Progressive Tooling – combines multiple operations into one tool.  Strips of material are advanced through the stages of the tool to produce a complete part.  Progressive tools save on material handling and therefore create a less expensive part.  Progressive tools are more expensive to produce and are usually justified through higher volumes.

Stage Tools - perform one operation per tool. One operation can consist of multiple pierces or forms depending on a part's configuration.  Stage tools can be mounted in die sets for longer production runs or they can be made as short run tools.

Short Run Tools – are stage tools that are not permanently mounted into a die set.  The die set remains in the press and is universal to multiple tools, significantly saving customer's tooling dollars and setup time.  These tools can be made in a few hours and have a very short lead time to produce.  These tools are unique to our presses and remain the property of K-Tek.  Because K-Tek owns these tools, we assume the responsibility for maintaining tools for the life of the part, less engineering changes.