The expected efficient production and basic operation is one of the most important factors when selecting precision metal stamping machine or stamping process. This attribute is decisive at the time of purchase, because different processes can produce different scales of production and operation, and some can only be operated on specific types of precision metal presses.

Three main types of precision stamping processes:

1. Soft processing: This is usually a relatively affordable process, because it only uses one press. The labor cost of each part reduces its cost-effectiveness in the large-scale production cycle. The soft model usually produces 10,000 parts per year.

2. Stage mold: in order to achieve the required product design, the stage mold manually moves 2-5 presses between the pre-cutting blanks. The labor cost of this process is lower than that of soft processing, but the processing cost is high, and about 20,000 products can be produced each year.

3. Hard die: This is an automatic version of the staged die technology, which helps to simplify the multi-step stamping method and provide higher productivity. Due to the increase of computer control technology, the mold cost is high at first, but in the long run, the labor cost will be reduced. Hard mold is most suitable for products with an annual output of more than 20,000 sets.