Fundamentals of Tool Design - Sixth Edition

Dr. John G. Nee, CmfgE. 2010. Society of Manufacturing Engineers Dearborn, Michigan

Tool design is a specialized area of manufacturing engineering comprising the analysis,

planning, design, construction, and application of tools, methods, and procedures necessary to
increase manufacturing productivity. To carry out these responsibilities, tool designers must
have a working knowledge of machine shop practices, tool-making procedures, machine tool
design, and manufacturing procedures and methods, as well as the more conventional
engineering disciplines of planning, designing, engineering graphics and drawing, and cost
analysis.

Design Objectives
The main objective of tool design is to increase production while maintaining quality and
lowering costs. To this end, the tool designer must:
 Reduce the overall cost to manufacture a product by making acceptable parts at the
lowest cost.
 Increase the production rate by designing tools to produce parts as quickly as possible.
 Maintain quality by designing tools to consistently produce parts with the required
precision.
 Reduce the cost of special tooling by making every design as cost-effective and efficient
as possible.
 Design tools to be safe and easy to operate.

The Design Process

While the specifics of designing each type of tool are discussed in subsequent chapters of this
text, a few basic principles and procedures are introduced here. The design process consists
of five basic steps:
1. statement and analysis of the problem;
2. analysis of the requirements;
3. development of initial ideas;
4. development of possible design alternatives, and
5. finalization of design ideas.

Analysis of the requirements

After the problem has been isolated, the requirements, including function, production
requirements, quality, cost, due date, and other related specifics can be used to determine the
parameters within which the designer must work. Every tool that is designed must:
• perform specific functions;
• meet certain minimum precision requirements;
• keep costs to a minimum;
• be available when the production schedule requires it;
• be operated safely;
 • meet various other requirements such as adaptability to the machine on which it is to be
used, and
• have an acceptable working life.

punch presses
In guarding punch presses, no single type of guard is practical for all operations. Ring guards
work well on small punching setups where the ring meets an obstruction and the downward
motion of the ram is stopped. Larger die sets and presses can be better protected by gate
guards that must be positioned after the work is loaded and then interlocked with the clutch
mechanism. Barrier guards and light curtains protect workers by preventing hands and arms
from being placed inside the work area during operation. Generally, barrier guards are
telescoping, perforated sheet-metal coverings with an opening to feed the stock, while light
curtains are totally electronic, nonmechanical guards. Sweep guards actually sweep the
danger area clear as the press ram descends, providing protection during an accidental
descent of the ram. Wire-cage guards are still another way to protect the operator’s hands (the
operator feeds the work through a small opening). This type of guard is useful for secondary
operations. Another method of protection is to provide a space between pinch points on the
punches and dies that is too small for the operator’s hand to enter; this distance should not
exceed 3/8 in. (9.5 mm). Punch presses cause many injuries every year, so employers should
place special emphasis on safety when dealing with these machines.

Mechanical Properties (page 16)

The mechanical properties of a material can be permanently altered by thermal or mechanical
treatment. These properties include strength, hardness, toughness, plasticity, ductility,
malleability, and modulus of elasticity.

strength
Strength is the ability of a material to resist deformation. The most common units used to
designate strength are pounds per square inch (psi) and kiloPascals (kPa). When designing
tools, the principal categories to be most concerned with are a material’s ultimate tensile
strength, compressive strength, shear strength, and yield strength.

Ultimate Tensile Strength

Ultimate tensile strength is the value obtained by dividing the maximum load observed
during tensile testing by the specimen’s cross-sectional area before testing. An example of a
plot of a tensile test is shown in Figure 2-1. This plot shows the yield point as well as fracture
points for several different materials. A material’s ultimate tensile strength is an important
property to consider when designing large fixtures or other tooling. It is of lesser importance
in tools and dies except where soft- or mediumhard ferrous or nonferrous materials are used.

The tensile tests successfully made on tool steel involve the use of tempering temperatures
much higher than those typically used on tools. Tool steels for hot work, fatigue, or impact
applications are usually specified at lower hardness levels. The tensile properties of tool
steels can be obtained from data books or vendor literature.
Compressive Strength
Compressive strength plays an important role in tool design. It is the maximum stress that a
metal, subjected to compression, can withstand without fracture bending or bulging (see
Figure 2-2). The compressive strength test is used on hardened tool steels, especially at high
hardness levels. For all ductile materials, the specimens flatten out under load, and there is no
well-marked fracture. For these materials, compressive strength is usually equal to tensile
strength.

Shear Strength
The shear strength of a material is important to consider when designing tools that will be
subjected to shear loads or torsion loads. Shear strength is defined as the stress necessary to
cause failure in shear loading (or torsion loading). For most steels, the shear strength (see
Figure 2-3) is approximately 50–60% of the alloy’s tensile yield strength. Shear strengths are
measured in units of lb/in.2 (psi) or kN/m2 (kPa).

Yield Strength
The yield strength of a material is often the most important property to consider when
selecting an alloy for a specific application. Measured in units of lb/in.2 (psi) or kN/m2 (kPa),
yield strength is the stress level at which an alloy will show permanent elongation after the
stress has been removed. A typical yield strength reported is 0.2%, which indicates that the
stress produced 0.2% elongation in a 2-in. (50.8-mm) test specimen. Therefore, if permanent
deformation is not acceptable for a given application, the stresses that a component is
subjected to must be below the yield strength of the alloy. Heat treatments can be used to
increase or decrease the yield strengths of alloys.

Hardness
Hardness is the ability of the material to resist penetration or withstand abrasion. It is an
important property in selecting tool materials. However, hardness alone does not determine
the wear or abrasion resistance of a material. In alloy steels, especially tool steels, the
resistance to wear or abrasion varies with alloy content. Hardness scales have been
developed, each covering a separate range of hardness for different materials.

Rockwell Hardness
Rockwell hardness is the most widely used method for measuring the hardness of steel. The
Rockwell hardness test is conducted by using a dead weight that acts through a series of
levers to force a penetrator into the surface of the metal being tested. The softer the metal
being tested, the deeper it will be penetrated with a given load. The dial gage does not
directly read the depth of penetration, but shows scales of Rockwell numbers instead. A
variety of loads and penetrators can be used, each designated by a different letter and the
relative hardness or softness measured.

Two types of penetrators are used in Rockwell hardness testing: a diamond cone, known as a
brale, for hard materials such as tool steel, and a hardened steel ball for soft materials.
Brinell Hardness
The Brinell hardness method of measurement is much older than the Rockwell method. It
operates similarly to the Rockwell ball-test principle. In the Brinell machine, a 10 mm (.39
in.) steel ball is forced into the material being tested under a load of up to 3,000 kg (6,600 lb).
Instead of measuring the penetration, the diameter of the impression in the test piece is
measured using a small hand microscope with a lens calibrated in millimeters. The measured
diameter is converted into a Brinell hardness number by using a table.

The Brinell hardness measurement is most useful on soft and medium-hard materials. On
steels of high hardness, the impression is so small that it is difficult to read; therefore, the
Rockwell test is used more commonly for such materials. A comparison of the designations
for each system, as well as other hardness tests, is shown in Table 2-1.

Toughness
Toughness is the ability of a material to resist fracture when subjected to impact loads
(sudden rapid loads). Materials that have high toughness must have a combination of high
strength and high ductility. Those with high strength but little ductility have low toughness.

Plasticity
Plasticity is the property of a material that allows it to be extensively deformed without
fracture. Two general categories of plasticity are ductility and malleability.
• Ductility is the property of a material that allows it to be stretched or drawn with a
tensional force without fracture or rupture.
• Malleability is the property of a material that permits it to be hammered or rolled without
fracture or rupture.

Modulus of elasticity
The modulus of elasticity is a measure of the elastic stiffness of a material. It is a ratio of the
stress to the strain in the elastic region of a tensile test. The modulus of elasticity determines
how much a material will elastically deflect under an applied load. For alloys within the same
family, the modulus of elasticity does not vary (for example, the modulus of all steels is 30 ×
106 psi; the modulus of all aluminum alloys is 10.5 × 106 psi). The modulus of elasticity is
not affected by heat treatment.

Nonferrous Tool Materials

Nonferrous tool materials are used to some degree as die materials in special applications,
and generally for applications with limited production requirements. On the other hand, in jig
and fixture design, some nonferrous materials are used extensively where magnetism or tool
weight is important. Another area where nonferrous materials are finding increased use is for
cutting tools. Alloys and compositions of nonferrous materials are used extensively to
machine the newer, exotic, high-strength metals.
Heat-Treating
The purpose of heat-treatment is to modify and control the properties of a metal or alloy. This
is done by altering the structure of the metal or alloy by heating it to definite temperatures
and cooling it at various rates. This combination of heating and controlled cooling determines
not only the nature and distribution of the microconstituents, which in turn determine the
properties, but also the grain size. Heat-treating should improve the alloy or metal for the
service intended. It can:
• remove strains after cold-working;
• remove internal stresses, such as those produced by drawing, bending, or welding;
• increase the hardness of the material;
• improve the machinability of the material;
• improve the cutting capabilities of tools;
• increase the wear-resisting properties of the material;
• soften the material, as in annealing, and
• improve or change the properties of a material such as its corrosion resistance, heat
resistance, magnetic properties, etc., as required.

Additional alloying elements increase the cost of steel alloys; however, their addition makes
it possible to quench the steels more slowly, which reduces the potential for distortion or
cracking during the quenching process.

Normalizing
Normalizing involves heating the material to a temperature between 100–200° F (56–111° C)
above the critical range and cooling in still air. This is about 100° F (56° C) above the regular
hardening temperature. The purpose of normalizing is usually to refine grain structures that
have been altered during forging. With most of the medium-carbon forging steels (alloyed
and unalloyed), normalizing is highly recommended after forging and before machining to
produce more homogeneous structures and, in most cases, improve machinability. High-
alloy, air-hardened steels are not normalized, since to do so would cause them to harden and
defeat their primary purpose. Increasing temperatures can cause grain growth to occur, which
would further reduce hardness.

Stress Relieving
Stress relieving is a method of relieving the internal stresses set up in steel during forming,
cold working, and cooling after welding or machining. It is the simplest heat-treatment and is
accomplished merely by heating the steel to 1,200–1,350° F (649–732° C) followed by air or
furnace cooling.

Large dies are usually roughed out, then stress relieved and finish machined. This will
minimize their changing in shape not only during machining, but during subsequent heat-
treating as well. Welded sections also will have locked-in stresses due to a combination of
differential heating and cooling cycles, as well as changes in the crosssection. Such stresses
can cause considerable movement in machining operations.
Annealing
The process of annealing consists of heating the steel to an elevated temperature for a defined
period of time and cooling it slowly. Annealing is done to produce homogenization and
establish normal equilibrium conditions with corresponding characteristic properties. Tool
steel is generally purchased in the annealed condition. Sometimes it is necessary to rework a
tool that has been hardened, and the tool must then be annealed. For this type of anneal, the
steel is heated slightly above its critical range, then cooled very slowly (50–100° F [10–38°
C] per hour). Finished parts may be annealed without surface deterioration by placing them in
a closed pot and covering with compounds that will combine with the air present to form a
reducing atmosphere. Partially spent carburizing compound is widely used for annealing, as
well as cast-iron chips, charcoal, and commercial neutral compounds.