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Engineering consulting

Tool and die design service

Tool & Die Design

Production Tooling Designed for Precision, Reliability and Long Service Life.

We design production-ready tooling for sheet metal stamping and manufacturing operations, helping manufacturers improve part quality, reduce downtime, extend tool life and optimise production efficiency.

Discuss Your Tooling ProjectView Typical Tooling Projects
Tool and die design media: progressive die, tool assembly, strip layout, punch and die, and tool try-out
Customer problems

Are these tooling challenges slowing production down?

Tooling problems affect part quality, uptime, maintenance, and cost. Clear engineering detail helps identify the right production decision.

  • Excessive burr formation.
  • Tool wear is too high.
  • Poor strip utilisation.
  • Progressive die reliability issues.
  • Frequent tool maintenance.
  • Material cracking.
  • Press downtime.
  • High tooling costs.
Why this happens

Small tooling decisions become costly production problems later.

Tool reliability depends on cutting clearance, guiding, forming sequence, component selection, and manufacturability being resolved before production.

  • Incorrect cutting clearance.
  • Poor strip layout.
  • Weak guiding.
  • Poor forming sequence.
  • Material springback.
  • Incorrect standard components.
  • Insufficient manufacturability review.

Resolve tooling risk before manufacture.

A robust feasibility and tool review reduces late-stage changes and press downtime.

How GilMan Engineering helps

Tooling engineering that performs in the press, not just on screen.

We support feasibility studies, strip layout optimisation, tool concept and assembly design, detailed manufacturing documentation, tool try-out, and continuous improvement.

01

Optimised strip and tool concepts

Feasibility, material utilisation, station planning, cutting clearance, and forming sequence are considered together to build a dependable concept.

02

Production-ready tool documentation

Tool assemblies, detail drawings, standard parts lists, and BOMs give toolmakers a clear route to manufacture.

03

Try-out and improvement support

Tool try-out support, engineering changes, and maintenance improvements help stabilise production and extend service life.

What we deliver

Production-ready tooling outputs for the people who build, run, and maintain the tool.

The deliverable is shaped around the tooling need, from a strip layout review to a complete manufacturing package and try-out support.

OUTPUT 01

Strip Layout

Clear information prepared to move the work into its next practical stage.

OUTPUT 02

Tool Concept

Clear information prepared to move the work into its next practical stage.

OUTPUT 03

Tool Assembly

Clear information prepared to move the work into its next practical stage.

OUTPUT 04

Detail Drawings

Clear information prepared to move the work into its next practical stage.

OUTPUT 05

Standard Parts List

Clear information prepared to move the work into its next practical stage.

OUTPUT 06

Tool BOM

Clear information prepared to move the work into its next practical stage.

OUTPUT 07

Manufacturing Drawings

Clear information prepared to move the work into its next practical stage.

OUTPUT 08

Tool Review Reports

Clear information prepared to move the work into its next practical stage.

OUTPUT 09

Tool Try-Out Support

Clear information prepared to move the work into its next practical stage.

Typical projects

Tool and die design support for the production tooling your press shop recognises.

From individual punches and dies to complete progressive and transfer tools, every detail is developed for repeatable production use.

Progressive Dies

Multi-station tooling developed for stable, repeatable production.

Transfer Dies

Coordinated tooling concepts for parts transferred between forming stations.

Blanking Dies

Production tooling designed for clean, accurate blank profiles.

Piercing Dies

Punch and die systems developed for reliable hole quality and position.

Forming Dies

Practical forming sequences that manage material flow and springback.

Trimming Dies

Controlled trimming tools for consistent finished edges and profiles.

Cam Units

Standard or purpose-built cam actions integrated into the tool assembly.

Tool Stations

Individual stations engineered around the complete forming sequence.

Punches & Dies

Matched cutting components specified for accuracy, wear, and service life.

Pilot Systems

Accurate strip location and progression for dependable production cycles.

Engineering process

A simple process that keeps the work moving.

01

Understand

Clarify the part, production targets, press, material, and constraints.

02

Feasibility

Review manufacturability, risks, cutting needs, and forming requirements.

03

Strip Layout

Optimise material use, progression, and the forming sequence.

04

Tool Concept

Develop stations, guiding, standard components, and the tool architecture.

05

Detailed Design

Complete assemblies, details, BOMs, and manufacturing drawings.

06

Manufacturing Support

Support manufacture, tool try-out, changes, and production improvement.

Engineering capabilities

Engineering judgement leads every deliverable.

Focused tool design and process engineering support each project from feasibility and strip layout through detailed documentation and production support.

Engineering capability areas

TOOL

Tool Design

  • PRProgressive Dies
  • TRTransfer Dies
  • BLBlanking Tools
  • FOForming Tools
PROC

Process Engineering

  • STStrip Layout
  • MAMaterial Utilisation
  • PRPress Selection
  • STStation Planning
SUP

Production Support

  • TOTool Try-Out
  • ENEngineering Changes
  • MAMaintenance Improvements
  • SUSupplier Support
DOC

Technical Documentation

  • TOTool Drawings
  • TOTool BOM
  • STStandard Parts Lists
  • ASAssembly Documentation
Related services

Bring in the right support for the next engineering problem.

Explore connected engineering services when the tooling challenge also needs product, production, analysis, or documentation support.

Mechanical Design & Product Development

Develop manufacturable products, components, assemblies, and production-ready documentation.

Explore Service

Manufacturing Engineering

Make production decisions with clearer process, assembly, and supplier input.

Explore Service

Engineering Analysis (FEA)

Understand loading and technical risk before costly design decisions are made.

Explore Service

Technical Documentation & GD&T

Give suppliers clear drawings, tolerances, datums, and next steps.

Explore Service

Reverse Engineering

Turn existing parts and incomplete records into usable manufacturing data.

Explore Service
Frequently asked questions

Questions before we start.

Can you design progressive dies?

Yes. We develop strip layouts, tool concepts, assemblies, details, BOMs, and manufacturing documentation for progressive die projects.

Can you improve existing tooling?

Yes. We can review production issues, wear, maintenance history, part quality, and existing tool data to define practical improvements.

Can you optimise strip layouts?

Yes. Strip layouts can be reviewed for material utilisation, station planning, forming sequence, feeding, and production reliability.

Can you support tool manufacturing?

Yes. We provide manufacturing drawings, tool BOMs, standard parts lists, design reviews, and engineering clarification during manufacture.

Can you redesign existing dies?

Yes. Existing dies can be redesigned to address part changes, reliability concerns, manufacturability, maintenance, or production performance.

Can you increase tool life?

Yes. We can review cutting clearance, guiding, materials, standard components, wear areas, and maintenance feedback to identify improvements.

Can you reduce tooling costs?

Yes. Feasibility reviews, strip optimisation, appropriate standard components, and production-aware design decisions can reduce avoidable tooling and operating cost.

Can you work with our toolmaker?

Yes. We collaborate with customer teams and toolmakers using customer-preferred environments or neutral engineering formats where appropriate.

Need production tooling designed for precision and reliability?

Discuss your part, press, production target, or existing tool issue and identify a practical next step.

Discuss Your Tooling Project
Tool & Die Design | GilMan Engineering AB