•    Interpreting the part print,
•    Starting material into the die,
•    Part lifters and part feeding,
•    Flexible part carriers,
•    Upper pressure pads, and
•    Drawn shells.
Interpreting the Part Print
The first step in the proper design of a progressive die is to correctly analyze the part print. The tool designer must interpret the print to determine the function of the part by looking for such things as the type of material, critical surfaces, hole size and location, burr location, grain direction requirements, surface finish and other factors.
The die designer must understand the part well, particularly if it has irregular shapes and contours. However, modern computer-drawn prints make this more difficult because computer-drawn part data can be downloaded directly to the die-design computer. As a result, the designer may not become thoroughly familiar with important part features.
Also, many computer-drawn parts are more difficult to understand, because often, only one surface is shown and it may be the inside or outside surface. Computer drawings often show all lines, including hidden features, as solid lines instead of dotted lines. This leads to interpretation errors, which in turn leads to errors in the building of the die.
To better understand complex part shapes, it is helpful to build a "sight" model of the part using sheet wax, rubber skins or wood models. Dimensional accuracy is not critical for these models, as they are used primarily to visualize the part. Rubber skins and sheet wax also can be used to develop preform shapes and to develop the best positions for the part as it passes through each die operation in the progressive die.
Starting Material in the Die
Care must be taken to ensure that the strip is started correctly into the die. Improper location of the lead end of the strip will do more damage to the die in the first 10 strokes of the press than the next 100,000 strokes. "Lead-in" gauges must have large leads and a ledge to support the lead end of the coil strip when it is inserted into the die. Large leads on the gauges are important so that the die setup person does not have to reach into the die, as well as for minimizing the time required to start a new strip into the die. Also, one gauge should be adjustable to compensate for variation in strip width,.
The position of the lead edge of the strip is critical for the first press stroke, and must be determined for every die station to ensure that piercing punches do not cut partial holes in the lead edge. This could cause punch deflection or result in a partial cut with trimming punches, which can result in an unbalanced side load as the strip passes through the die. Any of these conditions can result in a shift of the punch-to-die relationship that may cause shearing of the punches.
Improper location of the lead edge of the strip also can result in an unbalanced forming or flanging condition that can shift the upper die in relation to the lower die. Heels should be required to absorb this side load, particularly when forming thick materials.
A pitch notch and pitch stop can provide a physical point to locate and control the lead edge of the strip. Brass tags or marker grooves also can provide a visual location, but these are not as accurate or as effective as a pitch notch stop. The press can be prevented from operating with either a short feed or over feed by mounting the pitch stop on a pivot and monitoring it with a limit switch.
Part Lifters and Part Feeding
Progressive dies often require the strip to be lifted from the normal die work level to the feed level before strip feeding takes place. This can vary from a small amount--to clear trim and punching burrs--to several inches to allow part shapes to clear the die.
Normally, all lifters should rise to the same height so that the strip is supported in a level plane during forward feed. The strip must not sag between lifters; otherwise parts will be pulled out of their correct station location spacing. Bar lifters provide good support and are better than spring pins or round lifters notched on one side of the strip. 冷冲压模具设计英文文献和翻译(2):http://www.youerw.com/fanyi/lunwen_1902.html