TOOL AND DIE STEEL

By
K Ramesh Kumar
 Outline
 Basic Definitions
 Companies of Tool and Die Steel
 Classification of Tool Steel and their properties
 Chemical Composition and Heat Treatment
 Die and Die Materials
 General Shapes of Dies
 Die Manufacturing and their testing
 Die Failures and their reduction methods
 Surface Hardening and Measuring case depth
 Die Materials for different applications
 Case Studies
 Basic Definitions

Tool : A device, used to perform or facilitate manual or mechanical

work

Tool Steel : A variety of carbon and alloy steels that are particularly
well-suited to be made into tools
Their suitability comes from their distinctive hardness,
resistance to abrasion, their ability to hold a cutting edge, and
their resistance to deformation at elevated temperatures
 Worldwide Tool And Die Steel
Companies
Company Country Ingot Weight Press/Manipulator Cap. Product Weight

Metal Ravne Slovenia 42 T 4000T /50 T 29.5 T

Bohler Austria 5200 T 0.5 T

Japan cast and forging Japan 650 T 14000 T 160 T

corporation
CFHI Group China 600 T 6000 T 400 T

Cheron Forging Company China 6300 T 4T

China Forging Manufacturer China 4500 T 30 T

SK Forging Group China 6300 T 2T

Daido Steel Co. Ltd Japan 21 T 7000 T / 40 T

Saarstahl Germany 200 T 8,500 T 2.5 T

Buderus Edelstahl Germany 10,000T

Ellwood Specialty Steel USA 4500T

Latrobe Specialty Steel Company USA 14000T

Tool And Die Steel Companies in India
Company Name Location Ingot Weight Products

Kalyani Steel Limited Pune 40 T

Star Wire (India) Ltd Ballabgarh, Haryana 14 T
Sharu Steels Ludhiana, Punjab 7T DIN-1.2714, D-3, D-2, D-6, H-11,
H-13, M-2, M-35, EN-8, 9, 24, 31,
353, SAE-8620, 4140

Jaibalaji Group Kolkata High Carbon High Chrome, H – 11,

H – 13, Die Steel
ARCVAC Specialty steels Hooghly, West Bengal 17 T D1, D2, H1

Sadashiv Castings Chandigarh D3, D2, M3, M5

Kisco Castings Mandi Gobindgarh, 12T D3,H11, H13, M2
Punjab
Goradia Special Steels Ltd Khopoli, H11, H13, D2, D3, DIN – 1.2714
Maharashtra
Mahindra Ugine Steel Raigad, Maharastra 13 T
Company Limited
Mahavir Steel Industries Pune
Ltd
Tool and Die Making Forging Companies
in India
Company Location Press/Manipulator Cap. Job Weight

Bharat Forge Limited Pune 4000T 17.5T

Semco Forge Pvt Ltd Ghaziabad UP 400T 35 Kg

Mackiel Ispat Forging Ltd Durgapur West Bengal 3000 T/35T 25 T

Bay Forge Limited Kanchipuram Tamilnadu 3500T/40T

Mahindra Forgings Ltd Pune 1600T/12T

Rajkumar Forge Limited Pune 1600T 10 T

Sankalp Forgings Pvt Ltd Pune 3.5 T

Ramakrishna Forgings Kolkata 1000T 125 kg

Vikranth Forge Kolkata 8T

Viraj Forgings Ltd Mumbai 2500T/20T 1.2 T

Classification of Tool Steels
 High Speed Steels
Group T – Tungsten
Group M – Molybdenum
 Hot Work Steels
Chromium – H10 to H19
Tungsten - H21 to H26
Molybdenum - H41 to H43
 Cold Work Steels
Group A – Air Quenched
Group D – High Carbon, High Chromium
Group O – Oil Quenched
Classification of Tool Steels
 Shock – Resisting Steels

S1 to S7
 Special Purpose Steels

Group L
Group F
 Mold Steels

P2 to P6 Type
P20 & P21 type
Group M High Speed Steel
 Types M1, M2, M3, etc.,
 High Molybdenum content : 3.25 – 11.0 %
 Highest depth of hardening, Superior in toughness
 Maximum Hardness Ranges from 61 to 66 HRC
– Depending Upon Grade
 Used for high speed cutting tools and high abrasion areas
Group T High Speed Steel
 Types T1, T2, T3 etc.,
 High Tungsten content : 11.75 – 21.0 %
 Contain W, Mo, Cr, V, Co
 Hardness Ranges from 63 to 65 HRC
 Excellent in depth of hardening and decarburizing
resistance
 Use where high hot hardness is needed
Chromium Hot Work Steel
 Types H10 – H19
 Medium carbon and High chromium content
 Offers excellent toughness and high hardenability
 High Toughness @ HRC 40-55
 Low distortion during hardening
 Used for Tooling at Elevated Temperatures – Same as W, Mo
Grades
Tungsten Hot Work Steel
 Types H21 – H26
 High Tungsten content : 8.5 – 19 %
 Working Hardness Range is 42 – 58 HRC
 Quench in Oil or Salt to minimize scaling
 Offers greater resistance to the softening effect of elevated
service temperatures
Molybdenum Hot Work Steel
 Types H41 – H43
 High Molybdenum content : 8.2 – 9.2 %
 Medium carbon and high molybdenum content
 Greater Toughness than Tungsten Grades
 Air hardened and Hardness ranges from 58 – 60
HRC
Air Hardening Coldwork Steels
 Types A2 – A10
 Medium to ultra-high carbon : 0.50 – 2.50%
 Hardened in air
 Minimum Distortion
 Least Tendency to Crack During Hardening
 Use for Bushings, cutting, trimming, forming, bending
tools and tooling for medium runs
High Carbon, High Chromium Coldwork
Steels
 Types D2 – D7, Carbon from 1.40 – 2.50%
 Low Toughness
 Usually harden in air
 Offers excellent resistance to abrasion and wear
 Offer high degree of dimensional stability in heat
treatment
 Use for Cutting, coining, drawing tools, thread rolling dies
and Tooling for long runs
Oil Hardening Coldwork Steels
 Types O1 – O7
 Must be hardened in oil
 Hardness ranges from 56 – 62 HRC and high depth of
hardening
 High Carbon content : 0.85 – 1.1%
 Use for Coining tools for medium runs
 Shock Resisting Steels
 Types S1 – S7 for shock resisting applications
 Medium Carbon content : 0.40 – 0.55%
 High hardness and Highest toughness
 Good Wear Resistance at Low /Medium Temperatures
 For Hot work (punching), cold work, hot swaging, compression
molding applications
 Special Purpose Steels
 Group L : Types L2 – L6
 Group F : types F1 – F2
 Low alloyed steels
 Medium to high carbon content : 0.45 – 1.2%
 Usually Oil Quenched, can also be Water Quenched
 Cutting tools and knives, blanking and trimming sets, used
where exceptional toughness is required
 Mold Steels
 Low carbon content
 Must be carburized after machining

Types P2 – P6
 Can achieve surface hardness of HRC 58
Types P20 – P21
 Hardened to HRC 30-36
 Used for Low Temperature Die Casting Dies and Plastic
Mold Dies
 Water Hardening Steels
 Types W1, W2, W5 and Harden in water or brine
 Very low alloying elements
 High carbon content : 0.80 – 1.15%
 Where high abrasion resistance and hot hardness are
needed
 Coldwork tooling, such as cutting tools, cold heading dies,
Hot-work tooling application, such as drop forging dies
and Tooling for short runs
 Chemical Composition of tool Steel
C Mn P max S max Si Cr V W Mo

High speed 0.65/1.60 0.10/0.40 0.030 0.030 0.15/0.40 3.75/5.0 0.90/5.25 11.75/21.0 0.0/1.25
Tun - type

High speed 0.75/1.52 0.15/0.40 0.030 0.030 0.15/0.65 3.50/4.75 1.0/4.50 1.30/10.50 3.25/11.0
Moly- type

Hot work 0.22/0.75 0.15/0.70 0.030 0.030 0.15/1.25 1.75/12.75 0.20/0.50 0.0/19.0 0.0/3.0
H - type

Cold work 0.65/2.85 0.20/3.20 0.030 0.030 0.10/1.50 0.50/5.75 0.0/5.15 0.0/1.5 0.90/1.8
A - type

Cold work 1.40/2.50 0.10/0.60 0.030 0.030 0.10/0.60 11.0/13.5 0.0/4.40 0.0/1.0 0.0/1.20
D - type

Cold work 0.85/1.55 0.20/1.80 0.030 0.030 0.0/1.50 0.0/0.85 0.0/0.40 0.0/2.0 0.0/0.30
O - type

Shock resist 0.40/0.65 0.10/1.50 0.030 0.030 0.15/2.50 0.0/1.80 0.0/0.50 0.0/3.0 0.0/1.35
S-type

Special Purp 0.45/1.10 0.25/0.80 0.030 0.030 0.10/0.50 0.60/1.70 0.0/0.30 - 0.0/0.50
L - type

Special Purp 0.95/1.4 0.0/0.50 0.030 0.030 0.10/0.50 0.0/0.40 - 1.0/4.50 -

F - type

Mold 0.0/0.40 0.10/1.0 0.030 0.030 0.0/0.80 0.20/5.25 0.0/0.25 - 0.15/1.0

P - type
Heat Treatment of Tool Steels
Steel Annealing Stress Hardening Tempering
Grade Temp.(°C) Relieving (°C)
Temp.(°C) Preheat(°C) AustenitizingTemp.(°C)

T15 870 - 899 595 - 740 820 - 845 1165 - 1235 540
M2 843 - 871 594 - 705 816 - 843 1218 - 1246 552
M35 850 - 900 600 - 700 450 - 500 1050 - 1220 560
H13 850 - 870 600 - 650 650 - 850 1020 - 1050 500 - 650
H21 885 816 1177 594 - 677
A2 850 650 650 - 750 925 - 970 552
A11 871 - 899 621 - 677 816 - 846 1066 538 - 593
D2 650 - 850 500 - 650 650 - 750 990 - 1050 510
D3 872 - 899 649 649 - 677 927 - 954 150 - 260
O1 746 - 774 677 649 802 - 816 149 - 233
S7 844 677 677 941 - 955 205 - 649
P20 770 - 790 427 677 844 - 872 120 - 520
 Die Materials
Die : A die is a specialized tool used in manufacturing
industries to cut or shape material using a press or hammer
Required Properties :
 Thermal shock resistance
 Thermal fatigue resistance
 Mechanical fatigue resistance
 High temperature strength
 High wear resistance
 High toughness and ductility Forging Die
 High hardenability
 High dimensional stability during hardening
 High machinability
Common steel grades used for die making

Application Steel Grade Hardness, Rockwell C

Casting dies H10, H11, H13, D2
Blanking dies and punches (short runs) W2, A2, O1, M10, D2 57 - 65

Blanking dies and punches (long runs) A2, D2, M2, M7, D3 58 - 62
Bending dies O1, A2, D2 58 - 62
Coining dies S1, W1, A2, D2, D4 52 - 62
Drawing dies W1, W2, O1, O6, A2, D2, D4 58 - 64
Dies (cold extrusion) D2, M4, L6, H11, H13 60 - 65
Dies (lamination) M2, M4, D2, D4, T15, A7, D7 58 - 62
Dies (sizing) M2, M4, W2, D2 61 - 64
Dies and punches (trimming) W2, A2, D2, D4, M4, L6, M7 57 - 60
Punches (embossing) S1, S5 59 - 61
Punches (notching) W2, M2 57 - 60
 Die Life Effecting Factors
 Die material and hardness
 Work metal composition
 Forging temperature
 Condition of the work metal at forging surfaces
 Type of equipment used
 Work piece design
General Shapes of Forging Dies
Open Dies
 Flat Dies

 Swage Dies

 V – Dies

Closed Dies ( Impression Dies )

 Fullers

 Edgers

 Rollers

 Flatteners

 Benders

 Splitters

 Blockers

 Finishers
 General Shapes of Dies

 Blanking Dies Cut away portions of formed or drawn

Produces
Holes
Producewill a blank
be
blanks piercedbyat
having cutting
the the
same
straight, entiresides
station
parallel as
workpieces
Piercethat
holes
havein become
stampings
wavy and
periphery inthe
onepart
simultaneous
is blanked operation
irregular
 Cut – Off Dies

 Compound Dies

 Trimming Dies

 Piercing Dies
 General Shapes of Dies
Bent, formed or drawn workpieces are
 Shaving Dies To remove
Transform
Deforms
For aapplied
series of avertical
small of
portions
shaving
over
amount
motion
flatfor of metal
blanks
from
operations
the horn to from
thesome
press
performed
performing
around
ram the
one after edges of a position
intosecondary
horizontal
angular
the other blank
byor the or holemotion
angular
same in order
tool
operations
to improve the surface
 Broaching Dies

 Horn Dies

 Side Cam Dies

 Bending Dies
 General Shapes of Dies
Expands
Forms aExactly
Similarthe
to portion
material
bending ofatathe
drawn
except
opposite edge
thatshell
of causing
thea line
of bulging it
workpiece
of bend
onto a insteadtoof
circular bulge
shape or hollow ring
 Forming Dies is curved straight line and plastic
deformation in the material is more severe

 Drawing Dies

 Curling Dies

 Bulging Dies

 Swaging Dies
 General Shapes of Dies
Produces
Assemble
The stripwork
twowillorpieces
move
more by
in applying
parts
stages
together
from pressure
station
by to
press
to
Each slug
blanks, is partlyand
squeezing confined in the
displacing a cavity and
material
 Extruding Dies extremely fitting, riveting,
high pressure
until it assumes
station staking
the shapeisofapplied by and
the punch a punch
die
to cause the material in the slug to extrude

 Cold Forming Dies

 Progressive Dies

 Assembly Dies
 Die Manufacturing
Processing Steps
 Die Design (including geometry transfer and
modification)
 Rough machining (of die block and/or electrical
discharge machining or EDM, electrode)
 Heat treatment
 Finish machining (including semi finishing where
necessary)
 Manual finishing (including manual or automated
polishing)
 Tryout
 Die Manufacturing
Methods
 High Speed and Hard Machining
 Electrodischarge Machining (EDM)
 Sink EDM
 Wire EDM
 Hobbing
 Electrochemical
High Speed and Hard Machining
 The die cavity is usually rough machined to about
0.01 in. (0.3 mm) oversize dimensions
 Die is then hardened
 EDMed to final dimensions
Requirements and characteristics
 Feed rates: 50 ft/min (15 m/min) or higher
 Spindle rpm: 10,000 to 50,000
 Surface cutting speeds: 985 to 3280 ft/min
(300 to 1000 m/min)
Electrodischarge Machining(EDM)
 It is a versatile process for die making
Sink EDM
Advantages / Disadvantages
 Creates a good surface finish
 Accuracy and repeatability are high
 Hardness of the material doesn’t influence the efficiency of the
process
 The lead time required to design and manufacture the electrodes
Wire EDM
 Mainly used for manufacturing trimming dies
Hobbing
 A hardened (58 to 62 HRC) punch is pressed into an annealed, soft
die steel block, using a hydraulic press
 Particularly attractive for making dies with shallow cavities or dies
that can be hardened after the cavity has been produced
Casting
 Attractive where many dies of the same geometry are to be made
 The dies are made from nickel- and cobalt-base high-temperature
alloys
Electrochemical
 Only in selected applications
 Tests for die
 Hardness Test
 Toughness Test Rockwell Hardness Test
42 – 52 HRC depends on application
 Tensile Test
 Visual Inspection Charpy V – notch test

 Chemical Composition
Wallace thermal fatigue test
 Magnetic Particle Inspection Immersion into a molten aluminium at
For internal defects such as stringers,
730 °C
 Ultrasonic Test oxides, porosity, bursts, heavy segregation
 Wear Test
 Thermal cycling fatigue test
 Mechanical Fatigue Strength Test
 Ductile Brittle Transition Temperature(DBTT) Test

Die Failures in Cold and Hot Forging
Classification
 Wear

 Fatigue Fracture

 Plastic Deformation

Wear (Abrasion)
Thermal Fatigue
Mechanical Fatigue
Permanent deformation
Die Failures in Cold and Hot Forging

Fracture Mechanisms
 Mechanical Fatigue
 Thermal Fatigue
Wear Mechanisms
 Adhesive Wear
 Abrasive Wear
 Fatigue Wear
 Corrosive / Chemical Wear
 Effect of alloying elements

Tungsten ( W )
 Increases the toughness ( resistance to mechanical
fatigue) and resistance to thermal softening
Vanadium ( V )
 Improves the resistance to abrasion and Thermal fatigue
Molybdenum ( Mo )
 Resistance to thermal softening
Methods of Improving Resistance to
Mechanical Fatigue

 Die design and loading

 Material modification ( includes treatments )
Methods of Improving Resistance to
Thermal Fatigue

 Use of a Steel with Higher Yield Strength

 Lowering the Maximum Die Temperature
 Raising the Bulk Die Temperature
 Use of High-Quality Die Steel
 Use of Special Surface Finishes or Treatments
Methods of Improving Resistance to Wear

 Die steel that is harder and that retains its hardness

at high die temperatures
 Coating, hard facing, and surface treatment of dies
 Reducing the Scale
 Lubrication
 Lubrication
 Optimizes the material flow and facilitates the accurate filling
of die cavities
 Reduces wear at those points in the die cavity with the greatest
relative temperatures, sliding speeds and interface pressures
 Enables work piece release from the die after forging and
prevents sticking (adhesion) in both the cold and hot forging
processes
 The heat protection function that reduces the heat loss to the
dies and prevents excessive die chill
 Surface Hardening
Reasons to surface harden
 Increase wear resistance
 Increase surface strength for load carrying (crush
resistance)
 Impart favorable residual compressive stresses
 Improve fatigue resistance
 Produce tough core for resistance to impact
Surface Hardening Methods
Heat Treatment
 Induction
 Flame
 Laser
 Light
 Electron beam
Case Hardening
 Carburizing
 Cyaniding
 Carbonitriding
 Nitriding
 Case Hardening

Reasons for using this method

 Easy control of depth (good for quality control)
 Works well for complicated parts
 Cheap – lends itself to mass production
 Tougher structure than with medium or high C
 Carburizing
 Low-carbon steel is heated in a carbon-rich environment
– Pack carburizing - packing parts in charcoal or coke -
makes thick layer (0.025 - 0.150 in)
– Gas carburizing - use of propane or other gas in a closed
furnace - makes thin layer (0.005 - 0.030 in)
– Liquid carburizing - molten salt bath containing sodium
cyanide, barium chloride - thickness between other two
methods
 Followed by quenching, hardness about HRC 60
 Carbonitriding
 Introducing ammonia into the gas carburizing atmosphere to
add nitrogen to the carburized case
 Carried out at a lower temperature(851°C – 900°C) and for a
shorter time than is gas carburizing
 Used primarily to impart a hard, wear-resistant case
 Better hardenability than a carburized case(64 to 68 HRC)
 Dept of hardness 0.075 to 0.75 mm (0.003 to 0.030 in.) deep

Problem : the rate of nitrogen pick-up depends on the free

ammonia content of the furnace atmosphere and not the
percentage of ammonia in the inlet gas
 Nitriding
 Nitrogen diffused into surface of special alloy steels (aluminum
or chromium)
 Nitride compounds precipitate out
– Gas nitriding - heat in ammonia
– Liquid nitriding - dip in molten cyanide bath
Characteristics
 Case thicknesses between 0.001 and 0.020 in. with hardness up
to HRC 70
 Cases are harder than carburized cases
 Excellent wear resistance and fatigue resistance
Methods of Measuring Case Depth in
Steels

 Chemical Method
Used only for carburized,
 Mechanical Method cyanided or carbonitrided cases
The most accurate method of
measuring total case
useddepth
 Visual Methods The most widely method
Two Methods Procedure
Cross-Section
Combustion analysis
Taper-Grind Procedure
 Nondestructive Methods Two general categories
Spectrographic analysis
 Step-Grind
MacroscopicProcedure
Eddy current tests are the most frequently
Microscopic
used nondestructive tests in the
automotive industry
Die Materials for Different
Applications
Die Materials for Hammer Forging
Die Steel Hardness ( HRC)

For Carbon Steel

H12, 6G, 6F2, 6F3 38 – 48

For Alloy and Stainless Steel

H11, H12, H13, H26, 6G, 6F2 37 - 47

For Aluminum Alloys

H11, H12, 6G, 6F2 34 - 48

For Titanium Alloys

H11, H12, 6G, 6F2 40 – 52

For Heat Resistant Alloys / Nickel base Alloys

H11, H12, H13 47 - 50

Die Materials for Press Forging
Die Steel Hardness ( HRC)

For Carbon Steel

H12, 6F3 40 – 46

For Alloy and Stainless Steel

H11, H12, H13 47 - 55

For Aluminum Alloys

H12, 6G, 6F2 38 - 50

For Titanium Alloys

H11, H12, 6G, 6F2 38 – 55

For Heat Resistant Alloys / Nickel base Alloys

H11, H13, H26 50 - 56

 Die Materials for Hot Forging
 Low alloy steels
6G, 6F2, 6F3, 6F4, 6F5, 6F7
 Chromium base hot work
H10, H11, H12, H13, H14, H19
 Tungsten base hot work
H21, H22, H23, H24, H25, H26
 Air Hardening Medium Alloy Tool Steels
A2, A7, A8, A9
Die Materials for Cold Forging
Material Hardness ( HRC)
H13 50 – 54
A2 58 – 62
A8 40 – 44
D2 58 – 62
D3 58 – 62
O1 58 – 61
M2 62 – 64
M4 63 – 65
S1 56 – 58
W1 60
W2 60
Die Materials for Hot Extrusion
 For Steel, titanium alloys, nickel alloys Extrusion

H11, H13, H21 at 43 – 47 HRC

 Copper and copper alloys Extrusion

H21, H23, H26 at 36–45 HRC

 Aluminum and magnesium alloys Extrusion
H12, H13 at 46–50 HRC
Die Materials for Cold Extrusion

 Aluminum alloys Extrusion

W1
 Carbon steel, up to 0.40% C Extrusion

O1, A2
 Carburizing grades of alloy steel Extrusion

O1, A2
Steel Grades use for Plastic Injection
Molding
 Aluminum Molds
 H11, H13
 6F2, 6F7,
 D2, O2
 P2- P6, P15, P20, P21, P25, P35
 A Case Study
on
Failure Analysis of
Fractured Tool Steel Die
Plate
 About Problem
 A polymer filament die plate of D7
tool steel
 The die plate was a new material for
this application and was found
cracked after approximately only 30
minutes of service
 Cracking initiated at the cap screw
hole and propagated to the heater
hole and beyond in a rapid manner
 About Problem
Mechanical properties
 An extremely high and brittle hardness value of 81 to 84
Rockwell C (HRC)
 The core hardness of the die plate was 44 HRC

Chemical Composition

C Mn P S Si Cr V Mo

2.15/2.50 0.10/0.60 0.030 0.030 0.10/0.60 11.50/13.50 3.80/4.40 0.70/1.20

 Fractography
The opened crack
The opened crack in initiation region
the nitride case area revealing the nitride
The surface is case around the
oxidized, masking the fracture surface
original features The surface
morphology indicates
the crack initiated
from the partial
thread root

The original crack

through the core A non-oxidized dimpled
region it is highly morphology, indicating
oxidized ductile overload is
revealed
 Microstructure

Reveals the intergranular white

nitride network in the cracked Reveals the dark nitride
outer case diffusion zone (case)

Optical image of the nitride case

The white spherical particles in the microstructure are
carbides
The elongated thin white structure is a network of iron
nitride/carbonitrides along boundaries, resulting in an
embrittled case
 Conclusions
 The die plate cracked as a result of a brittle nitrided case and
an insufficient cross-sectional area of the narrow ligament
between the cap screw hole and the heater cartridge hole on
the inlet face
 Cracking initiated at the cap screw hole and propagated to
the heater hole and beyond in a rapid manner
 The heating of the inserted heater cartridge caused thermal
stress on the adjoining thin ligament (cap screw wall)
resulting in cracking of the extremely hard and brittle
nitrided case
 Recommendations
 The die plate not be nitrided, should be double tempered
at 372° C immediately after quenching, which results in
a higher hardness and improved corrosion resistance
 The cap screw hole be moved farther from the heater
cartridge hole to increase the thickness between these
two
 Slower heat up of the heater cartridges would also aid in
reduced thermal stresses during start-up
 A Case Study
On

Failure Analysis of H13

Gear Blank Forging Dies
 About Problem

 Dies are of Pre - hardened and vacuum heat treated

H13 die steel
 Both dies failed at less than 60 °C
 The failures appeared to have started near the center
radius of the die and propagated outward
 About Problem
Mechanical properties
 The hardness of the pre-hardened stock dies is 43 – 47 HRC
and Toughness of 34 MPa
 The hardness of the vacuum heat treated stock dies is 41 – 44
HRC and Toughness of 47 Mpa

Chemical Composition

Grade C Mn P S Si Cr V Mo

Premium 0.37/0.42 0.20/0.50 ≤ 0.025 ≤ 0.005 0.80/1.20 5.0/5.50 0.80/1.20 1.20/1.75

Superior 0.37/0.42 0.20/0.50 ≤ 0.015 ≤ 0.003 0.80/1.20 5.0/5.50 0.80/1.20 1.20/1.75

 Fractography

Shows some large oxide inclusions near the

center radius of the die where the failure is Shows possible crack due to machining
believed to have initiated

Shows forging/fracture surface

Shows the radial lines on the surface
Reveals that failure is of brittle type
pointed to the source of failure as
Failure mode is low cycle high stress
being near the center radius of the die Forging/fracture surface interface
fatigue
 Micrography

The microconstituents of the vacuum heat

treated material appeared slightly finer than
Possible Machining Defect
the pre-hardened material

The pre-hardened stock dies The vacuum heat treated stock dies
 Conclusions
 It was clear that no signs of fatigue were present on the dies and the
failures occurred in a brittle manner
 The failure mode was determined to be low cycle, high stress
fatigue
 Oxide inclusions were found at the failing radius of the dies,
however, they could not be pinpointed as the exact origins of failure
 The vacuum heat treated stock to have a greater value of fracture
toughness than the pre-hardened stock
 With a larger fracture toughness value, a material is able to
withstand a greater force without a crack propagating to failure
 Recommendations
 The hardness of the prehardened stock should be lowered to
the same range as the vacuum heat treated material to gain
valuable fracture toughness properties
 The tempering temperature of the pre-hardened stock should
be increased to the same level or greater than the vacuum
heat treated material
 If the lower hardness values, as a result of lower the
tempering temperature, is not acceptable, surface treating,
such as nitriding or carburizing, may extend die life