What is "Medium Run Tooling"

To understand what we mean by "medium run tooling" you must first  understand the two general types of stamping tool designs in the industry. These are called hard tooling and soft tooling. Hard tooling designs are built to a written tool standard using die sets as the tool base and tool steel for all working components. Hard tooling is generally quite expensive, although capable of producing thousands if not millions of parts. Soft tooling designs are built to an unwritten standard using low carbon steel plates as the tool base and case hardened carbon for working components. Soft tooling's low cost compared to hard tooling makes it attractive, though its life span is measure in tens of thousands of parts at most.

At Cedar Lake Engineering, our own "Medium Run Hard Tooling" designs combine the best of hard and soft tooling. All working components are tool steel for long life. In this case your tool is built almost entirely electronically, at a cost that's generally less than the cost of soft tooling. In addition, since the tool design is stored in our CAD library, we can almost instantly recreate the tool or any portion of the tool if necessary. Best of all, we'll maintian the tool and should the tool be used beyond its die life, we will retool. if necessary, at absolutely no cost to you, as long as we performed the original tooling. As a result you enjoy prices equal too or better than soft tooling AND the long-lasting benefits of hard tooling!