I've got this punching die that is giving me trouble. It punches four holes and cuts a blank to length from an aluminum strip. The blank is about 5 inches wide by 7 inches long. At the same time four holes are punched at one end of the blank past the half way mark.
The aluminum is .180 thick 6061. The four holes are .339 on the punches with .012 clearance on the bottom die. The holes are spaced in a 1.5 inch equal bolt pattern.
The problem is that the punches are seizing on the blank after punching the holes and pulling the upper die set out of the punch press when the blank hits the stripper plate. You get about six parts and then the punches seize even with lubricant. I had a friend of mine look at the problem and he thought I needed more clearance on the punches. I'm happy to try this but I'd like to get some other opinions. Any ideas? Thanks.
Bob