Tungsten carbide punches & dies for cold forming

For the Toolmaking Industry

THE COMPANY

GPAINNOVA’s client is a European supplier specializing in the manufacture of high precision punches for cold forming of metals. This organization covers all business areas of its sector: production processes design and implementation for customers, tool manufacturing, and raw material preparation for toolmaking. By means of its state-of-the-art machinery and know-how, this company manufactures special tools according to drawings with tolerances up to 0.001 mm.

THE PROBLEM

Tungsten carbide short punches are essential tools for cold forming, offering superior hardness and durability. Their design allows for precise puncturing, marking, and scribing on metal surfaces without requiring heat. Their resistance to wear makes them ideal for demanding operations such as shearing, extrusion, and trimming.

However, maintaining high-quality surface finishes is challenging. Traditional finishing methods are labor-intensive and result in inconsistencies that affect tool performance and longevity. Issues like abrasive wear, galling, and fatigue failure can arise, compromising the effectiveness of the punches and dies. Optimizing surface properties is crucial for improving tool lifespan and performance in cold forming applications.

THE GOAL

The client was looking for a cost-effective surface finishing system to increase production capacity, shorten lead times, avoid inconsistencies in results between different batches, and reduce production costs, achieving a higher quality and longer lifecycles for treated tungsten carbide punches and dies. The goal consisted in significatively reducing roughness without producing leaching on the cobalt matrix.

THE SOLUTION

GPAINNOVA’s Process department defined the electrolyte based on material alloy, initial and targeted roughness and radius. After this, the Engineering department developed a fixture to hold the pieces during the process specially prepared to avoid shadows, preventing part damage by impact and maximizing the capacity per cycle of the selected equipment. The equipment recommended by the Process department was a DLyte PRO500 Carbide, a compact machine with high output, specially designed for mass production (it can process up to 8 endmills per cycle).

According to GPAINNOVA’s experience, the achievable roughness values, material removal and process’ time may change depending on the geometry and the initial state of the surface before being processed with DryLyte Technology.

TECHNICAL BENEFITS

01. Homogeneous results across the piece & geometry and tolerance preservation
02. Stable results among different batches within the electrolyte lifespan
03. Best-in-class concerning surface roughness
04. Longer lifespan for treated parts
05. Controlled rounding of the radius & surface integrity

OPERATIONAL BENEFITS

01. Reduced footprint
02. Time and cost reduction
03. Exposure of workers during process and maintenance
04. Handling and storage of media
05. No need for multistep processes
06. Easy waste management