Mould MATERIAL SELECTION
mould steel is a material that is used to manufacture the moulds. The quality of mould directly impacts the quality of processing technique, precision and output of products and more. The properties and heat treatment of mould steel makes a huge impact on the quality of mould except for the good design of structural and processing precision. Its grades, specification and quality determine the properties, life and manufacturing period of die.
Characteristics of Materials we use.
Different type of mould steel has different characteristics. The characteristics of common grades of mould steel as below.
Steel C45
Steel C45 is an unalloyed medium carbon steel, which is also a general carbon engineering steel. C45 is a medium strength steel with good machinability and excellent tensile properties. C45 round steel is generally supplied in the black hot rolled or occasionally in the normalised condition, with a typical tensile strength range 570 - 700 Mpa and Brinell hardness range 170 - 210 in either condition.
D2 Steel
D2 steel is an air hardening, high-carbon, high-chromium tool steel. It has high wear and abrasion resistant properties. It is heat treatable and will offer a hardness in the range 55-62 HRC, and is machinable in the annealed condition. D2 steel shows little distortion on correct hardening. D2 steel’s high chromium content gives it mild corrosion resisting properties in the hardened condition.
P20
P20 tool steel is normally pre-hardened between 29 to 33 HRC. It has proper mirror polish-capability and its less texture makes finishing more simpler. It maintains uniform hardness throughout even across large blocks. Its excellent weld-ability with great toughness and nitriding properties makes it a primary choice for plastic mould makers.
H13 Steel
H13 Tool Steel is a versatile chromium-molybdenum hot work steel that is widely used in hot work and could work tooling applications. The hot hardness (hot strength) of H13 resists thermal fatigue cracking which occurs as a result of cyclic heating and cooling cycles in hot work tooling applications.
EN353
EN353 is a very high strength steel alloy which is hardened and tempered before supplying and has nickel, chromium, molybdenum making it high tensile steel strength, with good ductility and wear resistance. EN353 round bars have good internal strength and high external strength, which makes it highly wear resistant.
OHNS steel
OHNS steel is a general-purpose tool steel that is typically used in applications where alloy steels cannot provide sufficient hardness, strength, and wear resistance. Chemical composition of OHNS is Carbon 0.94%, Manganese 1.2%, Silicon 0.30%, Chromium 0.50% and Vanadium 0.15%.