Die Maintenance: How to Maintain Your Dies
Cutting dies are used in various industries to make everything from clothes to custom packaging. Dies need to cut precise forms from multiple materials to make these products. Achieving this precision requires dies to remain in top condition at all times, so you must have an effective die maintenance schedule as part of your tool room management strategy.
Die maintenance ensures die-cutting equipment continues to function correctly, meets original equipment manufacturer (OEM) standards and prolongs its lifespan. It can also help prevent costly delays in the case of equipment failure and improve the safety of production lines.
Tool Room Management and How It Impacts Die Quality
Tool room management focuses on the tools and equipment used in production lines. This strategy ensures sufficient spare parts and tools to perform maintenance and repairs quickly and adequately on vital production equipment. Tool room management also aids technicians and operations in finding the required parts and tools easily. The strategy helps reduce downtime, improves equipment longevity and helps keep production operations organized.
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Two essential aspects of tool room management include die management and die maintenance.
What Is Die Management?
Die management is focused on monitoring and tracking dies and die-cutting machines. It includes a numbered die inventory, a strict check-in and checkout process, and a system to track and locate a die at any time. The check-in process should include a guide on how dies should be returned and what condition they should be in. Die management can help monitor the die’s condition and guide die maintenance schedules.
What Is Die Maintenance?
Over time, dies experience natural wear and tear that can affect their performance. Die maintenance ensures that dies and related equipment function properly through regularly scheduled upkeep. This process includes inspecting, cleaning, lubricating, sharpening and replacing worn or damaged parts.
Die maintenance is an essential aspect of die and tool room management for companies that produce high-quality parts. Maintaining die-cutting equipment plays a key role in your production line’s continuity.
How Do You Maintain a Die?
Begin by developing a schedule that allows your team to keep up with regular maintenance without disrupting operations. Your team can base the schedule on an interval, such as the number of hours run, products made or jobs completed. Beyond scheduled service, maintenance should include daily upkeep measures that operators take to keep dies in good condition.
Effective die maintenance schedules include:
Cleaning
Cleaning your die is the first and most straightforward die maintenance measure to implement. Removing accumulated dirt and debris, including the storage chambers for trimmings and off-cuts, can significantly improve the performance of your die. Benefits of cleaning dies include:
- Preventing friction that may impede the material from moving between stations.
- Increasing precision by preventing material from being moved by debris while cutting.
- Reducing clogs in the chamber that can stall production.
- Ensuring operators can identify any complications or problems easily.
- Keeping dies sharp and ready for further use.
Inspection
Regular inspections of your die are another essential aspect of die management. Inspections give operators opportunities to identify dies and other equipment that need to be sharpened or replaced, as well as other issues that could affect the functionality and productivity of your machinery. Die maintenance technicians can resolve these problems before they escalate into bigger production issues.
Some crucial symptoms of die issues include:
- Loose or missing fasteners, dowel pins and galled die sections
- Worn, blunt, chipped, cracked or dented parts in need of sharpening, refinishing or replacement
- Adequate lubrication in high-friction areas, including die mating surfaces
- Broken or missing parts, such as springs
- Wheels, dies or belts moving incorrectly
- Missing safety guards or cutting punches
Operating a die with blunt, worn, missing or loose parts can result in inconsistent cutting or folding, including frayed edges. Over time, using dies that are in poor condition can increase production costs, as you will waste time and materials on scrapped substandard products. Inspections are vital to spotting these errors before they become costly problems.
Sharpening
Frequent use wears a die down over time. Cutting, slicing or punching parts are often the most susceptible to deterioration and must be sharpened regularly with a grinding wheel.
Dulled or blunted dies can slow production and waste materials, producing products that are not up to standard, creating burrs, leading to feeding problems and developing other safety issues. Establishing a regular sharpening routine improves the lifespan of your dies and helps you avoid these problems.
Using the correct cutting shear and grinding wheel is crucial as you sharpen your dies. Incorrect grinding wheels and methods can cause excess heat to build up in the die, leading to cracks and other malformations.
Shimming
Shims are added to dies to maintain the correct timing when cutting and punching materials. As with other die parts, shims wear down over time and require replacement. Here are some things to keep in mind when shimming:
- Place shims properly: Crooked or overhanging shims can impact how dies perform.
- Keep shims clean: Debris and burrs can alter how the shims lie and affect the die’s timing.
- Ensure proper clearance: Shims should remain clear of slug drop holes, fasteners and dowels.
- Use the correct number of shims. Using too few or too many shims can impact the die’s speed.
Alignment and Recalibration
Regular, repetitive movements can cause dies to become misaligned over time, causing significant issues. When cutting precise products, a few microinches can result in severe changes to your production. Monitoring and recalibrating the alignment of your dies is crucial to maintain high levels of precision.
Checking for Heat
Most die-cutting machines heat up when used due to the natural friction of all the parts and materials. However, too much heat may indicate an underlying issue with the device’s hardware or electrical system.
Monitor and record the peak temperatures of a die-cutting machine to identify any heat irregularities. Noting any anomalies allows you time to correct them before they result in equipment failure or other safety issues.
Repairs and Replacements
One of the most critical aspects of die management is the repair and replacement of broken, worn or missing components. By creating a routine die repair and maintenance schedule, you can plan to complete tool and die repairs and replacements before damaged or missing components create a larger problem. A well-planned and executed tool room management system also ensures that you have the required parts to prevent extensive downtime.
Entrust Your Die Maintenance Needs to Best Cutting Die
Our experienced team offers comprehensive die maintenance and repair services to maximize your cutting die’s lifespan and keep production up to your standards. Contact us today to discuss your upkeep requirements.