Precision Tooling
Our purpose built facility offers the complete in-house service for precision tooling, offering the capacity and capability needed to meet the requirements of our clients. Our CAD design team, laser cutting facilities and precision presswork mean that we can take a precision tool requirement from the earliest stages of conception, through detailed collaborative design and on to manufacturing, either as an individual component or in large scale batches.
We have the ability, experience and expertise to work on the widest possible range of precision tooling, from jig and fixtures to cold forming dies, and from extrusion and forging components to cutting tools for grinding and milling. We know that our clients depend upon the tools we produce for them in order to deliver finished components offering high quality and precision, delivered at speed and in bulk.
The Precision Tooling Process
The start of any precision tooling process involves collaborating closely with the client to ascertain exactly what their requirements are and how those requirements can best be delivered. Our experienced CAD design team will then create detailed plans which can be applied to precision presswork, five axis laser cutting or CNC machining. If necessary, we can reverse engineer solutions for clients who arrive with initial components but no plans.
The CAD design process creates detailed plans which often eliminate the need for prototyping, as the resulting 3D solid model make it easier to spot potential faults and problems. If needed, we can also create a prototype of the tool in question in order to provide proof of concept before investing in the time and expense needed for actual production.
The type of tools we can produce for clients include – but are by no means limited to – the following:
Blanking Tools – tools which punch a shape from a sheet of metal with a single cut. The shape in question is referred to as a blank, and is the useable part of the metal. Another method involves piercing, which punches a hole in the metal and discards the piece which has been cut out. We can create precision tooling components capable of performing both functions simultaneously.
Forming – forming is the name given to any process which charges the shape of a piece of metal. The piece of metal being used is placed in a power press and force is applied to apply the metal to a forming tool. The design of the forming tool will dictate the shape into which the metal is changed, from a simple curve or bend to a more complex profile.
Progression - progression tooling involves a sheet of metal being fed from a coil into a press and then working through the press automatically, being subject to automated blanking and forming processes as it travels through.
The ubiquity of sheet metal press tools across all sectors of manufacturing is driven by two things – the flexibility and adaptability of sheet metal itself, and the fact that precision tooling enables manufacturers to perform operations such as blanking and forming – as well as bending, shearing, stamping and punching – quickly and economically. Success depends, more than anything else, on the precision tooling of the original components themselves, and that’s why so many clients return to Tooling 2000 time and time again.