I've made my own dimple die.
I drew up a few in CAD and spent most of an afternoon making one.
I thought I was saving money - right up to the point I had it heat treated.
DOH!
If anyone else wants a go the dwg files are here:
http://www.super7thheaven.co.uk/blog...-cad-drawings/
Personally, having made one - I'm buying my next ones
What I'd like to know...
Is there any rule for selecting the hole size in relation to the panel?
How close can I go to the edge of a panel? etc.
Yeh, I know I could use FEA but then I'd need the whole body in CAD.
There seems to be 2 types of dimple die. Ones that leave a flat portion in the centre and ones that don't. The ones with a flat washer like bit in the middle (still has a hole).
I have a dimple die from a swap meet a few years back (It's stamped 32mm - similar to above CAD) and it leaves a swage ring with a 39mm internal diameter. To get a dimple die hole to look like my previous post, I used a 38mm /1.5" hole cutter.
The problem was getting the dimple die central on the oversized hole.
Is my 32mm die really a 39mm die?
Am I doing it wrong?
Should I use a 32mm hole cutter and leave that extra ring?
Should I leave that 'ugly' ring or can I remove it? I'd have to cut n file it out and that could leave a messy finish (and potential weak points).
If I use the bigger cutter, what's the rule on picking it's size? e.g. for a dimple with a 50mm internal diameter, what sized cutter should I pick?
How do other people centralise them? As the press applies pressure, on a test piece, I could see the sheet metal slip around as the flare was created.
Should I look for different flare tools?
Any help appreciated