THE RELATIVELY STRONG POINTS AND WEAKNESSES OF THREE DIFFERENT DIE DESIGN STYLES USED BY THE STAMPING INDUSTRY FOR THIN-MATERIAL PARTS AT HIGH SPEED WERE OUTLINED. EACH OF THESE DESIGN CONCEPTS WERE EVALUATED WITH A VIEW TOWARD PERFORMANCE AND OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS. STRIP PILOTING METHODS, THEIR GOOD AND BAD POINTS, AND A DESCRIPTION OF AN ALTERNATIVE PILOTING METHOD WITH IMPROVED FUNCTIONALITY PROPERTIES WERE DISCUSSED. AN OVERVIEW OF FEEDING AND FORMING DIFFICULTIES WAS PROVIDED AS THEY RELATE TO THIN MATERIALS, SPEED VARIATIONS AND PRESS CHARACTERISTICS. SOME DIE DESIGN SOLUTIONS TO THESE PROBLEMS WERE ALSO GIVEN.