PILOTS

OVER FEEDING

PILOTTING

Registering of Pilots

PILOTS
Purpose of pilots.

The pilot positions the stock strip in relation with the die
opening.
This is termed as registering.
The strip is normally overfed more than the pitch length.
When the press is tripped the pilot comes down and engages
the pre pierced hole.

PILOTS

Purpose of pilots.
The strip is dragged back into the registry position.
When mechanical feeding is employed the strip is underfed.
The pilot pulls the strip into registry position.

PILOTS
PILOT SIZE.

Diameter of pilot for average work, Diameter of hole to be

piloted-0.05 to 0.1 mm.
For close work, Diameter of hole to be piloted-0.03 to 0.05mm.
For accurate work, Diameter of hole to be piloted
-0.01 to 0.02mm.
Thick stock materials and materials like aluminium and copper
require larger tolerance.

PILOTS

PILOT LENGTH
Registering of the strip should be done before the punches
come and engage the strip.
The pilot should extend beyond the punch face equal to one
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sheet thickness

PILOTS
PILOT

DIE

Pilot opening In the die

If the pilot opening in the die is larger, instead of registering the
material will be drawn into the opening.
Diameter of the opening = diameter of pilot + double clearance.

PILOTS
PILOT
DIE

BOTTOM PLATE

Pilot opening in the bottom plate

Through hole is provided in the bottom plate for the following
reasons:
Slugs produced due to misfeeding can be cleared.
If by chance the strip jumps the stopper the pierced hole will be
out of alignment with the pilot.
The pilot will hit the strip and punch out a deformed slug.
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Pilots Nose profiles

PILOT
BOTTOM PLATE
DIE
Pilot opening in the bottom plate
Accumulated burrs dislodged from the pierced hole is cleared.
During piercing operation burr is formed on the pierced hole.
The pilots while entering the pre pierced hole will dislodge the
burr.
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Pilots Nose profiles

BULLET NOSE

BULLET NOSE
The most common pilot nose profile is bullet nose.
The bullet shape is formed by radius 'A' which is equal to
piloting diameter.
For piloting in holes less than 6mm in diameter the length of
radius A can be increased to reduce the lateral force due to
piloting.
Bullet nose is strong, simple to make and smooth in action.10

Pilots Nose profiles

45 CONICAL STUB NOSE

45 conical stub nose

shorter nose profile.
used for piloting thick materials.
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Pilots Nose profiles

30 CONICAL STUB NOSE

30 conical stub nose

This is a compromise between bullet nose pilot and 45 stub
nose pilot.
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Pilots Nose profiles

15 CONICAL STUB NOSE

15 conical stub nose

Used for small pilots and for soft thin materials.

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Pilot in punches
PRESS FIT PILOT
PEENED PILOT

Pilots mounted in punches are called punch pilots.

The pilot extends beyond the punch face by a distance of at
least one sheet thickness (minimum 1.5mm).
These pilots are used for slow production and secondary
operation tools.

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Pilots Nose profiles

RETRACTABLE PILOT

Pilots are held in the punch holder.

In special cases the following pilots are used.
Retractable pilots.
Misfeeding may occur due to the over shooting of stock strip
over the stoppers.
In such cases pilots may buckle or break.
To overcome this difficulty retractable pilots are used.
They are spring loaded pilots; they will be pushed up when
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they come into contact with un pierced area during operation.

Removable pilots
REMOVABLE PIILOT

Removable type.
Pilots break often due to misfeeding of stock strip.
Changing of broken pilots consume considerable time and leads
to loss in production.
Removable type pilots are used to overcome this difficulty.
The pilots are inserted through the top plate into the punch
holder and fastened with screw.
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DIRECT - PILOT

DIRECT PILOT

Direct piloting.
Piloting in holes pierced in that area of the strip, which will
become the blank, is called direct piloting.
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INDIRECT - PILOT
INDIRECT PILOT

Indirect piloting
Indirect piloting consists of piercing holes in the scrap area of
the strip and locating by these hole at subsequent operations.
Direct piloting is the preferred method, but certain blank
conditions require indirect piloting.
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Conditions for indirect - piloting

FIG 1

FIG 2

FIG 3

Indirect piloting is preferred under the following conditions:

1. Close tolerance on holes. Pilots can enlarge holes by pulling
a heavy strip in position.
2. Holes too small. Fragile pilots can break or deflect in
operation.
3. Holes too close to the edge of the blank. Distortion can occur
on the blank because of enlargement of holes.
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Conditions for indirect - piloting

Indirect piloting is preferred under the following conditions:

4. Holes in weak areas. Piloting in projecting tabs is impractical
because they may deflect before the strip is pulled in position.
5. Holes spaced too closely. Piloting in closely spaced holes does
not provide an accurate relationship between holes and relative
edges of the blank.
6. Blanks without holes. Piloting has to be done in the scrap area
whenever the blank does not contain holes.
7.When projections are there in the hole
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Punch mounted pilots

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PILOTS

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THREADED SHANK

PRESS FITTED

SCREW RETAINED

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SOCKET SET SCREW

PILOTS

HEADED TYPE

QUILLED TYPE

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PILOTS

SPRING BACKED

SPRING LOADED QUILLED

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