101 Begins With Eight Basic Components
Stamping tools are an exclusive precision tool that shapes and cuts sheet metal into the desired shape or profile. The die's cutting and forming segments typically are made of special types of hardenable steel called tool steel. Also, dies can comprise cutting and forming sections from carbide and other hard, wear-resistant materials.
Most stamping dies are constructed of several stamping die manufacturers, including die plates, shoes, die sets, guide pins, bushings, heel blocks, heel plates, screws, dowels, and keys. Dies also need stripper, drawing pads, pressure along with the equipment used to fix them such as shoulder bolts, spools, keepers, and retainers and gas, coil or urethane-filled springs. Whether you expect to find out fruitful information on press die components, you've to browse around https://sunditools.com/ website.
Die Plates, Shoes, and Die Sets
Die plates, shoes and die sets are made of steel or aluminum plates that correspond to the size of the die. They function as the basis for mounting the working stamping die components. These parts need to be machined, milled, or ground to ensure they are flat and parallel within a specified tolerance. While grinding is most popular process, a surface that is milled can be obtained that is just as precise as a surface that has been ground.
Most die shoes are made from steel. The most popular material used in die shoes is aluminum. Aluminum weighs only one-third of steel's weight and is machined in a short time. Special alloys can be added to aluminum to increase its strength when compared to low-carbon steel. Aluminum is also a fantastic metal for shock adsorption, which makes it a great option for blanking dies.
The upper and lower shoes, joined by guide pins create the die set. The lower shoe of the die usually includes holes that are machined or cut with a flame which allow scrap and slugs formed in the die to flow freely through the shoe to the bed of the press. These holes may also be used to clear gas springs or other components.
The force that is expected when cutting or creating the die shoe is what determines its size. For example, a coining die one that compresses the metal by squeezing it between the upper and lower section of the die, requires a much thicker die shoe than a standard bending die.
Guide Pins and Bushings
Guide pins, often referred to as guide posts or pillars, work in conjunction with guide bushings to align both the upper and lower press die shoes precisely. They are precision-ground parts typically made within 0.0001 in. Though a myriad of mounting techniques can be used to install these progressive mold components but there are two primary types of guide pins and bushings friction pins as well as ball bearing-type pins.
Friction pins are precision-ground pins that are slightly smaller than the guide bushing's internal diameter. Pins are made of toughened tool steel, and the bushings are usually made of aluminum-bronze, or lined with it. The aluminum-bronze could contain graphite plugs that help to minimize friction and wear to the bushings and pins.
Heel Blocks and Heel Plates
Special steel blocks, also known as heel blocks are precision-machinedand screwed and doweled to the lower and upper shoes. They contain components called wear plates. They are used to adsorb any side thrust that might be generated during the cutting and process of forming. They are especially important if the force generated is only one-directional. The guide pins could be disoriented when too much force is created in only one direction. This can cause disorientation and even damage to the critical cutting or forming components.