Shear strength of die pins vs drill rod

Dec 29, 2003 5 Replies

I have an assembly that I designed poorly but I'm too lazy to re-do it. I want to add a little strength to the four pieces cobed together with 2 ea.



1/4" shcs. I was thinking of spotting a couple of 3/16" die pins to keep everything aligned or should I use drill rod? I figure the drill rod might take more shear abuse and die pins will just snap. But the die pins are stronger in the first place, aren't they? It's the same work either way.

I think I remember in die design class that pins should not be used for strength, only for location.

However, I believe most, if not all, standard dowel pins (never heard of a "die pin" before...?) are case hardened. I have seen one crack as it was used as an pivot for a bending die. The outside cracked but the pin held together because of the soft center.

Regards,

Robin

On my home planet...we call things by different names.

Robin is correct. Dowel pins are for location. I have replaced sheared dowel pins that resulted from operating die sets and tooling that have loose fasteners. Exceeding the tonnage the tooling was designed for can also break dowel pins as the fasteners distort and fail.

If the fasteners are loose or inadequate, the parts pinned act just like a shear.

Les

The die pins, being very hardened on the outside, will tend to shatter from impact forces but will be good for slower forces. The pin may end up upsetting the metal of the parts from many smaller forces and will tend to really fix the parts in place.

-- Bob May Losing weight is easy! If you ever want to lose weight, eat and drink less. Works evevery time it is tried!

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