M2 Steel Ball Lock Pilot Punches - Round Tip, Light Duty

Where it’s used: These light-duty ball lock pilot punches are typically installed in progressive die stations and die-set alignment fixtures to provide repeatable part-to-tool positioning. The round tip and ball-lock geometry help maintain consistent engagement, improving registration across repeated press cycles.

Scenario 1 – Progressive dies (inch tooling): Use them at feed and forming stations where location repeatability matters, but loads are moderate. The M2 steel body plus the CRN coating supports stable wear resistance, helping pilots keep their fit over long production runs.

Scenario 2 – Stamping and die alignment: In multi-die assemblies, the ball lock design reduces tolerance stack-up by providing a secure locating action. The round tip supports uniform alignment during die closing.

Scenario 3 – Light-duty fixtures: For jigs and alignment fixtures handling small to medium components, the supplied point length ranges (coded inch options) allow you to tune engagement depth without over-travel.

• Round-tip pilots for consistent alignment
• Ball-lock retention for repeatable locating
• CRN-coated M2 for wear stability in press cycles

Material options: The punch is available in M2 (and also PS4 per the provided options). M2 is a high-speed steel commonly selected for tool steel applications that need good wear resistance at elevated local temperatures.

Coating and wear behavior: This variant specifies a CRN coating, which is intended to enhance wear resistance during repeated press cycles. In practice, that supports longer maintaining of the pilot’s locating geometry.

Heat treatment (state): The provided data does not specify a particular hardness or exact heat-treatment state (e.g., quenched & tempered vs. nitrided). For selection planning, assume the punch is supplied in a hardened condition suitable for inch die pilot service, with CRN applied after the base tool steel heat treatment.

• Hardness / trade-off: Exact HRC is not given in the input, so hardness selection should be confirmed on the order drawing.
• Wear vs. toughness: High-speed steel grades like M2 prioritize wear resistance; increasing hardness generally improves wear but can reduce toughness if pushed beyond design limits.

Step 1: Match shank diameter (D): Select the punch with shank diameter D (shank dia.) in = 25 ~ 100. Choose a D value consistent with your pilot hole/bushing size in the die set.

Step 2: Select point engagement length (coded L options): The standard point length and length L are available in 200 ~ 500, 200 ~ 600, 200 ~ 700, and 225 ~ 700 coded inch ranges. Additional keyed length series are also provided for ball-lock geometry via B & L: 225 ~ 500, 225 ~ 600, 225 ~ 700, and 225 ~ 600/225 ~ 700 (C variants), plus a fixed B & L: 250 ~ 700.

Step 3: Fit and tolerance planning: Dimension P = 0.05 ~ 0.749 indicates an additional geometry parameter affecting the locating interface; use it to align with the mating ball-lock pocket or corresponding pilot features. For precise assembly, use your die bushing/pilot hole drawing tolerances and confirm the CRN-coated pilot’s effective fit behavior with the mating component.

• Use D (25–100 in) to size the locating shank interface
• Use L/B/C coded ranges to set engagement depth
• Use P (0.05–0.749) to match locating geometry