So if I make a custom form tool in SolidWorks, it ends up being the male half of the die. What's the best way to create the female half of the die so I can CNC cut both and use them in my press? Is is really as easy as offsetting the surface by the intended thickness of the stock and building the female die out of that offset surface?
It could be that easy, the specific geometry is really going to control what methods are useful or not. The forming tools is meant as a way to create easy and repeatable shapes not necessarily as a proxy for actual stamping tools. So things like stretch or shrink may not be accounted for in the actual tool body.
That kind of answer is going to be very material dependent. Simulation tools will probably be required to get the best results. Your VARS AE team may be able to help you find the right set up in Solidworks to evaluate different options
I can imagine you at a seminar, running up onto the stage and grabbing the microphone from the instructor so that you can tell everyone that you already know this stuff. Also you said, "Pretty much," which implies that there were things that you didn't know or hadn't used. Probably just like everyone else that watched this video. Except you felt the need to let everyone know. Screams low self-esteem. Do yourself a favor and delete your embarrassingly transparent comment.
