Part Type
Forming & EDM Punches
Hardened, profiled, and ready for the press.
A punch is a hardened tool that pierces, forms, or trims metal in a press: a pierce punch cuts a hole, a forming punch shapes sheet, and an EDM punch is profiled on wire EDM to drop into a matching die within a few tenths. Punches get cut from tool steel like A2, D2, S7, O1, or M2 (or carbide for long runs), heat-treated to a working hardness, ground or wire-cut to the profile, and inspected before they ship. Send a drawing, or the worn punch you want copied, through the quote form with the profile, material, and hardness, and a real person sends back price and lead time in 24-48 hours, with no minimum order.
Updated June 2026
What a punch does, and the punch-and-die pair
A punch is the moving half of a press tool: it presses into or through your material to pierce a hole, form a bend or draw, coin a feature, or trim an edge. The die is the fixed half it works against, and the gap between them, the clearance, is what makes a clean cut or a crisp form instead of a torn one. Get the punch profile and the clearance right and the tool runs for thousands of hits; get them wrong and you chew up edges and the punch.
What ships is the punch itself, and the matching die or cavity if you want the pair, made to your print and inspected. The press, the setup, and the stroke stay yours. That split suits tool-and-die shops, fabricators, and anyone keeping an old press or progressive die running: the punch is made to your print and inspected, and the press work stays in your hands. Replacement punches for a die you already run are an everyday request, not a special order.
Tool steels and hardness
The steel follows the work. A2 is the all-around air-hardening choice that stays stable through heat treat and suits most general punches. D2 holds a fine edge through long, abrasive runs in harder sheet. S7 shrugs off shock, so it is the call for heavy forming and coining where a harder steel would chip. O1 is an economical pick for short runs and prototypes, and M2 high-speed steel handles the heat of fast, high-volume piercing. For very high volume or abrasive material, carbide outlasts them all. More on stock and grades is on the steel parts page.
After the profile is cut, a punch is heat-treated to a working hardness, commonly 58 to 62 HRC depending on the steel and the job, hard enough to keep its edge without getting so brittle it cracks under load. Tell the team the press tonnage and what you are punching or forming, and the steel and hardness get matched to it. A coating like TiN or nitride can be specified on the print when a job needs extra wear or release, and it is quoted with the part.
Profiles: wire EDM and grinding
Shaped and non-round punches are profiled on wire EDM, which cuts hardened steel after heat treat with sharp internal corners and a profile that matches the die cavity within a few tenths. Because it cuts post-hardening, there is no heat-treat distortion to chase, which is exactly what a tight punch-and-die clearance needs. Keyways, intricate trim shapes, and odd pierce profiles are all routine on wire.
Round punches, flats, and back clearances are held by precision grinding, where ground diameters hold to a tenth or two and the finish is smooth enough to slide cleanly through the die. Point styles, whether flat, bevel-sheared, or rooftop, are ground to ease the punching force and quiet the hit. Between wire EDM and grinding, both the cutting edge and the body are held where they matter.
Common punches, and copying one you already have
The usual run covers pierce and round punches, form and draw punches, coining and embossing punches, notching and trim punches, and the matching die buttons or cavities that pair with them. Matched punch-and-die sets get quoted together so the clearance is dialed for your material and thickness, and a small set of spares for a production die is an easy add to the same order.
Worn out or snapped a punch and the drawings are long gone? Send the old one as a sample. It gets reverse-engineered to a drawing and remade to match, so a discontinued or undocumented punch is not the end of the line for your tooling. Send a print or that sample through the quote form with the profile, material, and hardness, and a real person sends back price and lead time in 24-48 hours.
Questions
Before you send a job.
01 What tool steel should a punch be?
It depends on the work. A2 is a stable all-rounder for general punches, D2 holds an edge through long abrasive runs, S7 takes shock for heavy forming and coining, O1 is economical for short runs, and M2 handles the heat of fast, high-volume piercing. Carbide outlasts them all on very high volume or abrasive material. Tell the team the press tonnage and what you are punching, and the steel gets matched to it.
02 Can you match a punch to my existing die?
Yes. The profile is cut on wire EDM to match your die cavity within a few tenths, with the clearance set for your material and thickness. Send the die drawing, or the punch that runs in it now, and the new punch gets made to suit. Matched punch-and-die sets can be quoted together so the pair is dialed in from the start.
03 Can you copy a worn or broken punch from a sample?
Yes, and it is a common request. Send the old punch, even in pieces, and it gets reverse-engineered to a drawing and remade to match, so a discontinued or undocumented punch can be brought back. You end up with a proper drawing on file for next time.
04 How hard are the punches?
Punches are heat-treated to a working hardness after the profile is cut, commonly 58 to 62 HRC depending on the steel and the job, hard enough to hold an edge without getting brittle enough to crack. Share the press tonnage and the material being formed or pierced and the hardness gets specified to suit.
05 Can I order one punch, or do I need a full set?
One is fine. There is no minimum, so a single replacement punch is a normal order, and so is a matched punch-and-die set or a batch of spares for a production die. Per-piece pricing eases as quantity rises since setup spreads across the run, so the quote can show both a one-off and a small-batch number.
Get Started
Send us your files.
We’ll take it from there.
A quote in 24-48 hours, no minimums. Like the quote, and we’ll make your parts and ship them to you.
Get a Quote