The In-House Development of a Custom Die for the Special Clip Process is a project focused on creating an efficient and reliable manufacturing solution for producing a specialized metal clip. The goal of this project is to design and develop a custom forming die that can consistently produce the required clip shape while maintaining high dimensional accuracy and material integrity. By developing this tooling internally, the project aims to improve flexibility in the design process, reduce dependence on external suppliers, and allow for faster iteration and testing during development. The project begins with the digital design of several potential die configurations using computer-aided design (CAD) software. These designs are created to form the clip’s target profile while accounting for key manufacturing challenges such as material deformation, thickness variation, and the natural springback that occurs after metal forming. By carefully analyzing these factors during the design phase, the team can explore multiple tooling concepts and determine which designs are most promising before moving into physical testing. To quickly evaluate these concepts, prototype dies are produced using high-resolution 3D printing technology. Additive manufacturing allows the team to rapidly create and modify tooling designs without the cost and time associated with traditional machining methods. These prototype dies are then used in a series of forming trials with aluminum material, which serves as a test material to evaluate how the clip shape forms and how the material behaves during deformation. Data collected during these trials—such as dimensional measurements, forming consistency, and material response—helps guide improvements to the die designs through an iterative development process. Each round of testing provides valuable insight that allows the team to refine the die geometry and improve the overall forming process. Once a successful design is identified, the final die will

Our team collaborated with Management & Engineering for Manufacturing 4 on this project.