Press Mold Special Edition Mold Maker Column - Progressive Die Edition

In the mold shop column, we will be sharing various information about molds from time to time! (We also publish the mold shop column on our Instagram.)

In the previous column, we introduced that there are mainly three types of press molds, focusing on the single-stroke mold. In this column, we will introduce the progressive mold! A progressive mold refers to a type that incorporates multiple processing methods, such as punching, bending, and drawing, into a single mold. This processing method sends the material to the next stage with each press, shaping the product. The material used is typically in a rolled form (coil material) and is automatically fed to the next stage. The advantages include improved production efficiency and stable quality due to automation, as well as the ability to perform more complex processing compared to single-stroke molds since multiple processes can be incorporated. On the other hand, the disadvantages include the complexity of the mold design and manufacturing compared to single-stroke molds, which makes the production cost of the mold relatively high. Additionally, there is a possibility of a "boat bottom phenomenon," where a shift occurs at the tip of the product. (We plan to cover the "boat bottom phenomenon" and "shift" in a future column!) Products suitable for progressive molds are those that require mass production or complex processing. In the next column, we will explain the "transfer mold"!

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