GBC Magnapunch Die Set Issues - Understanding the Problem By Jeff McRitchie At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

The MagnaPunch from ACCO/GBC is one of the most prevalent punching machines on the market today. It is renowned for its interchangeable dies and ease of use. The MagnaPunch features 15 standard die sets and 2 premium die sets to choose from. Perhaps the greatest feature of the MagnaPunch is that the die sets can be swapped out in a matter of seconds as it has no locks or levers.

Over time however, we have found that the locking mechanism that keeps the dies in place is prone to failing. When this happens, the dies can slide out freely causing the machine to shut down or, in a worst case scenario, the machine will punch with the die partially engaged breaking the die and causing potentially massive internal damage. We have found in a production environment that users will use a heavy tape to hold the die set in place to keep the die sets from sliding out with use.

Less common than the dies being too loose is when the die lock mechanism is too tight. When this happen, it can be very difficult and time consuming to remove the die set from the punch. Unfortunately, we have not found an easy fix for this situation other than that overtime; the die lock mechanism will loosen up and eventually fail.

The die sets also have a pin mounted on the leading edge of the die that engages with a switch inside the MagnaPunch, telling the machine that the die set is in place. Overtime, the die set can become loose in the track and that pin can be easily bent causing it to fail to activate the switch or break the switch all together. The best bet is to perform routine inspections on the die set and inspect the pin on the die sets.

The last major complaint that our customers have had with the MagnaPunch is the lack of a pin retaining clip. All other manufacturers put a pin retaining mechanism in place to make sure that the numerous punching pins do not fall out if the die is dropped or held upside down. ACCO/GBC's answer was to put a magnetic strip on the side of the pins to keep them in place. This solution works fairly well, however care must be taken to make sure that the magnetic strip does not slide on the die. We have found that after a relatively short amount of time, the magnetic strips are damaged from the punch itself and users usually remove them. This makes it extremely common for pins to become lost or to fall out when the die set is removed from the Magnapunch.

Unfortunately, in a production environment these problems are all too common. Problems with the die sets cause expensive service calls, equipment damage, and result in higher than necessary maintenance costs. Die sets for the Magnapunch are expensive to replace and replacement dies will suffer from the same problems that most likely caused die failure in the first place. Unfortunately, this is a major limitation to an otherwise excellent piece of equipment.

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