K&S Tool, Die & Manufacturing, Inc. - Engineering

Design

The first step in the manufacturing of dies or tooling begins with the design. Here at K&S we have a diverse palette of design software to expedite the process. We engineer our dies using SolidWorks with 3d QuickPress for progressive die designs. We also utilize Pro/Engineer, Rhino, AutoCad, and ExpertCad for designing and translations.

K&S can perform metal forming simulations in house utilizing eta/DYNAFORM sheet metal software. This software allows K&S to assess stamping tooling and part designs before the tooling is ever built. The software predicts the formability of sheet metal products taking into account the possibility of cracking, wrinkling, thinning, skid mark and spring back effects that occur during the process. This type of feedback allows for a better functioning tool to be built, so when placed in the press a good part is produced much sooner than when using traditional methods.

K&S is able to aid its Customers with the design of their products assessing the feasibility of various components prior to release.

K & S Sensor Lab

Stop Die Crashes with Die Protection! With today's PPM requirements, shorter runs and Just-In-Time demand, out of service dies due to die crashes is not acceptable. K&S's dedicated Sensor Lab is set up with equipment and technology to support a wide range of die sensing applications. All of our sensors and wire's are buried in blocks and channels that are connected in a metal enclosure to ensure they are not damaged while running or maintaining the dies. We can use sensors to check:

Feed advance; to verify that the feeder has progressed the coil and/or that it has not buckled.
Dimensional requirements; Sensing windows can check parts for dimensional correctness
Part out; usually sensed by a pass thru set up "sensing window" to determine if a part has been ejected from the die. This has many applications on most progressive dies but especially on progressive dies with parts that do not easily exit the die.
Stripper Level / Pressure Pads; by adding sensors to a stripper or pressure pad the press can help verify that a piece of scrap or a partial part is not left on the die, especially at the beginning and end of a coil.
Cam/Air Cylinder return; sensing that a cam or air cylinder has been retracted could save a very expensive and long tool room repair.
Sensing holes and forms; this can verify that pierced holes are present or forms are present on a part. On hand transfer operations sensors can be a great tool to verify previous operations have been completed or that dies with change over have been set up properly.

If you have encountered one of the above scenario's or any other die crashes, consider K&S for your next die build and have us add "Die Protection" for you. In some cases we can even retrofit an existing die.

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