Design and analysis of advanced tools and progressive die by the manufacturing industry.

A progressive die performs two or more operations sequentially in a single stroke. This die is used to create a finished part in a single operation. Progressive die design is a time-consuming and highly specialized process. The variety of products produced by progressive dies necessitates a high level of knowledge on the part of the die designer, which can be gained only through years of practical experience. 

The type and proper dimensioning of die components is a critical step in designing a progressive die. Along with human expertise, commercially available CAD/CAM systems assist in the drafting and analysis stages of the die design process.

The limitations of traditional die design systems include the following:

Limitation-1

Traditional die design and analysis methods require expertise and are largely manual, making them tedious, time-consuming, and prone to error.

Limitation-2

The high cost of establishing die design systems is frequently unaffordable to small and medium-sized sheet metal industries, particularly in developing countries. 

To address these issues, an intelligent system for progressive die design is urgently needed to assist die designers and process planners in sheet metal industries, particularly small and medium-sized stamping industries. The system should be capable of intelligently assisting die designers in automating the major activities of the progressive die design process, such as die component selection.

Considerations in the design of progressive die components

The progressive die is extremely complex, and even a simple die may contain multiple components. The major components of a progressive die are the die block, die gauges (front spacer and back gauge), stripper plate, punch plate, backplate, punches, pilots, die set, and fasteners.

Die Block 

The dimensions of the die block are dependent on a variety of factors, including the sheet thickness, the direction of the sharp edge, the strip width, the length of the strip layout, and the type of die material.

Die Gauges 

The sheet thickness primarily determines the front spacer and back gauge dimensions. However, the minimum thickness of die gauges is also limit by the risk of camber occurring during the heat treatment process use to manufacture them. The stock strip’s width determines the distance between the back gauge and the front spacer.

Stripper Plate

The stripper plate’s size corresponds to the die block’s size.

Punch Plate

The punch plate is use to set the punches in place and support them. The thickness of the punch plate is proportional to the diameter of the punch. Additionally, the thickness of the punch plate should be proportional to the overall punch height.

Back Plate

A hardened backplate is typically insert between small perforator punches and the punch holder.

Die-set

The type of die-set to use is determine by the sheet metal operation, part quantity, and job accuracy. The die-dimension sets are determine by the die’s length and width and its placement within the die-set. In industries, the die block size determines the quantity and size of fasteners.

The progressive die is a cost-effective method of forming metal parts with desirable strength, flexibility, and wear resistance.

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