Applied force on matched metal die

[Knecht]

Hi All,
Am I correct in thinking that the force a matched metal, lower die shoe would see is limited to whatever force is required to shear whatever we are shearing with the die? We never really tighten down our lower shoes - just snug them up. So if the press is rated at say 12 tons but only 1 ton is required to shear our material then I'm led to believe the lower shoe only sees 1 ton. True?

Knecht

 

[John2025]

I believe you're correct about the 1 ton. I agree that there's no reason to risk over-tightening as long as you're tight enough that the vibration doesn't shake the bolts loose. I've seen a lot more trouble from stripped threads than things coming loose. In my experience, people tend to over-tighten a lot more than under-tighten.