Pins & bushes — consumables that decide stamper life.

Anyone in the game knows pins and bushes are a consumable item. Besides that, the bush plays a crucial role in determining the life of the stamper on the press.

The bush has to be hard enough to withstand multiple thousands of pressings, yet soft enough not to shatter or break apart — destroying the moulds in an auto press.

Over the decades Zenith has developed sets of pins and bushes in three different styles:

As anyone knows, the bush and pin rely on the transfer of heat or cooling by simple contact with the mould — there is no direct heating or cooling for it. Cycle time on any press is largely determined by the time it takes to cool the area around the actual bush, since it lacks any direct cooling method. By minimising the amount of material between the top and bottom bushes there is a significant reduction in cooling time for the record — a few seconds — resulting in higher output per shift.

All bushes manufactured by Zenith Tool & Die are heat-treated to optimise performance and reduce the incidence of breakage.

In so far as bushes for the AD12 Pheenix press: the Zenith bottom bush has eliminated the need to use shims to adjust the height of the pin to be flush with the mould. That's a significant improvement on the existing design — the adjustment is carried out with a Torx tool: once the bush has been tightened up, the simple turning of an inner threaded hollow nut internal to the bush adjusts the actual height. The design also eliminates the standard collet used on the bottom bush of the AD12 presses.