Computer Aided Design of the Die-Set for Sheet Metal Punching and Blanking Dies

Abstract

Die-Set is one of the Punching/Blanking die components. It includes lower and upper shoes, guide posts and guide bushes. The High demand of Die-Set in industry resulted in the supply of specified die set from many manufacturing companies. The standard components in the market cover only the small and medium die sizes. In many cases, the designers need to build their own die-sets especially in case of progressive die design and non-tradition die sizes. In this paper, a CAD system for building a Die-Set is discussed. This system is built using Visual Basic (VB) interfacing with AutoCAD. The system covers all Die-Sets sizes (small, medium). The proposed CAD system is prepared to work as a standalone or as a subroutine for a blanking die design CAD system. It saves time in Die-Set design operation from hours to minutes. This module is a part of a series of studies to automate the design of sheet metal working tools.