Tool and Die 

The tool and die industry is a specialized group of manufacturers that produce tooling components for other industries. They serve many manufacturing industries such as metal stamping, roll forming, plastic molding, vinyl extrusion, cold and hot heading, forging, powder metal compaction and metal injection molding. 

The tool designs and manufacturing methods for these industries can be very different from one another. Tool and die manufacturers are very versatile and serve many industries, but most tend to specialize in serving one or two specific manufacturing industries.

Tool and die makers use lathes, mills, grinders, EDMs, CNC machining centers and various polishing and inspection equipment to produce tools to very close tolerances, as close as .0005”. A very complex set of tools may require up to 100 hours to complete, and employ the use of many toolmakers through the manufacturing process. Toolmakers produce tools with very intricate shapes and must fit closely together in order to produce the correct part shape and size during the production process.

You can learn more about tool steel properties, tool design, fabrication and industries in our new book, "Tool Steel Simplified".

You can find all of the answers to your tool steel questions in our comprehensive book "Tool Steel Simplified". This concise book includes tool steel properties, alloying elements, uses, careers, data sheets, heat treating and so much more. It is written is an easy-to-understand format for designers, engineers, buyers, students, production planners and anyone that is interested in learning more about tool steel.