The Hidden Cost of Manual Die Polishing (And How to Eliminate It)

2026-06-22 17:57:55

Your best die polisher just handed in his resignation. He’s leaving for a job that pays $2 an hour more and doesn’t involve breathing aluminum dust 8 hours a day. Now you’re stuck with a backlog of 25 dies waiting to be polished, and your extrusion line will have to slow down until you can find a replacement.

The hidden costs of manual polishing are enormous. Labor costs alone can exceed $200 per die. The inconsistent quality leads to die lines, surface defects, and premature die wear, increasing your scrap rate and tooling costs. And the reliance on skilled workers creates a single point of failure – when your polisher calls in sick or quits, your entire production schedule falls apart.

You may have tried hiring more polishers, but the labor shortage shows no signs of improving. You may have tried outsourcing your die polishing, but that leads to longer lead times and quality control issues. The only sustainable solution is to automate the process with Abrasive Flow Machining.

Tongzheng’s PG Series Abrasive Flow Machining System revolutionizes die polishing. Our semi-fluid abrasive media conforms perfectly to the complex geometries of extrusion dies, polishing every surface uniformly and consistently. A die that takes 6 hours to polish manually can be finished in less than 90 minutes with our AFM system.

One operator can run multiple machines simultaneously, reducing your polishing labor requirements by 70% or more. The consistent quality extends die life by 30-50%, significantly reducing your tooling costs. And because the process is fully automated, you no longer have to worry about labor shortages or employee turnover.

One of our customers in the architectural extrusion industry reported that after installing two AFM Machines, they were able to eliminate their entire manual polishing department, saving them over $250,000 annually in labor costs. They also saw their die life increase by 40%, saving an additional $100,000 per year in tooling costs.

If manual die polishing is holding your business back, it’s time to automate. Contact Tongzheng today to see how our AFM system can reduce your costs and improve your quality.