Fundamentals of Tool Design

The Fourth Edition of "Fundamentals of Tool Design" is a revision of a book originally published in 1962. There is a chapter dealing with the many ways computers are being used in the field as well as some treatment of GD & T principals. Both new topics are "added on" and not well integrated.This is a handbook that can also be used as a textbook. In textbook fashion each chapter has a Q & A section at the end. Subjects covered are quite comprehensive and that means that few if any persons are likely to use all of this information. This book remains true to its name by doing a thorough job on the fundamental concepts. That is not to say there is no meat in the book. Chapter 4 covers Workholding Principles in about 100 pages and is well worth reviewing even by experienced persons. There are very useful tables throughout the book that can be used to do the problems at the end of chapter. Any serious tool designer will want to get a "Machinery's Handbook" or other comprehensive and up-to-date reference for feeds, speeds, and material properties. There has to be a drawing, photo, or illustration for every one of it's 750+ pages, maybe more than one per page.Some of the main chapters include: Workholding Principles, Jig Design, Fixture Design, Design of Pressworking Tools, and Bending, Forming, Drawing, and Forging Dies. To round out this wide variety of topics there are chapters covering machining fundamentals, inspection and welding fixtures, and considerations for new CNC techniques.It is reasonable to expect that a person with some shop skills could read this book and design simple jigs and fixtures. It is probably not reasonable to expect a person to design a sheet metal stamping die or forging die after studying this book.You would be able to understand all the major parts of a sheet metal die and be able to buy a die more intelligently. There is also a good deal of information useful to the product designer who needs to know what the limits of the manufacturing processes are (e.g. minimum radiuses, tolerance budgeting between parts and process, and some quick cost estimating formulas for tooling and manufacturing.