Stamping Tools for Sheet Metal Forming: Current State and Future Research Directions

Sheet metal forming tools play an important role in the manufacturing of many products. With shorter product life cycles and demand for shorter time to market for new products, the process for design and manufacturing of stamping tools becomes a critical part. Stamping dies are often designed and manufactured by smaller, specialized companies. For a tooling company, knowledge and experience is an important competitive advantage. Traditionally the design process has been characterized by being based on few key individuals with much experience and craftsmanship. To stay competitive in this market there is a need for more efficient processes, systems, tools and supports in order to become more industrialized. This paper presents results from a study of the state of practice in industry within progressive stamping tool design as well as a review of relevant literature. The design and manufacturing processes for stamping dies in six companies have been investigated through semi-structured interviews, from which the main challenges in the current state for the companies are identified. The results from the interviews was analyzed and compared to the established concepts and frameworks of methods found in the literature review. The results and analysis points in the direction of efforts needed in supporting the formalization and reuse of information and knowledge from previous tool projects and production, especially during the critical steps of tool process planning and creating the tool layout.