Our Smallest Washer Ever

Do you want to impress a toolmaker from another stamper? Show them a part with a hole so small they can’t see it with their name eye!

We recently took on production of a washer so small. it pushed the boundaries of what our tooling can do — and we’re proud to say, challenge accepted and conquered. This washer had an incredibly small inside hole — so small, in fact, that none of the commercially available punches on the market would work as-is. To meet the spec, we had to custom-machine the smallest punches we could find just to get started.

But the size constraints didn’t stop there. The entire part was so tiny and delicate that we couldn’t use our usual single-hit washer tooling. Instead, we had to take a progressive tooling approach; with custom vacuum sleaves and special LAN to prevent the tiny slugs from piling up. Then we needed to make custom catch holders with screens small enough to not let the parts pass through.

It’s challenges like this that highlight the strength of our experience and the innovation we bring to every project. It’s also why we take pride in saying, “Since 1942.” When other stamping solutions fall short, we’re ready to go further — designing, machining, and adapting in-house to get the job done right.