There are five factors that can improve the tool's life and profitability, ensuring fabricators make the most of their carbide tools and avoid tool wear, and punch proper shapes.

These five tips will help you make the most of your punching equipment.

Proper Adjustment

One of the biggest errors fabricators make is not ensuring their turrets are aligned and operating in good condition not just in terms of position but also in angularity to the area being punched. Saw-toothing can happen when a station is not in the correct alignment and is rotated by half a degree. This can be caused by nipping or punching straight lines with the use of a rectangular tool. As time goes by the saw-tooth effect can result in uneven wear to the tool, breaking down the cutting edge.

Side loading occurs when the punch begins to fall, but only a small portion of the tool is in contact with the surface. Nibbling may be caused by the process of nibbing. Most of the tool remains unsupported and causes the tool to pull towards the side that is not supported, causing a breakdown of the carbide tools.

If you are going to nibble, experts recommend making use of a fully guided tool that has a stripper designed with more clearance in order to keep the precise carbide punch point in a straight line when it is penetrating the sheet. This is particularly useful for small holes in dense material, or when nibbling.

Coatings and treatments

Coatings and treatments are fantastic ways to increase punch life and decrease galling. One of the best ways to get the most from your punching device is to coat it with. Several different tool treatments and coatings are readily available, such as the nitride treatment where Nitride is infused in the punch point.

That helps with making the punch slippery when it's punching through and pulling out of the material. Coatings like zirconium titanium and nitride are sprayed in thin, thin layers to the point of the punch. This provides lubricity to the point of impact and helps keep it cool in applications with high impact where heat buildup can occur.

Appropriate Perish Clearance

The clearance is essential. It can have a major influence on the stress factor as well as the end of the hole.

Burrs are a sign that the die clearance is not correct. A lack of clearance could cause the material roll over and stretch, creating either a down-edge or burr. If the clearance is too strict, this could cause extreme stress on the tool which can cause the punch to pull from the hole that was pierced.

Proper die clearance results in more efficient stripping and less burr. Die clearance is a matter of material. For stainless, fabricators will normally adjust the clearance of the die to 25 % of the material thickness. The die clearance for mild steel and some types of aluminum is about 20% lower than stainless. It all depends on what is being punched.

4.Sharp Tools

Sharp tools can be the key to punching hole quality. It's easiest to feel your tool to determine if it is in need of be sharpened. If the tool you are using is dull, it's going to need to be sharpened. you can also tell by the shape of the hole if there is an overhang on the edge of the tool this could indicate an unusable tool. The punch may be getting worse if the hole is distorted. A hole that appears egg-shaped, for example, could indicate that the punch is beginning to break down.

You can hear the difference when the punch is striking the paper when it is getting dull. It is advised that fabricators make their tools sharper more often rather than punching away until they're completely dull.

Sharpening your tool more frequently and taking out the material less often is better. This will dramatically increase the lifespan of your tool. For instance, when doing side-by-side testing of identical tools in the same application the frequency of sharpening can increase tungsten carbide punch the life of tools exponentially.

For sharpening, using a good coolant is essential. The tool can be damaged when you don't apply coolant when sharpening. And use a good grinding wheel with consistent speed to move the tool into and out.

After you have finished sharpening your tools, it is essential to de-magnetize them. They attract carbon-based particles as they become magnetic. Any extra dust or debris on the tool will increase the wear. It is like sifting through additional debris.

After sharpening your tool, you may see a burr at the edge of the tool point. To remove this, use an abrasive stone that is soft to cut off the material. It will leave a smooth edge with a minimal radius. With dies, after sharpening the die, you should use die shims to ensure that they are set back to proper heights to ensure that you have the right punch penetration across the board.

Lubrication

Some fabricators will run their punches without lubrication, which could reduce the life of the tool by as much as 60%, and can cause galling when working with soft materials. A properly lubricated tip will keep the tool from getting hot.

Beyond these five things ensure you have a storage solution to store your precision punch tools and dies, so that they're not moving around and scratched.