ZK’s manufacturing processes begin by partnering your team with our design and engineering experts. Our innovative technology and trained expertise ensures specifications are met for even the most complex progressive dies.

Create strip layout and 3D structure

ZK’s engineering experts prepare the strip layout according to client’ requirements, 3D structure will be created after client confirmed the strip layout.

Choose Materials for Die Making

As stamping dies require a certain level of hardness, toughness, and durability their construction materials typically demonstrate exceptional longevity between sharpening as well as exhibit properties that facilitate the formation of complex designs. There are various materials whose properties fulfill these requirements and which are used in the production of ZK’s high-quality, dependable stamping dies, material show as following:

– A2 Tool Steel: air-hardened, cold-worked tool steel exhibits high material hardness (after heat treatment) and good dimensional stability.

– D2 Tool Steel: high-carbon, high-chromium cold-worked tool steel demonstrates superior toughness and abrasion resistance.

– SKH-9 high speed steel: is a high performance tungsten-molybdenum ordinary soluble high speed tool steel with good toughness. It has the plasticity of hot working die steel and cold working die steel, and has good machining and grinding properties.

– SKD11 tool Steel: is universal cold working die steel with high wear resistance and toughness, high carbon and high chromium alloy tool steel and vacuum degassing refining steel. The steel is pure, with good hardenability and small quenching deformation.

– SKH-51 high speed steel: molybdenum high carbon cobalt super hard high-speed tool steel, high hardness, up to 61-64HRC, good thermal hardness, high temperature hardness, easy grinding. But toughness is slightly poor, quenching temperature should be used at the lower limit. High red heat hardness, high abrasion resistance and cutting ability. High impact toughness, fine and uniform grain, high toughness.

– DC53 Tool Steel: cold-worked tool steel offers strength and toughness approaching those of high-speed tool steels.

– 1.2379 tool Steel: is a kind of high carbon and high chromium alloy tool steel. After heat treatment, it has high hardness and wear resistance, strong hardenability and good dimensional stability.

Develop tools and dies

Once a product design is established, ZK gets to work on the tools and dies design to manufacture it. Precision in the design is critical, as the punches and dies must maintain proper clearance to manufacture quality parts. It is also complex, as a single tool stamping can contain hundreds of parts.

Begin Production.

You can trust Engineering Specialties team to select the material, production processes and sequence of operations. Backed by multiyear of experience, our experts offer optimizations that provide higher quality tools, faster lead times and less maintenance or cost. Our suite of metal stamping, CNC machining, and assembly processes help to maximize production speeds and help your bottom line.

Selecting the Right Stamping Press

Tool and die makers must also consider what type of stamping press the die will be used in, which are classified according to their properties and how they are used:

– Simple Dies: Perform a single operation in a single stroke.

– Compound Dies: Multiple cutting operations performed in a single stroke at a single stage.

– Progressive Dies: Multiple cutting operations performed in a single stroke at a number of different stages with blanking performed during the last stage.

– Transfer Dies: Similar to progressive dies, but with blanking as the first operation during the first stage.

– Combination Dies: Multiple cutting and forming operations are combined and performed in one stroke at each stage.

– Multiple Dies: Produces only one component per stroke but allows for the production of more than one component by providing one of the above dies in parallel.

Precise tolerances from die sets to progressive dies

ZK tool makers bring decades of experience to every aspect of the job.

Using wire slow-speed wire cut, 4 or 5-axis CNC, and other high-precision equipment, they achieve tolerances as tight as .0005” (.01 mm) for parts and .0002” (.005 mm) for tools and dies.

Producing one part can require a number of tools and a lot of skill. Our machinists understand what tools they need, including CNC machines and quality inspection devices.

Our team provides full toolmaking service with highly refined skills for even the most complex progressive dies. We not only make tools and dies for our own processes; we make them for our clients. Look to ZK, especially when you’re up against technical challenges with short lead times.