What Are the Different Types of Die Steel Used For?

The application fields of molds are very wide, and the operating conditions of various molds are very different. Therefore, the standards for raw materials used in the production of molds are very wide, and the most widely used mold raw materials are mold steel.

From the same carbon steel, quenched and tempered steel, alloy tool steel, alloy structural steel, spring steel, high-speed tool steel, stainless steel wear-resistant steel, until the austenitic ageing steel and its powder spring steel necessary to integrate into unique molds, powder  aluminum alloy die steel, etc. Die steel can be generally divided into three categories: cold work die steel, hot work die steel and plastic die steel according to the main purpose.

1. Cold work die steel

Cold work die steel is mainly used to manufacture dies that press and form workpieces in a cold state. Such as: cold blanking dies, cold stamping dies, cold drawing dies, embossing dies, cold extrusion dies, thread pressing dies and powder pressing dies, etc.

The range of cold work die steel is very wide, from various carbon tool steel, alloy tool steel, high speed tool steel to powder high speed tool steel and powder high alloy tool steel.

2. Hot work die steel

Hot work die steel is mainly used to manufacture dies that press-work workpieces at high temperature. Such as: hot forging dies, hot extrusion dies, die casting dies, hot upsetting dies, etc.

Commonly used hot work die steels are: alloy die steels with medium and high carbon content added with alloying elements such as Cr, W, Mo, V; for hot work die steels with special requirements, high-alloy austenitic heat-resistant die steels are sometimes used.

3. Plastic mold steel

Due to the variety of plastics, the requirements for plastic products are also very different, and various performance requirements are also put forward for the materials used to make plastic molds. Therefore, many industrially developed countries have formed a wide range of steel series for plastic molds.

Including carbon structural steel, carburized plastic mold steel, pre-hardened plastic mold steel, age-hardening plastic mold steel, corrosion-resistant plastic mold steel, free-cutting plastic mold steel, overall hardened plastic mold steel, martensite Aging steel and plastic mold steel for mirror polishing, etc.

4. Non-magnetic die steel

Non-magnetic die steel is a kind of high manganese vanadium series die steel, which can maintain stable austenite in various states, has very low magnetic permeability, high hardness and strength, and good wear resistance. After proper solution and aging treatment, it has better comprehensive properties: good plasticity, high toughness, high tendency to work hardening, high thermal expansion coefficient, high resistivity, low thermal conductivity and low magnetic properties. It has a wide range of applications in the fields of non-magnetic construction, non-magnetic machinery, mineral processing and prospecting equipment and military.

This article introduces the use of die steel, including cold work die steel, hot work die steel, plastic die steel, non-magnetic die steel, etc. We hope it will be helpful to you.

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