Shrink-rings (Stress-rings) are used in the fabrication of powder compaction dies to increase the allowable compaction pressures for a given die material. Optimum Procedures are used to insure that the stress distributions in the die and stress-rings ultilize fully the strength available in each of the die elements. Two criteria for the optimum die design are used: Maximum shear stress limit for one-piece dies and zero tensile stress limit for combined dies. Examples for each case are presented in this paper.