Mold steel is a special type of steel, also known as mold steel. It is mainly used for manufacturing industrial steel for various measuring tools, molds, and plastic molds. Mold steel is widely used in modern industry due to its high surface hardness, strong wear resistance, high comprehensive strength, and strong thermal stability. Therefore, the production of mold steel is currently one of the research hotspots in many industrial fields.
1、 Material composition of die steel
The raw materials for mold steel are mainly composed of elements such as iron, chromium, molybdenum, and nickel. In materials, iron accounts for the highest proportion, reaching over 95%, while other elements such as chromium, molybdenum, and nickel are quenching elements of steel. Adding them can not only improve the strength of the steel, but also improve its ductility and heat resistance.
2、 Manufacturing process of die steel
1. Material selection
The first step in making mold steel is material selection. In industry, we usually use high-quality billets for steelmaking, mixing a series of elements such as iron, chromium, molybdenum, and nickel together for blast furnace smelting. Then, we further purify, sulfurize, and deoxygenate the molten steel from the steelmaking process to obtain high-quality mold steel.
2. Forging
Forging is a key link in the production of mold steel. In the forging process, we need to hot working the initially processed die steel billet into the shape and size of the die. The complex shape and size requirements of mold steel require the use of advanced mechanized equipment, as well as advanced operating technology and experience, in order to use high-temperature, high-pressure, and high-speed processing to forge mold steel blanks into molds that meet specifications.
3. Heat treatment
After forging, the mold steel should first be treated with a mold steel heat treatment device to fully utilize its potential. During the heat treatment process, quenching and tempering processes need to be carried out separately to achieve optimal hardness and strength of the mold steel. Specifically, the purpose of quenching is to increase the surface hardness of the mold steel to resist external impact and wear forces; The purpose of tempering is to reduce the hardness of the mold steel, increase its heat resistance, and also reduce thermal brittleness, achieving the effect of reducing deformation and extending service life.
3、 Use of die steel
After the above three steps of production and processing, mold steel has become a high-quality steel product. It has the characteristics of high hardness, strong comprehensive strength, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and can withstand extremely high pressure and temperature. Therefore, it is widely used in the manufacturing of various measuring tools, molds, and plastic molds in modern industry, bringing higher quality products and more efficient production experiences to everyone.
4、 Conclusion
Overall, the production of mold steel is a well-established, technically complex, and scientifically rigorous process. Due to the important role of mold steel in industrial applications, in order to maintain stable quality and balanced strength of mold steel, it is necessary to strive for excellence and rigorous execution in material selection, forging, and heat treatment processes. The mold steel production process described and summarized in this article is a result of our exploration and summary in production practice. We believe it has a good reference value for readers in the production and use of mold steel.
