AISI D2 Punch Head and Shaft Failure in Case of S500 MC Punching

Punching is a cold forming process widely used, especially in the case of mass production. This process can, with optimized parameters, give a high-quality product at low cost. Punch head and shaft failure is investigated while punching S500MC sheet metal. Several techniques such as optical microscopy, Vickers hardness and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used in order to get damage causes. The aim of this work is to scrutinize the AISI D2 punch failure and to take out some damage causes. The results show that shaft punch damage is categorized into chipping and wear, however three damage types namely the inflated, the mated and the cracked punch head are found. Back up plate wear, fatigue and high punching force are behind the punch failure.