Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Die (manufacturing)
Summary
A die is a specialized machine tool used in manufacturing industries to cut and/or form material to a desired shape or profile. Stamping dies are used with a press, as opposed to drawing dies (used in the manufacture of wire) and casting dies (used in molding) which are not. Like molds, dies are generally customized to the item they are used to create.
Products made with dies range from simple paper clips to complex pieces used in advanced technology. Continuous-feed laser cutting may displace the analogous die-based process in the automotive industry, among others.
Blanking and piercing are two die cutting operations, and bending is an example of a die forming operation.
Forming operations work by deforming materials like sheet metal or plastic using force (compression, tension, or both) and rely on the material's mechanical properties. Forming dies are typically made by tool and die makers and put into production after mounting into a press.
For the vacuum forming of plastic sheet only a single form is used, typically to form transparent plastic containers (called blister packs) for merchandise. Vacuum forming is considered a simple molding thermoforming process but uses the same principles as die forming.
For the forming of sheet metal, such as automobile body parts, two parts may be used: one, called the punch, performs the stretching, bending, and/or blanking operation, while another part that is called the die block securely clamps the workpiece and provides similar stretching, bending, and/or blanking operation. The workpiece may pass through several stages using different tools or operations to obtain the final form. In the case of an automotive component, there will usually be a shearing operation after the main forming is done. Additional crimping or rolling operations may be performed to ensure that all sharp edges are hidden and/or to add rigidity to the panel.
The main components of a die set (including press mounting) are as follows.
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Ontological neighbourhood
Related courses (2)
ME-212: Industrial production processes
Application des principales catégories de procédés de production.
Modèles physiques élémentaires décrivant le comportement des principaux procédés de production.
Compréhension de base des aspects éc
MICRO-301: Manufacturing technologies
This course gives an introduction to production methods and manufacturing technologies used in microengineering. The focus is given on the understanding of physical phenomena underlying the processes,
Related publications (24)
Related concepts (11)
Extrusion
Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile by pushing material through a die of the desired cross-section. Its two main advantages over other manufacturing processes are its ability to create very complex cross-sections; and to work materials that are brittle, because the material encounters only compressive and shear stresses. It also creates excellent surface finish and gives considerable freedom of form in the design process.
Sheet metal
Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Sheet metal is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and it can be cut and bent into a variety of shapes. Thicknesses can vary significantly; extremely thin sheets are considered foil or leaf, and pieces thicker than 6 mm (0.25 in) are considered plate, such as plate steel, a class of structural steel. Sheet metal is available in flat pieces or coiled strips. The coils are formed by running a continuous sheet of metal through a roll slitter.
Stamping (metalworking)
Stamping (also known as pressing) is the process of placing flat sheet metal in either blank or coil form into a stamping press where a tool and die surface forms the metal into a net shape. Stamping includes a variety of sheet-metal forming manufacturing processes, such as punching using a machine press or stamping press, blanking, embossing, bending, flanging, and coining. This could be a single stage operation where every stroke of the press produces the desired form on the sheet metal part, or could occur through a series of stages.