Manufacturing Guides

Detailed, practical references for planning and troubleshooting metal stamping and tool and die work.

• How to Calculate Press Brake Tonnage (Air Bending) — A practical guide to calculating press brake bending tonnage for air bending — the 575 rule, V-die selection, material factors, and a worked example.
• Deep Drawing Defects: Wrinkling, Tearing & Earing (Causes and Fixes) — Diagnose and fix the three classic deep-drawing defects — wrinkling, tearing/splitting, and earing — with the blank-holder, lubrication, and material levers that cause them.
• Choosing Tool Steel for Stamping Dies: A2 vs D2 vs S7 — How to pick die steel for stamping and forming: balancing wear resistance, toughness, and machinability across A2, D2, S7, and when to reach for each.
• Progressive Die Design Fundamentals: Strip Layout, Stations & Carriers — The fundamentals of progressive die design — strip layout, station sequencing, pilots and carriers, progression, and center of pressure — explained from the ground up.
• Deep Draw Process Planning: Reduction Ratios, Redraws & Blank Size — Plan a deep drawn part the right way — blank diameter, draw reduction ratio, limiting draw ratio, redraw stages, radii, and blank-holder strategy from first principles.
• Press Tonnage Selection: Force, Reverse Tonnage & Energy — How to select press capacity for stamping — rated tonnage versus where in the stroke force is needed, reverse/snap-through tonnage, off-center loading, and flywheel energy.
• Stamping Die Maintenance & PM: Keeping Dies Running — A practical framework for stamping die maintenance — daily checks, scheduled PM, sharpening cutting clearance, lubrication, and tracking die life to prevent unplanned downtime.
• Sheet Metal Material Selection: Formability, Strength & Grain — How to choose sheet metal for stamping and forming — balancing strength versus formability, grain direction, gauge and thickness tolerance, and properties that drive die behavior.
• Springback Control in Bending: Overbend, Bottoming & Coining — Why metal springs back after bending and how to control it — overbending, bottoming and coining, radius and material effects, and why test bends beat any chart.