A STUDY OF DIE MANUFACTURING

BETWEEN CUTTING AND MILLING

PROCESS

Group 9
Rejuso, Jastine Geronh G.
Ronquillo, Kevin D.
Odi, Joseph Emmanuel O.
DIE CUTTING MACHINE DIE MILLING MACHINE
Background of the study
 
Die is a tool used in manufacturing industries to shape or cut different
materials with the help of using a press. Dies are like molds, which is
filled with a liquid or pliable material such as ceramics, plastic, glass, or
metal. The material will harden, adopting the shape of the die. Dies are
generally customized to the item they are used to create. Consumer
products manufactured using dies ranges from simple paper clips to
other complex materials.
Die manufacturing is commonly done by blanking, bulging, coining,
curling, drawing, hydroforming, shaving, extruding, milling, and cutting.
In the Philippines, we have the PDMC (Philippine Die casting
Manufacturing Corporation)
Dies could be manufactured in different ways. In this particular study, the
researchers will focus on the effects and differences brought by
manufacturing dies using Milling and Cutting.
Die cutting can be done on either flatbed or rotary presses. Rotary die
cutting is often done in line with printing. The primary difference
between rotary die cutting and flatbed die cutting is that the flatbed is
not as fast but the tools are cheaper. This process lends itself to smaller
production runs where it is not as easy to absorb the added cost of a
rotary die.
Milling is the machining process of using rotary cutters to remove
material from a workpiece by advancing (feeding) in a direction at an
angle with the axis of the tool. It covers a wide variety of different
operations and machines, on scales from small individual parts to large,
heavy-duty gang milling operations. It is one of the most commonly used
processes in industry and machine shops today for machining parts to
precise sizes and shapes.
Objective of the study

■ -To study which die manufacturing process is more effective

■ -To know which material is effective in die manufacturing using milling
and cutting process
■ -To determine the advantages of milling and cutting process
■ -To determine which process has more effect in longevity of the die
that is being processed
Result & Discussion

■ The data that is tabulated below is gathered through experiments that

the researchers had performed. The table contains the type of
material, strength of material and the process that had been done.
UTM (Universal Testing
Machine)
 CUTTING PROCESS MILLING PROCESS

   

MATERIAL MAXIMUM TENSILE STRESS

 

     

ASTM GRADE 30 19 ksi 19 ksi

     

ASTM GRADE 50 33 ksi 33 ksi

(Fig. 3) (Table of die Stress Test)
■ The researchers used a Universal Testing Machine (UTM) to determine
if the processes affect the strength of the material, which therefore
affects the shelf life of the die.
■ As seen in Fig. 3, the results of the test implies that the process used
have little to none effect on the strength of the die. What really affects
this parameter is the material used. 
■ According to Virgil Moring Faires, author of Design of Machine
Elements, the endurance strength for cast steel is about 10 8 cycles. It
is suggested that this value change little even with large increases in
tensile strength.
Materials that are commonly used in Die Manufacturing
■ (1) Pre-hardened steel - These are mold materials developed for plastic molding and
used for dies of presses. These have not been stipulated in JIS standards, and the
materials used are those developed under the brand names of the manufacturers.
These materials have reasonable hardness and can be machined. The material
properties are adjusted to obtain a hardness of about 40 HRC, and precipitation
hardened types are used. Pre-hardened steel is used frequently for punches and dies
for blanking or bending in the case of low volume production. In the case of large
volume production, pre-hardened steel is used for punch plates, backing plates, etc.
This material is commonly used because it can be machined and is convenient
because it can be used as is without heat treatment. Precipitation hardening: This is
hardening caused by the precipitation of certain constituents when a supersaturated
solid solution is heated to an appropriate temperature.
■ (2) Flame hardened steel - Flame hardened steel is used for dies for the blanking,
drawing, or bending of automobile components. This is a material in which surface
hardening can be done easily by flame hardening. Normally, while it is necessary to
harden (total hardening) the die to the necessary hardness after it has been machined,
this step can be simplified in the case of flame hardened steel, and although the
strength is lower than the steels that require total hardening, it is used widely in the
case of some specific applications since the time required for preparing dies can be
shortened.
■ (3) Aluminum bronze - Aluminum bronze is a copper-based alloy. It can withstand
high press pressures, has superior wear resistance, and high galling resistance. This
material is also called HZ alloy (Hitachi Shipbuilding), AMPCO metal (USA). This is used
frequently in the dies for drawing or for forming hard to form materials such as SUS or
titanium, etc.
■ .(4) Cast iron - Cast iron is used very frequently for die sets, or the dies
forming medium to large sized products, or the dies for drawing, etc.
■ 4-1. Gray cast iron (JIS G 5501) - This is also called ordinary cast iron,
has excellent casting properties, and is used frequently for die sets,
holders, and punches and dies of medium sized products. The JIS symbol
is FC, and its types have been stipulated from FC100 to FC350 with the
number increasing in steps of 50. Among these, FC200, FC250, and FC300
are being used for dies.
■ 4-2. Spherical graphite cast iron (JIS G 5502) - This is also called
ductile cast iron, and is used when the strength of gray cast iron is
considered insufficient. In gray cast iron, carbon precipitates inside the
form of flakes inside a matrix of ferrite or pearlite. In contrast, magnesium
has been added to the melt so as to make the precipitated carbon have
the shape of spherical nodules. By making the precipitated carbon have a
spherical shape, this material has achieved a high strength close to that
of steel, and also has excellent ductility, rigidity, and wear resistance. The
JIS symbol is FCD, and its types have been stipulated from FCD350 to
FCD800. Among these, FCD450, FCD500, and FCD600 are being used for
dies.
 ADVANTAGES OF CUTTING OVER MILLING (Fig.4)
 For sharp inside corners. Until the square end mill is perfected, CUTTING will remain the superior

process for internal corners.

 For the most complex geometry. In particular, CUTTING makes sense when the
complex surface is difficult for a milling cutter to reach
 Where deep CUTTING is required. More specifically, avoid milling where the
L:D (tool length to diameter ratio) is particularly high.
 In unattended cutting, it is the easier process to automate because it’s more predictable than

milling. In a process that uses robots for loading tool and workpieces, a complete CUTTING process

production can run around the clock effectively with minimal human attention.

 In general, programming time is shorter for milling an electrode than for milling the form in metal.

And in more sophisticated milling applications, the difference becomes even more pronounced. The

programming time required to let the machining center do work once considered “CUTTING only”

may be high enough that CUTTING remains the expedient choice.

 Where CUTTING finish is specified. The surface quality CUTTING process can deliver today is better

than ever. Advances related to additives, for example they also result in a shallower HAZ (heat-

affected zone).
■ In (Fig.4) the researchers have determined and listed some
advantages for the CUTTING process in which the researchers had
found that it is more effective in areas of materials that requires work
in complex areas and internal corners.
 ADVANTAGES OF MILLING OVER CUTTING (Fig.5)
 For non-cosmetic surfaces, and for surfaces to be textured. In texturing, CUTTING adds an extra step. Unlike

a MILLED surface, the surface that has been cut generally requires polishing before texturing can occur.

 When access is easy. If the geometry is open and L:D is low, MILL away.

 For family parts. Groups of similar workpieces and multi-cavity tools both present the opportunity to

amortize time spent on programming, including the time spent on learning the best way to MILL the form in

metal.
 For parts that cannot have a HAZ.

 Where high accuracy is required. MILLING can make tight tolerances easier to hold. In cutting, tolerance

stacking comes from machining the cutter, changing holders and using multiple cutters on the same part.

Also, cutting accuracy declines as finer surface finish is approached. But MILLING entails less tolerance

stacking and makes no accuracy-versus-finish tradeoff.

 When cutting operators are in short supply. In many shops, personnel considerations will take precedent

over considerations related to the technology. MILLING can be done with the personnel with average

knowledge for the said process.

■  In (Fig.5) the researchers also listed some advantages for the MILLING
process in which the researchers had found that it is more effective in
mass productions for similar groups of parts and workpieces which
requires high accuracy.
Conclusion
New developments in machinery, process technology and software help
tool and die makers to become more efficient through simulation and
automation. Using features that retain a company's process know how during
tool design and process planning ensures that optimized manufacturing
sequences are laid out. If these are realized within an integrated
cutting/milling cell, a maximum productivity gain can be expected. Still, the
technical expertise of the manufacturing engineers and experience gained
over many years cannot be replaced by such a system and represents the
main capital of mold and die shops.
In fact, the influence of the die manufacturing process on the die itself,
Whatever the process in question, an accurate assessment of how efficient it
can be will only come from looking at the process as a whole, not just the
machine tool. The true measure of the machine's potential effectiveness will
come only when all of the steps preceding the machine have been evaluated
to ensure that they, too, are working as efficiently as possible.
Summary

The efficiency of the die is the most important factor that the industry
needs to meet its daily production and operations. The objective is to
find the causes on how its efficiency changes through a short period of
time and how losses affect it. The focus of the study is to know which
process between milling and cutting is more effective in the
sustainability of die manufacturing. The method that the researchers
used to gather data is material tests from different materials that is used
in die manufacturing and Die stress test using grey cast iron. Based on
the data presented, the results of the test implies that the process used
have little to none effect on the strength of the die. What really affects
this parameter is the material used.
THANK YOU! GODBLESS!