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- May 16, 2016
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- 1,704
:Google punch and die sets, you'll get lots of info on designs, clearances etc. Depending on how many you wish to make you should choose the material for the punch and die. Mild steel would probably yield many hundreds of parts may be even a few thousand.
I have even seen aluminium used as the die, with a steel punch to produce a hundred or so parts in a commercial setting. And hardened tool steel is normally used in high volume production to produce many thousands of parts before refurbishing is required.
You could make your form punch and die first, then experiment with hand cut discs to get the right size that does not require trimming after forming. The make a punch and die set to cut the discs to that size. You could also make a third set to punch the the holes into the disc before forming. The holes will deform slightly when forming, but they should not be too bad for the simple shape you want.
Note when designing the form die you must include a clearance equal to the metal thickness all over, so if you use a different thickness you will ned a different die set.
I have even seen aluminium used as the die, with a steel punch to produce a hundred or so parts in a commercial setting. And hardened tool steel is normally used in high volume production to produce many thousands of parts before refurbishing is required.
You could make your form punch and die first, then experiment with hand cut discs to get the right size that does not require trimming after forming. The make a punch and die set to cut the discs to that size. You could also make a third set to punch the the holes into the disc before forming. The holes will deform slightly when forming, but they should not be too bad for the simple shape you want.
Note when designing the form die you must include a clearance equal to the metal thickness all over, so if you use a different thickness you will ned a different die set.
