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A little information about the
actual parts of a die. Dies have 2 basic elements, the base, usually
wood, and the cutting rule which is bent and fitted into the slot cut in the
wood with a laser or saw. Often pre-machined punches are used instead
of bent rule to cut precise holes in the part to be made. The
following is a brief and by no means exhaustive discussion of these
materials.
The wood
used in dies is usually maple or birch, with maple being the stronger, and
better for laser cutting due to it's more uniform density. Birch is
perfectly acceptable, easier to jig-saw, and less than half the cost of
maple, but does not laser cut as cleanly as maple.  The strength
issue is not all that significant to my mind since it is often more cost
effective to burn a new board than re-rule an old one. LNC stocks
both birch and maple in 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, and 7/8" thick. Note
the thicker laminations on the 5/8 maple pictured over the 5/8 birch.
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| The cutting blade in
dies is called steel rule and is manufactured by a variety of
suppliers. The industry standard for measuring the thickness of rule
is the point, equal to .014 inches. By far the most common rule we
use is 2 point or .028", but point and a half, 3 point and 4 point
are also available. As the rule gets thicker it is less formable for
complex shapes. The most common height is .937 or 15/16" but .918 or
type high" as it's known as in the printing trade is used
extensively by printers. LNC stocks 1-1/2, 2, 3, and 4 point in
heights from 12mm to 1-1/2.
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Punches perform the same function as
rule, but are
manufactured from steel tubing to precise dimensions and heat treated for
strength. Punches are available in increments of 1/64 inch as a
standard, and virtually any size as a special. There are 4 basic
styles of punches, Feed-through, Tube, Self-Cleaning, and Straight OD, or
Straight Wall. Enlarge the picture
by clicking on it for a better look at the 4 different styles, all
designed to cut a 1/8" diameter hole. In the first from left,
the feed-through, the scrap goes through the punch and out the bottom, in
the second, a tube style, the scrap must be ejected out of the punch with
a spring or ejection rubber. The third is the self-cleaning punch
and the scrap feeds part way through and out the side. The last, the
straight OD, is used where space is limited and
the scrap again must be ejected from the punch. |
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The strength
issue is not all that significant to my mind since it is often more cost
effective to burn a new board than re-rule an old one. LNC stocks
both birch and maple in 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, and 7/8" thick. Note
the thicker laminations on the 5/8 maple pictured over the 5/8 birch.
by clicking on it for a better look at the 4 different styles, all
designed to cut a 1/8" diameter hole. In the first from left,
the feed-through, the scrap goes through the punch and out the bottom, in
the second, a tube style, the scrap must be ejected out of the punch with
a spring or ejection rubber. The third is the self-cleaning punch
and the scrap feeds part way through and out the side. The last, the
straight OD, is used where space is limited and
the scrap again must be ejected from the punch.