Tooling

A die is a mould in high-alloy tool steel, split into two halves, with runners for the melt, cooling channels to control solidification, and ejector pins to get the part back out. If the part has undercuts, slides are added — mechanisms that retract before the die opens.

Cost is driven by, among other things, how many cavities the die has, how many slides it needs, and how much steel has to be milled, spark-eroded and polished. Undercuts are one of the biggest cost drivers. That is why the design review looks for them before anyone orders anything.

We do not make dies ourselves. We procure them through our preferred toolmakers, and we take part in the design: the die has to suit our machines and our experience of how the part behaves in the melt.

After that it is our job to keep it running. A steel die is gradually broken down by thermal shock. It is a wear part, not a permanent asset. Without maintenance the flash comes first, then more manual finishing, then parts you cannot use.

Three costs kept apart

The die is a one-off investment that you own. The sample parts come when the die is trialled: the parts are measured and approved against the drawing before the series starts. The part price applies to every part in the series and is built on metal weight, cycle time and any secondary operations. We have no standard price for tooling, because the cost depends on the part. What does a casting tool cost? explains what drives it.

Do you already have a die?

Say so in your enquiry. Before we can tell whether an existing die can be used here, we need to look at ownership, documentation, condition and whether it suits our machines. After that it has to be trialled and the parts measured before a series can start.