Machining jigs. Check fixtures. Welding tooling.

Tooling must survive repeated production cycles. Prototype: might be used 1-10 times. Tooling: designed for 50,000-1,000,000+ cycles. Implications: hardened surfaces at wear points (bushings, locating pins), dowel-pin location for repeatable positioning, replaceable wear items, robust fasteners. Tooling design is a specialty — we can design from scratch or manufacture to your design.

D2: air-hardening, 60-62 HRC, moderate wear resistance, good dimensional stability. Workhorse for stamping dies. O1: oil-hardening, 58-60 HRC, simpler processing, lower cost. Used for general tooling. M2: high-speed steel, 62-64 HRC, best wear resistance, highest cost. Used for precision tools requiring maximum life. Specify based on application economics — D2 covers 80% of tooling needs.

Production tooling location from dowel pins typically requires ±0.005 mm hole-to-hole accuracy. We ream dowel pin holes (typically 6mm-12mm) to H7 tolerance with jig boring or precision CNC boring. Reamed holes ensure dowel pins press in with appropriate interference and located features repeat within ±0.005 mm across multiple setups.

Modern tooling designs include quick-change features to reduce setup time. Standard approaches: ball-lock tooling plates (interchange tools in 30 seconds), cam-action clamps (fast workpiece loading), pneumatic clamps (automated workholding). We can design with any of these systems or integrate with customer standards (Jergens, Mitee-Bite, Zero-Point systems).

Inspection gauges typically 10× tighter tolerance than the features they measure. For part tolerance ±0.05 mm: gauge features ±0.005 mm. For part ±0.01 mm: gauge ±0.001 mm. Our precision capability supports both. Gauge design includes: documentation of gauge accuracy, calibration certificate, recertification schedule, traceability to national standards.

Simple workholding jigs: 2-3 weeks. Production check fixtures: 3-5 weeks. Complex stamping dies: 8-16 weeks. Complete assembly cell tooling: 12-24 weeks. Tooling projects benefit from early design engagement — DFM review before manufacturing prevents expensive tooling rework. We recommend 4-6 weeks design coordination for complex production tooling programs.