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A material-dense punch and die combo can absorb a great deal of punishment. Pushed to its limits, however, even a high-quality tool combo will chip. The overall piston-rolling strength of the tool holds out for a while longer. The impact-driven backbone crashes down resolutely, but the chipping effect propagates. Left like this, the output coming […]

Without die clearance tolerances, punching strokes would become woefully inaccurate. The equipment could still send the punch operation downwards accurately, with the tool moving as if it were on an invisible rail, but a poorly configured die-to-punch gap would then deflect the stroke before it made contact. To forestall such undesirable process results, equipment techs […]

Computer Aided Design involves program design space, parametric models, and proprietary software packages. By itself, this field of engineering can’t create a real-world product. Enter Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM), with its machine codes and automated machinery. This is the second half of a computer-aided design and manufacturing process that’s currently revolutionizing the machine shop industry. […]

Diamonds are the hardest naturally occurring material known to man. They’re used on drill bits and abrasive cutting blades to carry out all sorts of tough tooling jobs. Other materials, even tough carbides, find that kind of work next to impossible to emulate. Unsurprisingly, and this development is set to revolutionize the industry, diamond-like carbon […]

As that first word infers, Progressive Stamping Die stations use a sequential approach. One operation is carried out, then the next stage is initiated, and then the next, and so on, until a fabrication run is complete. Being as how this is a chain of intimately connected actions, the slightest deviation in that chain could […]

Imagine how a mechanical punch would perform if it was overlooked. Now try picturing that same uncaring attitude as applied to a shearing machine. The high-performance, high-precision equipment eventually falls into disrepair. No surprise there, then. What choice is there now? The machine shop stops and experiences an unproductive period of downtime until the punch […]

In the modern industrial world, you need to know that you have the proper tools and components on hand in order to render your services appropriately. Industrial machines are reliant on quality materials in order to render their specific tasks in an efficient and effective way. When it comes to the industrial world, shearing machines […]

Machine shop punch press tools perform a series of intricately controlled mechanical strokes. Cuts and indentations drop down with ram-like force. Slugs drop free while a matching die accommodates the cut. Having evolved over several decades, contemporary punch press stations use process-enhancing turrets, which carry additional tools. Still, should that ever-handy equipment turret section make […]

Punch tools exude a perfectly crafted appearance. They shine, with their burnished surfaces exhibiting a flawless aspect that surely can’t read false. Viewed microscopically, though, it’s a different story. Tiny material irregularities could be hidden just below that glossy finish. And, since this is an impact tool, those microscopic flaws won’t stay concealed. Rewinding the […]

The following conclusion was reached by applying a little common sense. Think of it, of a fabrication floor that works on hardened steel. Tool steel can’t hold its form for long, not unless it’s more durable than the workpiece it’s being used upon. Again, that piece of reasoning didn’t require much brain energy, just a […]