A Deeper Looking into Compound Operations and Compound Die Cutting

In the world of die cutting, there are many different types of dies. This includes compound dies. These dies are constructed with a punch plate and die block. They are part of compound operations, which in essence has compound dies doing multiple operations on a single product. The compound portion of the operation is the added jobs that take place during the press cycle.

A compound die has perforators as the top die, where as an inner punch is mounted on the bottom die set. This can be likened to a version of inverted blanking. The difference is that the part is left lying on the bottom punch rather then fully blanking the part. The beauty of a compound die is that it allows for internal and external cuts to be made to a single part (all in one press).

One of the most common examples of compound die cutting is the making of washers. Washers are relatively flat, circular items that have the center hole cut out. Most commonly you will find them made of different metals, but they can be made with different materials as well. Compound die cutting allows for these products to be made with one cut, rather than creating a whole assembly line for one item.

For a washer, sheet material is feeds through the cutting machine. The lower die pushes up to create the rounded outside of the washer. As this is happening, the top die pushed down in-between the lower die, so that it can push out the center of the washer. This all happens as one swift motion. Once the cuts are made, the machine pushes the final product through and feds more sheet material for the next press.

Because these dies are doing multiple jobs at once, the process for each cut takes longer. This will, without a doubt slow down production of the parts. It will also be slightly more expensive than single cuts/presses. For long run parts this might not be best, but for short runs it can be practical.

The process of compound die cutting is only one of the many types of die cutting. To get a full list of cutting/pressing methods, you should reach out to a local die cutting company. Nobody knows die cutting like the people working for die cutting services. Shop smart.

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