Transfer die supports features and practices commonly used in automotive sheet metal manufacturing. These include deep draw forming operations, side-action forming (cam-actuated), support for multiple trim stages, and support for performing holemaking (piercing, countersinking, extruding, coning, shaving, and tapping) prior to or subsequent to bending and forming operations. The cost model assumes blanking is done offline, on a separate machine, and blanks are fed into the transfer press. The model supports options for specifying strip layouts during offline blanking. The model also supports options for specifying blank orientation and concurrent part stamping as it pertains to the transfer press.

The transfer die process consists of a series of stations that progressively form the finished part. Transfer die is similar to progressive die, but transfer die is often used to make parts that are larger or drawn deeper than those typical of progressive die. Stations are physically fastened to a die shoe, which is the tooling platform that is loaded into a stamping press. Transfer die tooling includes a die set for every station, and is typically more expensive than for progressive die. (For more about how transfer die compares to other hard-tooled sheet metal routings, see Hard Tooled Sheet Metal General Process.)

Typical parts that are well-suited to the cost model have large primary forms that are made with a small number of forming operations, with outlying flanges that are wiped separately or created as a result of being held by the binder.

The model makes the following additional assumptions:

The model also assumes that each die set has a single die station.

The transfer die cost model supports a routing that involves the following processes:

Possible Transfer Die operations include the following:

Active part tipping is not currently supported; the model assumes that any required tipping occurs automatically as a function of how the part sits on a given station.

Although the starting point VPE assumes blanking is done offline, it can be configured for inline blanking—please contact aPriori Support or your aPriori Account Manager. A future release will add out-of-the-box support for inline blanking.

Note that the cost model relies on a node occurrence generator Java plugin (specified by the node attribute generatorName) to group operations by die station. See Working with Zero-or-More Nodes in the Cost Model Workbench Guide for more information.

This cost model is available via a separately licensed module.

If you have licensed the appropriate modules, your routing can include optional machining processes.