The word die is a generic term to describe the tooling used to produce a stamped part. A die set assembly on the other hand has male and female components that actually produce the shaped stamping. The male and female components work in opposition to each other to form and punch holes in the stock.
Metal stamping and stamping dies are tools used to produce high volume sheet metal parts using presses up to 80 tons. Parts can be stamped from any ductile metal to create and achieve almost any desired configuration.
In many cases even secondary operations such as tapping and assembly can be accomplished within the confines of the die set. Metal stamping is generally performed on materials .020" to .080" thick with tolerances to ±.001. The process also can be applied to foils as thin as .001" or to plate stock with thickness approaching 1.000".
Multi-station dies are arranged so that a series of sequential operations are accomplished with each press stroke.
With progressive dies, coil stock is fed into the press. Individual stampings are connected with a carrier strip as they progress through the various die operations and are ultimately separated and then discharged from the press.