How to Choose the Right Tablet Dies and Punches

Step-by-step guide to choosing tablet dies and punches — tablet size, shape, material, tooling standard, and manufacturer selection.

EMMKAY INDUSTRIES

2/28/20263 min read

Choosing the right tablet dies and punches is one of the most important decisions in tablet manufacturing. The wrong tooling leads to tablet defects, production downtime, and wasted materials. The right tooling delivers consistent tablet quality, long tooling life, and efficient production.

This guide walks you through every factor to consider when selecting tablet dies and punches — from tooling standard and tablet shape to material grade and surface coatings.

Step 1 — Identify Your Tooling Standard

The first and most critical decision is the tooling standard. This is determined by your tablet press, not by your tablet design.

How to find your tooling standard:

  • Check your tablet press manual — it specifies the compatible tooling standard

  • Measure your existing die outside diameter — 38mm = D, 30mm = B or DB, 24mm = BB

  • Contact your press manufacturer with the model number

  • Contact EMMKAY INDUSTRIES with your press brand and model — we will confirm

Common mistake: Ordering B tooling when your press uses D tooling (or vice versa). The tooling will not fit. Always verify before ordering.

Step 2 — Define Your Tablet Shape and Dimensions

Once you know the tooling standard, define what your tablet should look like:

Tablet Diameter:

  • Must be within the maximum for your tooling standard (25mm for D, 18.5mm for B, 18.5mm for BB, 25mm for DB)

  • Common pharmaceutical tablets: 6-12mm

  • Common nutraceutical tablets: 10-18mm

  • Common candy tablets: 8-15mm

Tablet Shape:

  • Round — simplest, most common, lowest tooling cost

  • Capsule — elongated, easier to swallow, requires keyed punches

  • Oval — smooth elliptical, good for coated tablets

  • Geometric (triangle, square, pentagon) — brand differentiation, requires keyed punches

  • Novelty (star, moon, heart) — confectionery and branded products, requires keyed punches

  • Custom — any shape you design

Punch Tip Profile (Cup Depth):

  • Flat-faced — for uncoated tablets, scoring, and embossing

  • Shallow concave — standard for most coated tablets

  • Standard concave — general purpose

  • Deep concave — for thick film coatings

  • Beveled edge — reduces chipping during coating and packaging

  • Compound cup — combination profiles for special applications

Embossing:

  • Product name, dosage strength, company logo

  • Break lines (score lines) for dose splitting — single or cross score

  • Debossed (recessed) text is more common than embossed (raised) text

Step 3 — Select the Right Material

The material determines how long your tooling lasts and how well it performs with your specific formulation:

Decision Guide:

Cost Consideration:

OHNS is the most economical option and works well for 70-80% of formulations. Only upgrade to HCHC or EMMKAY Special Steel when your formulation specifically demands it. Spending more on premium materials for a non-abrasive formulation wastes money without improving performance.

Step 4 — Choose Surface Coatings

Coatings are applied to punch tips to solve specific production problems:

When to skip coatings:

If your formulation compresses well without sticking or excessive wear, uncoated OHNS tooling is perfectly adequate. Coatings add cost — use them to solve specific problems, not as a default.

Step 5 — Consider Production Volume

Your production volume affects tooling configuration and material choices:

Standard Production (up to 500,000 tablets/day):

  • Single-tip punches in OHNS steel

  • Standard configurations

  • Replace tooling every 3-6 months depending on formulation

High-Volume Production (500,000 to 5 million tablets/day):

  • Consider multi-tip punches to increase output per press

  • HCHC material for longer intervals between replacements

  • Coatings to extend tooling life

Very High-Volume Production (5+ million tablets/day):

  • Multi-tip punches (2-tip, 3-tip, or more) are essential

  • HCHC material with TiN or DLC coating

  • Keep spare tooling sets to minimize changeover downtime

  • Consider dedicated tooling per product to avoid cleaning time

Step 6 — Evaluate Multi-Tip Options

Multi-tip punches produce multiple tablets per station per compression cycle. They can increase your output by up to 80% without purchasing additional presses.

Multi-Tip Feasibility:

Multi-tip considerations:

  • Smaller tablets benefit most from multi-tip configurations

  • All tips must produce identical tablets — precision manufacturing is critical

  • Multi-tip tooling costs more per set but dramatically reduces cost per tablet

  • Not all tablet shapes are suitable for multi-tip — round is easiest

Step 7 — Choose Your Manufacture

The tooling manufacturer matters as much as the tooling specifications. Here is what to look for:

Quality indicators:

  • Material certificates and traceability documentation

  • Hardness testing reports

  • Dimensional inspection reports

  • Manufacturing quality that supports your regulatory compliance needs (for pharmaceutical tooling)

  • Consistent quality across orders

Service indicators:

  • Technical support for tooling selection and troubleshooting

  • Reasonable lead times (7-10 working days for standard orders)

  • Emergency replacement capability

  • Willingness to manufacture small quantities

  • Experience with your specific industry

Red flags:

  • No documentation or certificates provided

  • Inconsistent quality between orders

  • No technical support available

  • Extremely low prices (may indicate inferior materials)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Ordering the wrong tooling standard — always verify D, B, BB, or DB before ordering

  • Using OHNS for abrasive formulations — upgrade to HCHC and save money on replacements

  • Using premium materials for standard formulations — OHNS works fine for most products

  • Ignoring maintenance — even the best tooling fails quickly without proper cleaning and storage

  • Not keeping spare sets — production stops when tooling wears out and replacements are not ready

  • Choosing the cheapest option — low-quality tooling causes tablet defects and costs more in downtime

Conclusion

Choosing the right tablet dies and punches comes down to seven decisions: tooling standard, shape, material, coating, configuration, volume planning, and manufacturer selection. Get these right, and your tooling will deliver consistent tablets, long service life, and efficient production.

EMMKAY INDUSTRIES has been helping manufacturers make these decisions since 1983. Contact us with your requirements — we will recommend the optimal tooling configuration for your application.