In this paper, a general approach to structural analysis of forging die sets is presented and the related design system, AFDEX/DIE, is introduced. Structural analysis of die sets is conducted by the finite element method considering both contact problem and shrink fit. In the approach, amount of shrink fit is controlled by thermal load, i.e., temperature difference between die insert and shrink rings. The loading conditions are extracted automatically from the simulation results obtained by a rigie-thermoviscoplatic finite element method. Typical application examples are given, which show the applicability of the approach and the related program.