FOCUS ON TOOLING
THE PATH TO
Image: Shutterstock. com.
SUCCESS
If you are investing in a new press tool for your manufacturing process, here are some key questions that you should ask your toolmaker, as well as one question that should be avoided.....
Precision toolmaking for manufacturing processes is an art learned and honed by highly skilled engineers over many years, with each specific job requiring bespoke tooling solutions to produce the desired parts.
Every tool must perform not just a specific role, but work efficiently in a specific environment, as part of a specific manufacturing process and under specific pressures. They must also perform to the same exacting standards, producing thousands( if not millions) of sheet metal parts,
By
Paragon Toolmaking
which each meet exacting performance requirements.
A quality toolmaker will therefore seek to provide a tool which not only makes the desired product or component but also performs to maximum levels of efficiency at the lowest manufacturing costs, with minimal amounts of waste, for many years to come.
Asking the right questions
Many tools should run for decades when properly used and maintained by customers, without the need for major repairs, although an expert team is only a call away to help advise should the need arise. So, if you are investing in a new precision tool for your manufacturing process, here are some key questions that we feel you should ask of your toolmaker, as well as one question that should be avoided.
“ Paragon Toolmaking outlines the path to success in toolmaking.”
1. Will the feasibility of the part that I need be considered before manufacture?
Nearly all components or parts can be manufactured, but it is essential to know how well that part will function and perform once it is made. We have had to advise many customers over the years that, whilst the part they desire can easily be formed( due to its shape), it is unlikely to be perform as will be required and therefore is not feasible as it will not meet their expectations.
Every project that we undertake starts with high-tech initial tool concept work, using technology to evaluate the manufacturability of a part before it goes into production. This allows us not only
38 | ismr. net | ISMR September 2025