Tooling
Designing a progressive die: what really matters
Station sequence, piloting, stripper plate and strip guidance determine tool life and process reliability. The key design decisions for progressive dies.
· 1 min read
Read articleInsights
Technical articles on tooling and design
Practical knowledge on strip layouts, die design, fixtures and manufacturing-oriented engineering. Written for people who work in production themselves.
Latest articles
Compact technical articles drawn from more than 20 years of tool and fixture design practice.
Tooling
Optimising the strip layout: lower material cost without process risk
Strip width, nesting and web widths define the material used per part. Where savings in the strip layout make sense, and where saving becomes expensive.
· 1 min read
Read articleFixtures
Designing a clamping fixture: the 3-2-1 principle in practice
Repeatable part location starts with the 3-2-1 locating scheme. How to lay out support, clamping and accessibility properly in practical fixture design.
· 1 min read
Read articleDesign
Manufacturing-oriented design: how to spot a good drawing
A good production drawing answers questions before they come up on the shop floor. What clean, manufacturing-oriented drawing derivation looks like in practice.
· 1 min read
Read articleTooling
What matters when designing fine blanking dies
V-ring, counter punch, cutting clearance and press force: what sets fine blanking dies apart from conventional dies, and where design mistakes get expensive.
· 1 min read
Read articleFixtures
Pneumatic or hydraulic clamping: a decision guide
Clamping force, cycle time, installation space and cost: when pneumatic clamping pays off, when hydraulics are better, and when manual clamping is enough.
· 1 min read
Read articleProcesses
Small automation, big effect: where it pays to start
Feeding unit, thread forming unit, semi-automatic inspection station: why small automation steps often return more per euro invested than a large system.
· 1 min read
Read articleProcesses
Design capacity bottleneck: outsource or wait?
When projects stall because design capacity is missing: how to quantify the cost of waiting and which engineering tasks are well suited to outsourcing.
· 1 min read
Read articleMost read
- Designing a progressive die: what really matters
Tooling · 1 min read
- Optimising the strip layout: lower material cost without process risk
Tooling · 1 min read
- Designing a clamping fixture: the 3-2-1 principle in practice
Fixtures · 1 min read
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