Pellet dies: Relief of a pellet die

Relief (R) or also known as Counterbore Depth (X): measures the relief provided in the die as the pellet exits the die hole. Enlarged holes are counterbored into the die to reduce its effective thickness and provide the proper L/D ratio while maintaining the total thickness needed to prevent breakage of the die. Specific rows of die holes, such as the two inner and outside rows, also sometimes are counterbored to greater depths to encourage feed flow through these outer rows of holes to help dies wear more evenly, this is referred to as (VR) variable relief. More examples of various die relief patterns can be seen in this diagram: