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Swedish tool steel in every language

Short lead times, consistent supply and service support worldwide. For Uddeholm, business has no borders. Our presence on every continent guarantees that you always get the same high quality of tool steel wherever you are.

Material Selection 1

Mould steel selection

LENA RÅHLÉN, PRODUCT MANAGER PLASTIC MOULD MATERIALS, UDDEHOLMS AB

Factors influencing a plastic mould performance

Polymer Polymer Mould Manufacturing

Part Design

Mould Design

Polymer

Use and Maintenance

Heat treatment

Steel grade and hardness selection

Material Selection 3

• Moulding method

• Plastic material

• Mould size

• Number of shots

• Surface finish

Important parameters for mould steel selection:

Material Selection 4

Plastic Processing Methods

Process

• Plastic extrusion

• Compression moulding

• Blow moulding

• Injection moulding

Critical property

• Wear and corrosion resistance

• High strength and wear resistance

• Corrosion resistance

• Wear and corrosion resistance, strength and

ductility

•

Material Selection 5

Important to know about the plastic raw material for the right mould material recommendation

It is not possible to recommend one steel grade just by knowing the name of the plastic material.

What do we need to know about the plastic used?

To find out Possible problem

Temperature High Tempering effect

Injection pressure High Indentations/wear, flash on plastic, cracking

Reinforcement Glas fibre Abrasive wear

Other additives Flame retardent additives, eg halogens

Corrosion

Material Selection 6

Increasing wear resistance

ALUMEC 89 Soft annealed steel

~45-58 HRC

~30-45 HRC

PM steels

UNIMAX STAVAX ESR MIRRAX ESR ORVAR SUPREME

MIRRAX 40 NIMAX CORRAX IMPAX SUPREME MOLDMAX HH/XL RAMAX HH HOLDAX ROYALLOY

>58 HRC

~150-250 HB

Steel grades and hardness recommended depending on needed wear resistance

Need for higher abrasive wear resistance when using fiber reinforced plastic

Material Selection 7

Same hardness, but different abrasive wear resistance

SVERKER 3 Conventional 58-60 HRC

VANADIS 4 PM

58-60 HRC

Carbides

UNIMAX Conventional/ESR

~58 HRC

Material Selection 8

• The bigger the mould, the higher the demand on toughness

o High clamping force in big injection moulding machines

• The bigger the mould, the more difficult to heat treat

o What heat treatment facility is locally available?

Mould size

Material Selection 9

Grades recommended for big moulds for plastic applications

Uddeholm grade Standard Working hardness

Prehardened IMPAX SUPREME NIMAX MIRRAX 40 High Hardness ORVAR SUPREME VIDAR 1 ESR MIRRAX ESR

W Nr: 1.2738, AISI P20 W Nr 1.2344, AISI H13 W Nr 1.2343, AISI H11 ~ AISI 420 Modified

290-330 HB 360-400 HB 360-400 HB 46-48 HRC 46-48 HRC 46-48 HRC

Material Selection 10

Long runs > 1.000.000 shot

High hardness steels 40-65 HRC

Medium runs 100.000-1.000.000 shots

Prehardened steel 30-45 HRC

Short runs <100.000 shots

Soft annealed steel or aluminium 160-250 HB

What is a long or a short run?

Long or short run is relative. Short run for a simple part can be long run for a highly reinforced engineering plastic part

Material Selection 11

ALUMEC 89 Soft annealed steel

~45-58 HRC

~30-45 HRC

PM steels

UNIMAX STAVAX ESR MIRRAX ESR ORVAR SUPREME

MIRRAX 40 NIMAX CORRAX IMPAX SUPREME MOLDMAX HH/XL RAMAX HH HOLDAX ROYALLOY

Increasing wear resistance

>58 HRC

~150-250 HB

Steel grades recommended for different expected number of shots

Material Selection 12

Surface demands

o polished

o etched

o EDM´d

Important material properties

o low inclusion content

o homogeneity

Surface finish

Material Selection 13

Recommended:

Electro Slagg Remelted

o POLMAX

o STAVAX ESR

o MIRRAX ESR

o ORVAR SUPREME

o VIDAR 1 ESR

o UNIMAX

o MIRRAX 40

Powder Metallurgy

o ELMAX

o VANADIS

Conventional Steel

o IMPAX SUPREME

o NIMAX

Not recommended:

Holder material with high sulphur content

o RAMAX HH

o ROYALLOY

Conventionally produced high carbon high alloyed steels:

o SVERKER-type (D2 type)

Surface finish- Steels for high requirements

Material Selection 14

15

Factors that affect the surface finish

Material Selection

Minimize the risk of corrosion

Mould design

- Good surface finish

- Avoid contact between different metals

Steel

- Corrosion resistant steel, high Cr-content

- Surface coating

Production

- Cooling water, avoid Cl

Material Selection 16

Material Selection 17

The ”Stainless Concept” from Uddeholms AB, consists of eight stainless steel grades

Stainless concept

Mould base material Mould material

Material Selection

ELMAX

POLMAX STAVAX ESR

CORRAX

MIRRAX 40 ROYALLOY

RAMAX HH MIRRAX ESR

18

Maintenance

Visible costs Mould material Mouldmaking costs

Hidden costs Cleaning Repolishing Repair welding Stop in production Delays in deliveries

Material Selection 19

Summary Critical properties for mould material

•Long run moulds

•Reinforced plastic Wear resistance and

hardness

•”Crack resistance” Toughness

• Plastic raw material

• Cooling water

• Maintenance Corrosion resistance

• Surface finish

• Ductility

• Fatigue resistance Cleanliness

•Cycle time

•Tolerances Thermal conductivity

Material Selection 20

Industry trends and demands Plastics

• Longer tool life:

- At least 1 million

- More than 2 M

• Improved part quality

- High surface finish

- Less deformation

- Less flashes

• Increased productivity

- More productive tools

- Less down time

- Less maintenance

Material Selection 21

Grades used for plastic moulds -prehardened steel grades

Uddeholm grade Standard Delivery condition (HB)

IMPAX SUPREME NIMAX MIRRAX 40 HOLDAX RAMAX HH ROYALLOY

(W Nr1.2738), AISI P20 W.nr: 1.2312

290-330 360-400 360-400 290-330 320-350 290-330

Material Selection 22

Material Selection

Uddeholm Mirrax 40 a versatile corrosion resistant mould steel for convenient making of demanding moulds

Fast tool making

- No heat treatment necessary

- Easy to machine

Excellent surface finish possible

- ESR remelted

Less maintenance

- Corrosion resistance

- High prehard hardness

Safer production

- Toughness/ductility

Advantages for tool maker and/or tool user:

Uddeholm Mirrax 40 for many different types of moulds and products

23

Material Selection

Uddeholm Mirrax 40 Applications

Main applications includes:

• Moulds for corrosive and/or recycled plastics, both for extrusion and

injection moulding

• Moulds with complicated design causing problem with cracking or

distorsion/dimensional changes during heat treatment

• Moulds with demands on polishability/etchability

• Moulds with demands on corrosion resistance for low maintenance

Examples:

• Moulds for flat screen TV´s and panels

• Head & Tail Lamps

• General moulds, esp. for corrosive resins

24

Material Selection 25

Uddeholm RoyAlloy

Applications

Mould bases

Plastic and rubber moulds with low demands on surface finish

Constructional parts

Plastic extrusion

Material Selection 26

Uddeholm RoyAlloy Features:

Enhanced Machinability

Improved Stability

Elimination of Brittle Failures

Greater Ductility

Consistent Hardness

Superior Weldability

Better Plate Surface and Appearance

Material Selection 27

Uddeholm RoyAlloy Enhanced machinability

Enhanced surface finishes and threads

Increased cutting tool life

Material Selection 28

RoyAlloy plate 152mm x 711mm x 813mm (6”x 28”x32”) After extensive machining, distortion corner to corner - 0.15mm (0.006”)

Uddeholm RoyAlloy Enhanced machinability

Uddeholm Nimax

Material Selection

A low carbon mould steel delivered at a hardness of ~40 HRC.

A challenge to the traditional

W Nr 1.2738/P20 High Hard grades

29

Material Selection

EDM surface properties rough EDM Cu electrode

Distance from surface (mm)

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

0 0,02 0,04 0,06 0,08 0,1 0,12

Ha

rdn

ess (

mH

V5

0)

1.2714 1.2738 Nimax-2

No hard layer after EDM and no need for tempering

30

31

Material

Absorbed Energy, (J)

HB S-T T-L L-T

C 1 ~ 395 5.8 11.0 16.1

N 80 ~ 402 5.1 5.8 12.5

Nimax ~ 373 33.1 34 41.2

2738 HH ~ 420 5.5 10.2 12.9

T 44 ~ 425 9 14 14

L-T = longitudinal (length) direction T-L = transverse (width) direction S-T = short transverse (thickness) direction = weakest direction

Toughness, Charpy-V

Material Selection

Uddeholm Nimax

Advantages for tool maker • Short machining time and low tool wear

- Good machinability

• Short time needed to achieve fine surface finish

- Finer surfaces after machining

• Short grinding time after EDM

- No hard ”white layer” after EDM’ing and no need for tempering

• Good polishability - Low amount of inclusions and good

structure

• Easy to weld

- No preheating or post treatment necessary

Advantages for tool user • Safe mould use

- Good toughness

• Good wear and indentation resistance

- Supplied at ~40 HRC

• Good wear resistance after nitriding - High surface hardness after nitriding

• Consistent properties through large

sections - More uniform hardness over the cross

section

• Easy to weld

- No preheating or post treatment necessary

Material Selection 32

Applications

• Moulds for plastic injection

- Appliances

- Panels and handles

- Packaging industry

- Containers of different types

- Automotive industry

- Larger interior parts

- Reflectors

• Holders for forging and die casting dies

• Hot runner manifolds

• Engineering parts

Material Selection 33

Grades used for plastic moulds - high hardness steel grade

Uddeholm grade Standard Working hardness (HRC)

Delivery condition (HB)

ORVAR SUPREME VIDAR 1 ESR STAVAX ESR MIRRAX ESR POLMAX UNIMAX CORRAX ELMAX VANADIS 4 EXTRA

W.nr: 1.2344, AISI H13 W.nr: 1.2343, AISI H11 W.nr: ~1.2083, AISI 420

46-52 46-52 50-52 50-52 50-52 52-58 32-50 56-58 60-64

185 185 190 250 190 200 34 HRC 250 250-290

Material Selection 34

Grades used for plastic moulds -other alloys

Grade Alloy type Delivery condition (HB)

ALUMEC 89 (Prodax) MOLDMAX HH MOLDMAX XL

Aluminium alloy (7000 series) Beryllium Cupper Cupper alloy

165 360 280

Material Selection 35

Welding filler material from Uddeholm

Welding filler material

Uddeholm Impax Supreme

Weld/TIG Weld

Uddeholm Nimax

TIG Weld/Laser Weld

Uddeholm Corrax TIG Weld

Uddeholm Mirrax TIG Weld

Uddeholm Stavax ESR

TIG Weld/Laser Weld

Uddeholm Unimax TIG Weld

Moldmax Weldpak

Material Selection 36

Property guideline

Material Selection 37

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