The one-piece, hinged operation of these dies makes them easy to use. There is no mounting involved, as with conventional two-piece die sets, which use a die shoe to hold the separate die parts in alignment. Pancake dies are self-contained and self-aligning. They are best used in low impact presses such as hydraulic or screw...

This represents the easiest way to add metal forming into the mix. One way this process works is by taking a basic die and attaching low profile wire designs or sculptural elements to it. In the press the die is set onto a urethane or plastic pad instead of the steel platen. When cut, the die then pushes the part down and it is embossed between the flexible plastic and the forming element on the die.

These are two-part dies and mold setups, which cuts and form a part in a single press operation. This consists of a cutting de with a forming module attached, same as the one step cut/form kokopeli and butterfly, but with the addition of a solid mold that the part is formed into.