On Dec 8, 3:36 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:


All of which makes sense, but is that what they're using? Or are they using
entirely different materials? The cost of just the block of steel to make a
traditional major body-panel die is astronomical. As an extreme example, I
remember a block of steel used to make the front-end section of a Ford truck
cost $2 million and took two years to cool after it was cast -- in Sweden.
That was in 1978 or so.

I've never seen a panel die made of solid steel, only cast in soft
gray iron (G2500 is the automotive spec, as I remember).

The only time I've seen solid block construction was for a tube
hydroforming die. They clamp the two halves in a 6000-8000 ton
hydraulic press during the hydroforming. As I remember, the dies are
solid D2.

Regards,

Robin