Custom Stamping Die

Custom stamping is a die that involves multiple operations, utilizing a combination of a press and a die to transform the sheet metal into a specified shape. Adopting various forming processes, precision stamping is used to manufacture components with complex geometric shapes and strict tolerances. These components are assigned to various industries, including specialized projects and machinery in the aerospace and medical fields.

Custom stamping die refers to the pressure processing method of using a die fixed on a punch or press to apply a certain amount of pressure to metal or non-metal sheets, causing material separation or forming, to obtain parts with specified size requirements and qualified appearance quality. There are many forms of dies, such as classification based on the nature of work, die construction, and die materials.

The products processed by custom stamping die has the same size and appearance, with little difference, because they have the characteristics of rapid prototyping, high production efficiency, stable product quality, accuracy meets requirements, high material utilization rate, simple operation, low labor intensity of workers, and low technical requirements for operators.Custom stamping die is an important tool in industrial production, which is used in the processing and manufacturing of various metal materials.

The Benefits and Advantages of Custom Stamping Die

1.High Processing Efficiency

Dies can shape metal materials into various shapes, increasing production efficiency. Compared with traditional manual or semi-automated production methods, custom stamping die can produce large quantities of products in a short and efficient time.

2.Save Materials

Relying on detailed control of material usage as needed to prevent material waste. For modern societies with limited resources, shipping has crucial environmental significance.

3.Improve Product Quality

To accurately control the shape and size of the product, which helps to ensure consistency in product quality. It plays an important role in the stability, reliability, and safety of products.

4.Facilitate Mechanization and Automation

Custom stamping die is easy to operate, suitable for mass production, and facilitates mechanization and automation.

Types of Custom Stamping Die

The classification of custom stamping die can generally be mainly divided into two types, including engineering dies and continuous dies. Moreover, engineering dies can be divided into composite dies, stretching dies, riveting dies, etc. The following are the structures and functions of these dies:

1.Engineering Die

Engineering die refers to a die that needs to complete a stamping process in one stroke of stamping. After this project is completed, operators or mechanical hands need to take the product out of the die and place it in the next station’s die to continue production until the final process of the die is completed, and the entire product is considered completed. This type of die is easy to maintain, but long-term production requires more labor and time costs, and the material scrap rate is high.

2.Composite Die

Common composite die structures include composite cutting, composite stretching, etc., which are slightly different from other engineering die structures. The convex die is designed on the lower die, and the remaining templates are the lower clamp plate (fixed convex die punch), the lower stop plate, and the lower stripper plate. The upper die is composed of a knife edge, an inner stripper plate, and an upper cushion plate. The inner stripper uses an equal-height sleeve to hang on top of the upper cushion plate and is then supported by a driving rod or spring. For example, in a composite die used for cutting, the internal detachment of the die is generally 0.50mm from the mother die, and cannot be lower than the mother die, otherwise, the blade of the mother die is prone to breakage or failure to detach. The product needs to be ejected from the mother die with internal force. Generally, if it is made of thick material, nitrogen springs need to be installed on top.

3.Continuous Die

Continuous die refers to a die that completes two or more custom stamping processes simultaneously at different workstations during a single stamping process. This difficult die maintenance requires experienced fitter operators to operate, and it is highly efficient to produce thousands of products in an hour with fast stamping speed. Labor and time costs can be reduced, and the product scrap rate is relatively low.

Application and Industry of Custom Stamping Die

Custom stamping die is widely used in industries such as machinery, automobiles, and electronics, as well as in fields such as home appliances, construction, and aerospace. It plays a crucial role in the processing and manufacturing process. It not only plays an important role in the manufacturing process, but also effectively improves manufacturing efficiency, reduces costs, and increases product quality. The following are the main applications of custom stamping die in three fields:

1.Mechanical Field

In traditional mechanical manufacturing, custom stamping die is generally used to manufacture various metal parts, such as gears, bearings, etc.

2.Automotive Sector

Custom stamping die is very important in automotive manufacturing, covering almost all aspects of automotive production, such as metal components such as car frames, doors, and hoods. Automobile manufacturers consider stamping die as one of their core competencies, effectively enhancing production efficiency and quality.

3.Electronic Field

Due to the rapid development of electronic technology, custom stamping die is widely used in the field of electronics, for the production of metal shells, metal connectors, etc.

4.Aerospace Industry

The aerospace industry implements custom stamping die to manufacture precision components for aircraft, spacecraft, and related equipment, to achieve precision tolerances and high quality standards.

Materials and Manufacturing of Custom Stamping Die

Common materials for stamping

The most commonly used materials in stamping production are metallic (including ferrous and non-ferrous metals), but sometimes non-metallic materials are also used. Among them, black metals mainly include ordinary carbon structural steel, high-quality carbon structural steel, alloy structural steel, carbon tool steel, stainless steel, electrical silicon steel, etc; Nonferrous metals include pure copper, brass, bronze, aluminum, etc and nonmetallic materials include cardboard, laminated board, rubber board, plastic board, fiberboard, and mica.

The supply status of metal materials for stamping is generally various specifications of sheet and strip materials. Sheet metal is used in the production of engineering die, strip (coil) is used in the manufacturing of continuous die, and can also be used in the production of engineering die. Large-size sheet metal can be used for stamping large parts, or it can be cut into strips according to the layout size and used for stamping small and medium-sized parts; Belt material (also known as roll material) has various specifications of width, unfolded several tens of meters in length, and supplied in rolls. It is used in automatic feeding for continuous die mass production.

Appropriate selection of stamping materials: The selection of stamping materials should pay attention to the requirements for the use of stamping parts, stamping process requirements, and economy.

Select materials appropriately according to the usage conditions of stamped parts: The selected materials can be manufactured normally in the machine or components of stamped parts and have a longer service life. Therefore, the selected materials should meet the corresponding strength, stiffness, toughness, corrosion resistance, and heat resistance requirements based on the usage requirements of stamped parts.

Correct material selection according to stamping process requirements: For each type of stamping part, the selected material should be able to form qualified products in a fixed manner according to its stamping process requirements, without cracking or wrinkling, which is the most basic and important material selection requirement. Therefore, the following methods can be used to select materials reasonably:

Trial punching: Based on previous production experience and possible requirements, select several sheet materials that can roughly meet the requirements of stamping parts for trial punching, and finally select one with a low scrap rate and no cracking or wrinkles. This method yields more intuitive results but has a greater degree of blindness.

Analysis and Comparison: Based on the analysis of the deformation properties of stamping, the maximum deformation degree during stamping is compared with the allowable limit deformation degree of the sheet metal stamping forming performance, and based on this, the sheet metal that is suitable for the stamping process application of this type of part is selected.

Maintenance Methods for Custom Stamping Die

Each factory can revise some requirements according to the maintenance of custom stamping die, to quickly grasp the die status and ensure stable die production. The process of die maintenance mainly consists of the following three steps.

Establish die maintenance standards:

The setting of maintenance standards for custom stamping die require attention to working hours and die structure. Currently, the common practice in the industry is to set maintenance cycles based on production runs, with most of them being scheduled for 30000 to 50000 runs. The maintenance cycle for drawing processes or some important die will be set within 30000 to 40000 runs, while other processes will be maintained within 40000 to 50000 runs. However, it is noted that some car models with lower annual production output may experience die rust, aging and air leakage of the air ducts, and dirty die during production due to long-term nonproduction of die. Therefore, if the production output of car models is low, it is necessary to strengthen maintenance standards and arrange die maintenance every six months.

Develop annual or monthly maintenance plans:

die maintenance plan. According to the die maintenance benchmark and production plan, annual or monthly maintenance plans can be adopted. Due to the influence of chip supply and production demand in the automotive market, including the formulation of maintenance plans on an annual basis, there are significant differences in the actual production punching times of each die, which will inevitably be different from the plan. Therefore, the next month’s maintenance plan should be formulated based on the predicted punching times of the current month, to ensure that the actual maintenance cycle of the die is consistent with the maintenance benchmark. Nowadays, multiple industries are promoting digital production, and the formulation of die maintenance plans can also be completed. The system automatically generates real-time production based on each vehicle model, reducing personnel time and increasing accuracy.

Implement die maintenance according to the checklist requirements:

Die maintenance requirements. The content of the die maintenance checklist can adopt the “cross operation” method of equipment maintenance, including “cleaning, lubrication, adjustment, tightening, and corrosion prevention”.

1.Cleaning

Internal and external cleaning of the die, cleaning of all structural surfaces and external oil stains, including cleaning and cleaning of the die surface, and cleaning of external dust. To meet the surface quality requirements of die parts during production.

2.Lubrication

The lubrication surfaces of the die guide plate and guide mechanism should be replaced with lubricating oil promptly, including removing oil stains from the sliding surfaces and adding new lubricants during maintenance, to achieve smooth movement of each mechanism.

3.Adjustment

Adjust the gaps between various moving parts and fitting parts on the die, to ensure stable production quality, including the detection of the amount of blade insertion. Referring to the benchmark requirement of 2-5mm, promptly repair the blade that does not meet the amount of blade insertion, and achieve stable die production.

4.Tightening

After a certain number of punches in die production, it is not ruled out that some bolts may become loose due to production vibration. During maintenance, the die insert bolts need to be re-tightened.

5.Corrosion Prevention

Inspect the external and internal appearance of the die to confirm whether there is any damage or defect on the surface of the die. Pay special attention to the positions on the die that have been under force for a long time. Visual inspection should be carried out during maintenance, and die flaw detection should be used if necessary.

The daily maintenance of custom stamping die is based on the maintenance standards, maintenance plans, and maintenance requirements. The die condition is checked for appearance, and faults are detected and eliminated early. By adopting the above methods, it is possible to efficiently maintain the status of custom metal stamping die, improve production efficiency, and reduce production costs.

Custom Stamping Die