There are more than one hundred kinds of materials that can be used for mold processing, including metals, plastics, inorganic nonmetals and paraffins. However, according to different actual needs, the use and demand of each material are different. Today, let's talk about the 24 metal materials most commonly used in mold processing.

1. 45 - High quality carbon structural steel, which is the most commonly used medium carbon quenched and tempered steel

Main features: the most commonly used medium carbon quenched and tempered steel has good comprehensive mechanical properties, low hardenability, and is easy to crack during water quenching. Small parts should be quenched and tempered, and large parts should be normalized.

Application examples: mainly used for manufacturing high strength moving parts, such as turbine impeller, compressor piston, shaft, gear, rack and worm, etc. The welding parts shall be preheated before welding and stress relieved and annealed after welding.

2. Q235A (A3 steel) - the most commonly used carbon structural steel

Main features: high plasticity, toughness, welding performance, certain strength of cold stamping performance and good cold bending performance.

Application examples: widely used for parts and welded structures with general requirements. Such as tie rods, connecting rods, pins, shafts, screws, nuts, ferrules, brackets, engine bases, building structures and bridges with little force.

3. 40Cr - one of the most widely used steels, belonging to alloy structural steel

Main characteristics: after quenching and tempering treatment, it has good comprehensive mechanical properties, low temperature impact toughness and low notch sensitivity, good hardenability, high fatigue strength can be obtained when oil cooling, and cracks are easily generated on parts with complex shapes when water cooling. The cold bending plasticity is medium, and the machinability is good after tempering or tempering, but the weldability is poor, and cracks are easy to occur. Before welding, it should be preheated to 100 ℃~150 ℃. Generally, it is used in the quenching and tempering state, and it can also be carbonitriding and high-frequency surface quenching.

Application examples: after quenching and tempering, it is used to manufacture medium speed and medium load parts, such as machine tool gears, shafts, worms, spline shafts and thimble sleeves; After quenching and tempering and high-frequency surface quenching, it is used to manufacture parts with high surface hardness and wear resistance, such as gears, shafts, spindles, crankshafts, mandrels, sleeves, pins, connecting rods, screws and nuts, air inlet valves, etc; After quenching and medium temperature tempering, it is used to manufacture parts with heavy load and medium speed impact, such as oil pump rotor, sliding block, gear, main shaft and collar; After quenching and low temperature tempering, it can be used to manufacture parts with heavy load, low impact and wear resistance, such as worm, main shaft, shaft and collar; After carbonitriding treatment, transmission parts with large size and high low-temperature impact toughness, such as shafts and gears, are manufactured.

4. HT150 - grey cast iron

Application examples: gear box, machine bed, box, hydraulic cylinder, pump body, valve body, flywheel, cylinder head, pulley and bearing cover, etc.

5. 35 - Common materials of various standard parts and fasteners

Main features: proper strength, good plasticity, high cold plasticity, and good weldability. Local upsetting and wire drawing can be carried out in cold state. Low hardenability, used after normalizing or tempering.

Application example: It is suitable for manufacturing parts with small section and can bear large load, such as crankshaft, lever, connecting rod, shackle, various standard parts and fasteners.

6. 65Mn - common spring steel

Application examples: various small flat and round springs, cushion springs, spring clockwork, spring rings, valve springs, clutch springs, brake springs, cold coiled coil springs, circlips, etc.

7. 0Cr18Ni9 - the most commonly used stainless steel (American steel 304, Japanese steel SUS304)

Characteristics and application: As a stainless heat-resistant steel, it is widely used, such as food equipment, general chemical equipment, etc.

8. Cr12 - Common cold work die steel (American steel grade D3, Japanese steel grade SKD1)

Characteristics and application: Cr12 steel is a widely used cold work die steel, belonging to the type of ledeburite steel with high carbon and high chromium. The steel has good hardenability and wear resistance; As the carbon content of Cr12 steel is as high as 2.3%, the impact toughness is poor, it is easy to embrittle, and it is easy to form uneven eutectic carbide; Because of its good wear resistance, Cr12 steel is mostly used to manufacture cold punching dies, punches, blanking dies, cold heading dies, punch and die of cold extrusion dies, drill sleeves, gauges, wire drawing dies, stamping dies, thread rolling plates, drawing dies, and cold pressing dies for powder metallurgy, which are subject to low impact loads and require high wear resistance.

9. DC53 - Commonly used cold working die steel imported from Japan

Characteristics and Application: High strength and toughness cold work die steel, steel grade of Japanese Datong Special Steel (Plant) Manufacturer. After high temperature tempering, it has high hardness, high toughness and good wire cutting performance. Used for precision cold stamping die, drawing die, thread rolling die, cold blanking die and punch.

10. DCCr12MoV - wear-resistant chromium steel

The carbon content of domestic steel is lower than that of Cr12 steel, and the uneven carbide is improved by adding Mo and V. Mo can reduce carbide segregation and improve hardenability, V can refine grains and increase toughness. The steel has high hardenability, and can be fully quenched when the section is below 400mm. It can still maintain good hardness and wear resistance at 300~400 ℃. It has higher toughness than Cr12. The volume changes little during quenching. It also has high wear resistance and good comprehensive mechanical properties. Therefore, various moulds with large section, complex shape and large impact can be manufactured, such as ordinary drawing die, punching die, blanking die, trimming die, rolling die, drawing die, cold extrusion die, cold cutting scissors, circular saw, standard tools and measuring tools.

11. SKD11 - ductile chromium steel

Hitachi plant type production in Japan. Technically, the casting structure in the steel is improved, the grain is refined, the toughness and wear resistance are improved compared with Cr12MoV, and the service life of the die is extended.

12. D2 - High carbon and high chromium cold work steel

Made in the USA. It has high hardenability, hardenability, wear resistance, high temperature oxidation resistance, and good corrosion resistance after quenching and polishing. Heat treatment deformation is small. It is suitable to manufacture various cold working dies, tools and measuring tools that require high precision and long life, such as drawing dies, cold extrusion dies and cold shearing knives.

13. SKD11 (SLD) - Non deformation toughness high chromium steel

Hitachi plant type production in Japan. As the content of Mo and V in the steel increases, the casting structure in the steel is improved, the grains are refined, and the carbide morphology is improved. Therefore, the strength and toughness (bending strength, deflection, impact toughness, etc.) of this steel are higher than those of SKD1 and D2, the wear resistance is also increased, and the steel has higher tempering resistance. The practice has proved that the service life of this steel die is higher than that of Cr12MoV. We often manufacture moulds with high requirements, such as drawing moulds, moulds for impact grinding wheels, etc.

14. DC53 - High Toughness High Chromium Steel

Japan Datong plant type production. The hardness of heat treatment is higher than SKD11. High hardness of 62~63HRC can be reached after tempering at high temperature (520~530) ℃. DC53 exceeds SKD11 in strength and wear resistance, and its toughness is twice that of SKD11. The toughness of DC53 rarely appears cracks and crazes in cold working die manufacturing, which greatly improves the service life. The residual stress is small, and it can be reduced by turning back at high temperature. Because the cracks and deformation after wire cutting are restrained, the machinability and abrasiveness exceed SKD11 and are used for precision stamping dies, cold forging and deep drawing dies.

15. SKH-9 - general high-speed steel with high wear resistance and toughness

Hitachi plant type production in Japan. Used for cold forging die, strip cutter, drill, reamer, punch, etc.

16. ASP-23 - Powder Metallurgy High Speed Steel

Made in Sweden. The distribution of carbides is extremely uniform, with wear resistance, high toughness, easy processing and stable heat treatment dimensions. Used for punch, deep drawing die, drilling die, milling cutter, shear blade and other long life cutting tools.

17. P20 - Plastic moulds of general requirements

Made in the USA. It can be operated by electric erosion. Pre hardening HB270~300 and quenching hardness HRC52 in factory condition.

18. 718 - Plastic mold with high requirements

Made in Sweden. It can be operated by electric erosion. Pre hardening HB290~330 and quenching hardness HRC52 in factory condition.

19. Nak80 - high mirror, high precision plastic mold

Produced in Datong, Japan. Pre hardening HB370-400 and quenching hardness HRC52 in factory condition.

20. S136 - Anticorrosion and mirror polishing plastic mold

Made in Sweden. Pre hardening HB ＜ 215 and quenching hardness HRC52 in factory condition.

21. H13 - Common die-casting die

For aluminum, zinc, magnesium and alloy die-casting, hot stamping die, aluminum extrusion die, etc.

22. SKD61 - Advanced die-casting die

Made in Hitachi, Japan. By electroslag remelting technology, the service life is obviously improved compared with H13. Used for hot stamping die and aluminum extrusion die.

23 、 8407 -- Advanced die-casting die

Made in Sweden. Used for hot stamping die and aluminum extrusion die.

24. FDAC - sulfur is added to enhance its chippability

The factory pre hardening hardness is HRC38~42, which can be directly carved without quenching and tempering. Used for small batch mold, simple mold, various resin products, sliding parts, mold parts with short delivery time. Such as zipper mold, eyeglass frame mold, etc.

Source: Mold Expert