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Bridge Hitting Reduces Tooling Wear

By alternating hits when performing shearing/slitting operations, forces upon the tool remain balanced from side to side and end to end. As a result, the punch operates square to the material and die. Over the long run, this will reduce the frequency of sharpening and generally longer tool service. This practice is called “bridge” hitting because the full hits leave a “bridge” of material between them that is removed by the next sequence of hits.