Help Wanted: Sr. AutoForm Simulation Engineer

Posted by stephens on Jul 30, 2010 in Events, Rants, Tips & Techniques | 1 comment

The job scene for die guys is picking up here in the Motor City. Personally, I think it because there is more high strength and super steel automotive stampings than die knowledge. This always leads to more processing and more simulations than normal. Elongation limits be damned! At any rate, I have been getting a call or email at least once a week for several...

Read More

Quoting Method Madness

Posted by stephens on Jul 26, 2010 in Engineering Decisions, Rants, Tips & Techniques | 3 comments

The quoting methods in the stamping industry are a blend of black magic and bullshit. You have your good old fashioned Sight Method. That is where someone looks at the part and says, “That is a $250,000 die right there.” How the fuck do they know that? “Experience.” Then, there is the Length-of-Line Method. You know that one. Measure some...

Read More

24

Posted by stephens on Jul 21, 2010 in Events | 0 comments

Most days these days, I feel like Jack Bauer. You know what I mean. One long day of everyone gunning for you. Today marks the 24th anniversary of my first day on the UAW / GM Die Engineering Apprenticeship Program. 24. It has been a good ride overall. I am proud of what I have accomplished in this business. More so, I am grateful for the respect and recognition...

Read More

Book Shelved

Posted by stephens on Jun 22, 2010 in About, Events, Rants | 6 comments

My die guy friend and loyal reader of past articles and current blog posts, Greg from Spaulding & Day Tool & Die emailed me a question yesterday. He responded with a “thanks” email and suggested I write a book on modern die practices, mainly because the books out there now are quite dated and have, for the most part, lost their relevance due...

Read More

Where is Timmy?

Posted by stephens on Jun 15, 2010 in Events, Rants | 2 comments

My apologies for not posting in a couple weeks. I moved 1,250 miles across the country and just have been slammed busy. I expect to be back on track in a week or so. Thanks for your patience …

Read More

Running Scared

Posted by stephens on May 27, 2010 in Cam Dies, Engineering Decisions | 0 comments

Here is a note from my long-time die guy pal Pete Ulintz. Y’all know Pete; he took over the Tooling by Design column I used to write in MetalForming magazine. I am sure most of you have heard Pete speak at PMA events or have visited his website ToolingByDesign.com. This is his note: Tim, I like your blog regarding restrike operations. I have another...

Read More

Commodity Codes Suck

Posted by stephens on May 26, 2010 in Engineering Decisions, Rants | 2 comments

Why is it that, when I either process a stamping or setup a formability simulation for any company in any industry on any continent, I get some proprietary commodity code for a material specification from the customer? Commodity codes suck, and I will tell you why: they are completely useless. Every company that needs sheet steel to manufacture products buys the...

Read More

Over-used Engineering Terms

Posted by stephens on May 24, 2010 in Engineering Decisions, Rants | 4 comments

Here is my Top 5 list of words that I feel are over-used in the die engineering community. In order, 1. Robust 2. Optimize 3. Checklist 4. Benchmark 5. Psychobeotch Yes, psychobeotch is all the rage. While hearing “robust” makes me taste vomit, “psychobeotch” gives me a Fatal Attraction...

Read More

Another Strike

Posted by stephens on May 22, 2010 in Engineering Decisions, Rants | 5 comments

The discussion on the validity of restrike dies continues with a comment from Eric Kam that I would like to post here instead of comments due to length: It seems to me that the reason that the restrike is more appealing and rational than the trim line correction… by creating an adjustment point closer to the final destination (the conveyor belts and the...

Read More

Strike the Restrike

Posted by stephens on May 18, 2010 in Engineering Decisions, Rants | 6 comments

It seems as though stampers that are running anything but 1008-1010 steel want restrike dies for flanges. This is flawed. Restrike, or spank, dies are intended to sharpen feature lines and plussed radii. Radii that is too sharp to be formed home in the draw or form operation. Somewhere along the way, it became acceptable then fashionable to use restrike...

Read More