Inspection cadence: what to look for at 1K, 10K, 50K, and 100K hits

At 1K hits the die has had its first shift or two of production. The surface is no longer fresh and is not yet showing the wear modes that define mid-life. The inspection is looking for two things: confirmation that the die was built and set up correctly, and the first signal of any catastrophic miss in heat-treat, nitride, or alignment.

Normal at 1K. A light scuff on the flash land where the billet flows, polished rather than gouged. Light heat tint, straw to light blue, across the highest-temperature regions of the impression. Lube pattern visible against the die face as a thin even film, with the engineered spray map showing through. Dimensional first-article still inside the band the die hit on the first part of the run.

Red flag at 1K. Any crack of any length, anywhere on the impression. A crack at 1K is a build defect, not wear. Galling on the flash land, where the billet has welded and torn rather than flowed, means the lube film failed on the first hits and the surface treatment is not doing its job. Dimensional drift outside the build tolerance band on a first-article means the die was either misaligned in the press or the substrate moved during heat-treat. Any sign of spalling on the compound layer, visible as a powdery or flaking residue, means the nitride was bad and the die never should have been put into production. Pull the die. Do not run it through to 10K hoping the trend smooths out.