This is the most common question we get from clients and prospects all the time.
“When and why should I start investing in progressive dies?”
So, without further ado, here’s our answer.
The 3 main factors
When it comes to tooling, there are 3 factors to consider:
- Your annual volume
- The complexity of the metal parts
- The size of the parts
Now you might have heard that the biggest factor for tooling up is your annual production volume. Well, that is only partly true. The truth is, there are 2 additional factors that determine if and when you can benefit from progressive dies (or other types of dies) in your fabrication.
The first big factor is the complexity of the parts. There are some metal parts that cannot be manufactured without a die. For example, if there are too many operations/steps required that CNC fabrication cannot handle or cost too much to produce (blanking, followed by multiple bending operations) OR the size of the parts being way too small to handle. This is where you can strongly benefit from using dies.
The second factor is the size of your metal parts. And as the part size grows so will the dies and resulting costs. For example, we have a customer, a big fortune 500 company, who paid over $30,000 for a die to produce only 500 pieces! Why? Because being a large (approx. 24” x 24”) piece, with integral 1” deep sidewalls, it was the only way to produce such a part that had a shallow drawn part.
In short, using dies is a matter of understanding these 3 factors and figuring out the simplest, best and most cost-effective way to produce your metal components quickly and reliably.
Other use cases for using dies
Being in the metal stamping & CNC fabrication business for 70+ years, we’ve seen it all.
And you know what? There is no “magic quantity” or “formula” when it comes to using progressive dies. It all depends on your product’s annual volume, size and complexity. It’s really a case by case.
For example, tooling up for a small (e.g. 2” x 4”) simple bracket may cost less than $5000, and be justified at relatively low volumes as the part cost could be as little as 30% (being made from coil and in a single operation), as opposed to being made by metal fabrication techniques with little to no tooling (e.g. the blank laser cut or punched using a CNC machine, with the bending needing to be done as a secondary operation.)
Another common example is that it may take several dies to yield a given part. It may be that our dies used for the first and second operation serve as the foundation of your part, requiring you only to pay for the third and final die. See the following Case Study for a perfect example.
Now if you don’t think you have the volume to benefit from a progressive die (or other types of dies), don’t worry. Your best bet is to find a manufacturer that offers both CNC Metal Fabrication and Metal Stamping capabilities (this is important for cost-savings); showing them your designs, lot qty(s) you would like quoted, as well as your estimated annual usage (EAUs.) Knowing this: your manufacturer having their own die designers and in-house toolroom will be able to propose the optimal solution, or even offer multiple cost-effective solutions, allowing you to make the best possible decision.
Own or use our dies and store them at Tripar for FREE ($7500 Value)
Yes, you heard that right. At Tripar we own 1600+ dies that you can use.
So if we have an existing die that yields a part similar to your design, and you are flexible with your design; you may be able to benefit from that die, potentially paying only for die modification costs. If together we can find a way to modify your design to take advantage of our die, you can potentially save tens of thousands of dollars in new die costs. In short: you use what we have and only pay for the die modifications. That’s another advantage of working with a flexible “open tooled” die manufacturer. The best part?
When you invest in Tripar’s in-house toolroom and die manufacture, we will maintain your dies for life for as long as you keep ordering the parts that use it. We will maintain, sharpen, fix and store your dies free-of-charge as our service to you. That’s the Tripar AAA service we offer all our clients.
You can enjoy Tripar’s in-house toolroom without the headaches of dealing and fixing your own dies.
Thanks for reading this article. We hope you found it valuable.
Wondering if your business is ready for progressive dies? Get in touch to discuss your project.
