According to the structural characteristics, die manufacturing can be divided into plane blanking die and cavity die with space. The blanking die uses the size of the male die and the female die to fit accurately, and some even fit without clearance. Other forging dies, such as cold extrusion die, die-casting die, powder metallurgy die, plastic die, rubber die, etc., belong to cavity die and are used to form three-dimensional workpieces. The cavity die has dimensional requirements in the length, width and height directions, and its shape is complex and difficult to manufacture.
Mold manufacturers generally produce single pieces in small batches. The manufacturing requirements are strict and accurate, and precision processing equipment and measuring devices are often used.
The plane blanking die can be initially formed by EDM, and then further improved by form grinding, coordinate grinding and other methods. Form grinding can be performed by optical projection curve grinder, or surface grinder with grinding wheel mechanism for copying and repairing, or by using special form grinding tools on precision surface grinder.
The coordinate grinder can be used for precise positioning of moulds to ensure precise hole diameter and hole spacing. CNC continuous track coordinate grinding machine can also be used to grind punch and die of any curve shape. The cavity mould is usually processed by copying milling machine, EDM and ECM. The machining quality of the cavity can be improved by combining profiling milling with numerical control and by adding a three-way translational head device in EDM. The production efficiency can be improved by adding aeration electrolysis in ECM.