Cutting clearance

4
The Cutting clearance is the gap between the side of the punch and the corresponding
side of the die opening on one side of the edge, when the punch is entered into the die opening.
Therefore the cutting clearance should always be thought and expressed as the amount of
clearance per side.

Importance of Cutting Clearance

Proper cutting clearance is necessary to
1. Aid the life of the die.
2. Increase the quality of the piece part.
3. Improve the characteristics of piece part.
4. Reduces undue stress and wear on the cutting edges of the tool.

Excessive cutting clearance results in objectionable piece part characteristics. In sufficient

cutting clearance causes undue stress and wear on the cutting edges of the tool because of the
greater punching effort required

Typical appearance of the cut edge of the component

Characteristics
A visual examination of the press tool component will indicate the amount if clearance
between them the excessive clearance, insufficient clearance and misalignment between the
punch and the die.

Optimum clearance
The edge radius (die roll) is the result of initial plastic deformation, which occurred during
the first stage of plastic shear action.
• Highly burnished cut band results from the second stage (penetration) of shear action.
• The width of the cut band is approximately 1/3rd of the thickness of stock material.
• The balance of the cut is the break, which results from the third stage (Fracture) of the
shearing action.
Excessive clearance
The comparatively the large gap between the punch and the die cutting edges allows the
stock material to react to the initial pressure on manner approaching that of forming rather than
cutting. Therefore the edge radius becomes larger. It does not blend smoothly. The cut band
becomes smaller. The break shows greater irregularities due to above facts. These irregularities
may affect cut band and the edge radius, and when the break occurs heavy burrs are noticeable
all along the cut contour.

Insufficient clearance
When cutting clearance is slightly less the condition can be identified by greater width of the
cut band. If the cutting clearance is further decreased, two or more cut bands will be produced.
Because of steeper angle between the punch and the die cut edges the resistance of the stock
material to fracture is increased. The resulting accumulation of pressure may cause the initial
fracture to originate at clearance rather than at the cut edges. In case of excessive clearance the
burr results from dragging of the material. While insufficient clearance compressive forces cause
the burr.

Misalignment between Punch and Die

The cutting characteristics also indicate whether the punch and die openings are in
accurate alignment. Because of misalignment clearance on one side increases and other side
decreases. The component will show corresponding differences in the cut band

Burr side
The burr side is adjacent to the break. The burr side is so called because of a noticeable
burr condition develops in this side. Burr should be practically nonexistent if the cutting clearance
between the punch and the die is correct and if the cutting edges are sharp. The characteristics of
the blank or slug and the punched opening are inversely identical.
The burr side of the blank or slug is always towards the punch
The burr side of the punched openings always towards the die opening
Relation of piece part to punch and die
When pierced or blanked piece parts are measured, the measurement is made at the cut
band. The actual cutting of the blank or slug is done by cutting edge of the die opening. Therefore
the die opening determines the size of the blank or slug. The actual cutting of the opening in the
stock material is done by punch. Therefore the size of a punched opening is determined by the
punch.

Determination of punch and die size

Piercing
Piercing punch = Pierced hole size
Die = Hole size + total clearance.
Blanking
Blanking punch = Blank size-total clearance
Die = Blank size

For finding the cutting clearance following formula to be used

Where
s = sheet thickness in mm
c = constant
T max = shear strength 80% Ultimate tensile strength in N/mm 2

If c is considered as 0.005 Clarence yields a better and cleanest work piece but required a
higher cutting force and considerably more energy.
If c is considered 0.01 cutting force required will be minimum but finish will be bad. The
usual practice however is to take c as 0.01

Applying Clearance
Given diagram illustrates how to apply clearance to obtain correct size of hole and blank.
When the metal is punched out from the functional part and the metal around the opening is scrap,
the die is made to desired part size and the clearance is subtracted from (applied to) the punch
size as shown in figure A.
When the slug is discarded and the punched opening is functional, the required clearance
is applied (added to) the die opening as shown in figure B.

Solved problems
Problem 01

Calculate the clearance for punching a 2 mm sheet. Tm ax is assumed to be 300 N/mm2

Clearance = c X s X √(Tmax/10)
= 0.01 X 2 X Ö 300/10
= 0.02 X Ö 300/10
= 0.12 mm/ side
Therefore clearance on one side = 0.12mm

Problem 02
Determine the punch and die Dimension for the component given below. Sheet thickness
0.5mm, stainless steel sheet, Tmax is 400 N/mm. C=0.01

Clearance = C X S X Ö Tmax/10
= 0.01 X 0.5 XÖ 400/10
= 0.03 mm/side

Blanking punch dimension

Piercing die dimension