14 Material and Heat Treatment of Jigs &
14 Material and Heat Treatment of Jigs &
14 Material and Heat Treatment of Jigs &
AND HEAT
TREATMENT
OF JIGS &
FIXTURES
Die Steels
These are also called high
carbon(1.5-2.3%) high chromium
(12%) (HCHC) cold working steels
and are used for cutting press
tools and thread forming rolls. Hot
die steels with lesser carbon
(0.35%) and chromium (5%) but
alloyed with molybdenum (1%) and
vanadium (033-1%) for retention of
hardness at high temperature are
used for high temperature work
like forging, casting and extrusion.
Carbon Steels
These contain 0.85-1.18% carbon and
can be oil hardened to RC62-63.
These can be used for tools for
cutting softer materials like
woodwork, agriculture, etc. and also
for hand tools, such as files, chisels
and razors. The Parts of jigs and
fixtures like bushes and locators,
which are subjected to heavy wear
can also be made from carbon steels
and hardened.
Mild Steel
It is the cheapest and most widely
used material in jigs and fixtures. It
contains less than 0.3% carbon. It is
economical to make parts which are
not subjected to much wear and are
not highly stressed.
Cast Iron
It contains 2-2.5% carbon. As it can
withstand vibrations well, it is used widely
in milling fixtures. Self-lubricating properties
make cast iron suitable for machine slides
and guide-ways. The ingenious shaping of a
casting and the pattern can save a lot of
machining time. Although, the strength of
cast iron is only half the strength of mild
steel, a wide variety of grades have been
developed. Nodular cast iron is as strong as
mild steel, while mechanite castings have
heat resistant, wear resistant, and corrosion
resistant grades.
Phospher Bronze
It is widely used for replaceable nuts
in screw operated feeding and
clamping systems. Generally screw
making process is time consuming
and costly. So, their wear is
minimized by using softer, shorter
phospher bronze mating nuts. These
can be replaced periodically.