Die Design

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 Press work
A press is a machine tool used to shape or cut metal by applying shear
force.

There are three different ways of working sheet metal in presses

• Shearing - metal is deformed to shear failure in order to cut various

contours from the metallic sheet.
Blanking, Cut-off, Trimming, Piercing, Shaving, Broaching, Horning, etc

• Bending - localized deformation within the plastic range

• Drawing- localized deformation within the plastic range involving

considerable shape in change.

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 Cont’d

• .

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 Types of press
The presses are classified as follow
• Based on source of power
• Hand press
• Power press
• Based on type of frame
• Pillar press
• Horn press
• Inclinable
• Straight side press
• The slide actuation maybe achieved by two methods
• By using crank shaft
• By using an eccentric

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 Selection of press tool
Points to be considered during selection
• force required to cut the metal
• Size and type of die
• Stroke length
• Method of feeding and size of sheet
• Shut height
• Type of operation
Press features
• press tonnage- it is the force in tones that a press can apply safely on work.
• Press stroke- it is the distance travelled by ram of press during up or down
motion.
• Die area- it is the available surface area for mounting die set.
• Shut height - bed side -- bolster plate size

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 Stamping Die
• The word “die” in itself means the complete press tool in its entirety, with
all the punches, die buttons, ejectors, strippers, pads, and block, simply
with all its components assembled together.

• Common components of simple die

• Holding element– pin(dowels), strip
plate, punch plate
• Guiding element– front spacer,
back gage, gage
• Cutting element – punch, die
• Locating element- finger stop,
automatic stop, pilot

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Procedures of Organizing Components for Die Design
• Consider a sample part shown and we are required to design a progressive
die for it:
Stap1) Decide the tentative sequence of operations.

Typical scrap strip layout 7

 Step 2) Die Block
The die block is made of hardened tool steel into which holes have been
machined, before hardening, at the piercing station and also at the blanking
station. These are the same size and shape as the blank holes and contour.

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 Step 3) The blank punch
• These are the three views of the blanking punch which removes the
blank from the strip.

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Step 4) The piercing punch
Piercing punches pierce holes through the material strip or
blank. They are usually round and are provided with a
shoulder to retain them in the punch plate.

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Step 5) The punch plate
The punch plate is a block of machine steel which
retains punches with their heads against the punch
holder of the die set.

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 Step 6) pilot
Pilots are provided with acorn shaped heads which enter previously
pierced holes in the strip. The acorn shape causes the strip to shift to
correct register before blanking occurs.

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Step 7) spacer, back gage and gages
 The back gage is a relatively thin steel member against
which the material strip is held by the operator in its travel
through the die.

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 Step 8) finger stop
• The finger stop locates the strip at the first station. In
progressive dies having a number of stations, a finger stop
may be applied at each station to register the strip before its
contact with the automatic stop. Finger stops have slots
machined in their lower surfaces to limit stop travel.

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Step 9) Automatic stop
Automatic stops locate the strip automatically while it is fed through the die.
The operator simply keeps the strip pushed against the automatic stop toe, and
the strip is stopped while the blank and pierced slugs are removed from it, then
automatically allowed to move one station further and stopped again for the
next cutting operation.

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 Step 10) striper plate
 Stripper is a part used for stripping off the material that has
became adhered to the punch. It is also called scrap remover.

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 Step 11) Fasteners

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Step 12) Die set

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 c

Die assemble
• .

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 Step 13) Dimensions, note, Bill of
Material
• .

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Generalized Steps and Design calculations of Press Tool Design
Clearance between Die and punch
 is the intentional space between the punch cutting edge and the die cutting
edge.
 Expressed as the amount of clearance per side.
 The amount of clearance depends upon the following factor
• Type of material
• Thickness of material
• Hardness of material
• Type of operation
 Excessive clearance allows a
large edge radius and excessive
plastic deformation.

When correct clearances are used, a clean break would appear as a result of the
extension of the upper and lower fractures towards each other.

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 Cont’d
 Weather the clearance should be provided on punch or die depends up on
type of cutting such as

• Blanking- the cutout piece is the desired part. In this case punch is made
smaller in size and the die exact size. (Dp = Db – 2C)

• Piercing- the cutout part is waste and left out piece is important. In piercing
the punch is made of exact size and die is made of bigger piercing the
punch is made of exact size and die is made of bigger size (Dd = Dp + 2C)

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 Die clearance
.

Radial clearance
C = 0.0032 t √τ
C = at
C= %t
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Where a =allowance 23
 Solution Blanking
Die dia. = blank dia.
C = 0.0032 * 1.5*√294 = 20mm
= 0.0823mm Punch dia. = Db – 2c
= 20-2*0.0823
= 19.835mm
Punching
Punch dia. = dp = 20mm
= dp + 2*c
= 20 + 2*0.0823
= 20.164mm

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 Cutting force
• Vertical force
The value of vertical component V depends
upon the shear strength of the material to be
cut and the area to be sheared. Shear area is the
product of the length of the cut and the sheet
thickness.
Shear cut area (SA)= cut length (LC) × sheet
thickness (T)
FV = SA × fs
Ware: FV = vertical force
fs = shear strength of material cut (N/mm2)
• Horizontal force
Draw a triangle with workpiece thickness
as vertical side, clearance as horizontal ,
the third as diagonal. This triangle is
similar to the triangle representing the
vertical and horizontal forces in shearing.
Consequently, the horizontal force can be
stated in terms of vertical force
percentage. The percentage in the same
as the die clearance percentage per side.
Press capacity is more than the cutting force by about 10 to20% of cutting force.
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Center of pressure
 Shearing should be symmetrical about the axis of
the ram.
 This ensures no side thrust.
 To do this, the point on the die block is to be
found out, through which the resultant of all the
shearing forces is acting and this is coincided
with the ram axis.
 This point is called the center line of pressure

L i xi
L1 x1  L2 x2  ...  Ln xn X,Y=coordinates of the center of the die
X  i 1

n
L1  L2  ...  Ln
L
i 1
i pressure
n xi,yi=coordinates of the center of gravity of
L i yi
L1 y1  L2 y 2  ...  Ln y n partial length of cut edge
Y  i 1

n
L1  L2  ...  Ln Li=partial length of cut edges
L
i 1
i

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 Die Block Design
Consideration on design a die block:-
- Die must be adequately support on a flat plat or die holder (shoe).

- For accurate and permanent positioning dowels and screws should

used, depends on the size of die block

- Optimum die block thickness(T) .

The overall design of die block depends on

a. Part size and shape
b. Type of die
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• Circular dies used for shearing round holes/blanks are subjected to
stress

Example : Find the die height for piercing a

20 mm diameter hole in 2mm thick steel sheet
having 350 N.mm2 shear strength and 160
N/mm2 of tensile stress.
Add 3mm to 5mm in the die height
for grinding allowance. 30
• it is higher than the design stress, the shear stress is within the
acceptable range
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Example: find the thickness of die for piercing 20 x 40 slot for Aluminum(Al)
blank having 3 mm thickness. (fs = 250 N/mm2, ft = 160 N/mm2)

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 Cont’d
For securing the die block to the die holder following rules should be used.
 On die blocks up to 150mm square use 10mm Allen screws and two
10mm dowel pins.
• on sections up to 250mm square use three Allen screws and two dowel
pins.
• For heavier and still bigger blocks use screws and pins of 12mm
diameter. Counter bore the die block to accommodate allen heads at
least 3mm deeper than length of heads to compensate for die sharpening.

Angular clearance= .5 to 2 degree

Critical distance =1.5-2T for small dies
= 2T-3T for larger dies
Cutting land =3mm

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 Cont’d

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 Design of Stripper plates
On the return stroke of the punch, the scrap strip adheres to the punch and is
lifted up. This action interferes with the feeding of the stock through the die
and some device must be used to strip the scrap material from the punch as it
clears up the die block.
• The strippers are classified into two types:
• channel or box stripper
• spring operated stripper or pressure pad.
• Efficient removal of the work piece and scrap from the die increases:
• Productivity,
• Quality, and
• Work place safety.

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• Stripper force:-the force required to strip the material from the
punch may be calculated by the following equation:

• Thickness of stripper plate: - the thickness of stripper can be taken

from 10 to 16mm. The following empirical equation may be used to
obtain thickness of stripper.

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 Design of blanking punch
• The proper length of a punch has a considerable effect on the overall
performance of the die. With too long punches, the compressive stress on them
may be excessive, resulting in frequent breakages.

• The size of the blank to be produced determines the type of punch to use

• Design consideration: - stability to prevent deflection

– Adequate screw to overcome stripping load.
– They should not be able to rotate as a result of the cutting action.
– Good doweling practice for accurate location.
– Alignment of punch and die.

• The punch should have sufficient compressive strength so, that it can apply
necessary force required during punching and optimum length is necessary to not
buckle the punch during cutting operation.
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Critical Punch length

Punch plate:
The thickness of punch plate =1.5xD
where D= Diameter of punch

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 pilots
• The function of a pilot is to position the work piece or stock strip
accurately. The stock when feed manually is slightly over feed against a
stop. The fit between the pilot and the pierced hole determines the
accuracy of the component produced.
Types
•Press fit pilot
•Threaded shank pilot
•Socket set screw pilot

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HOW TO APPLY FASTENERS (SCREWS AND DOWELS)

• Most of the elements of press tools are assembled with socket

hade screws and dowels.
• The screws used for fastening the die and punch holder must
withstand the stripping force generated during operation.
• The stripping force can be assumed to be 10% of the cutting
(vertical shearing) force.
• The design stress for socket hade cap screws (SHCS) ranges
from 80 to 120N/mm2.
• Dowels are subjected to shear stress due to horizontal force
resulting from die clearance.
• Dowels are rarely stressed beyond 50 to 80N/mm2.

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• The size and number of screws and dowels pin are determined by
the following empirical formula.

Example to determine the size and

the number of screws and dowel
pins by the following pins by the
following steps.

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 HOW TO SELECT A DIE SET
• After all die details have been designed, a die set of the proper size and
style is selected from a manufacturer's catalog and drawn in position.
Ten elements of die-set information must be decided before a die set can
be ordered:
1. Make or manufacturer
2. Type
3. Size
4. Material
5. Thickness of die holder
6. Thickness of punch holder
7. Types and length of bushings
8. Length of guide posts
9. Shank diameter
10. Grade of precision
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DIE SET COMPONENTS
• These are:
A. Punch holder
B. Guide bushings
C. Guide posts
D. Die holder.
Usually, the die holder is made thicker than the punch holder to compensate
for the weakening effect o: slug and blank holes which compensate for the
weakening effect of: slug and blank holes which must be machined through
it.

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 Selection of Shank
• A shank is a part with the shape of a pillar, and is used for installing the top die
of a relatively small die in the slide of the press machine. The standard diameters
of the shank are 25, 32, 38, and 50 mm. One end of an embedded shank has
threads cut on it.

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 Stock strip layout
• Since, the components are to be ultimately blanked out of a stock trip,
hence , precaution is to be taken while designing the dies for utilizing as
much of stock as possible.

• It is also necessary in progressive dies, to ensure continuous handling of the

scrap on the die block, which means that the scrap strip should have
sufficient strength.

Best layout design has two things which are influencing it:
1. Least Scrap Production
2. Grain Orientation, when the blanked part has to undergo bending or any
other forming operation, Always bending across the grain flow if preferable
otherwise it will crack.

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 Cont’d
• Blanks can be produced by reducing the scrap waste by
providing optimum margins (s) as per the following table

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 Cont’d

Single Raw
Single Pass

Single Raw
Double Pass

Double Raw
Double Pass

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 The End !!!

12/23/2018 Set By: Belay T. 52