5. DIE STEELS

DIE STEELS
DIE STEELS
Pressure die casting offers an economical way of producing large quantity

of complex , high tolerance part of aluminum, magnesium, zinc and copper
alloys.
The continued growth of the die casting process depends, to an extent, on the
greater use of die casting in automotive industries where the weight
reduction is increasingly important.
Long production run has focused on attention on importance of obtaining

improved die life.
DIE STEELS
The steel acceptance criteria includes:
 Chemical composition,
 Hardness range,
 Microcleanliness levels,
 Ultrasonic requirements,
 Microstructural requirements,
 Impact strength capability.
DIE STEELS
The heat treatment acceptance criteria includes:

 Furnace requirements
 Pre-heating,
 Austenitizing
 Tempering temperatures and times;
 Quenching requirements;
 Microstructural requirements; and,
 Hardness and
 Impact strength testing
Demands on the Die Cast Product
The trends in product design are going towards:

• Larger components
• Thinner wall thicknesses
• More complicated shapes
• Closer tolerances
These factors favor use of high pressure die casting over other
casting methods like low pressure & gravity die casting.
Aluminium pump housing fixed to the filling system, i.e. runners,
gates
Influencing factors on the die life of die casting tools
Die performance
Die life depends on
Part size & design
Alloy type
Care and maintenance of the die.
The life of a die can be prolonged by suitable treatment before & during
casting by:
• Suitable Preheating
• Correct Cooling
• Surface Treatment
• Stress Tempering(Final Stress Tempering is performed to remove
machining stresses before a final machining operation to tighten tolerances.)
Die performance
The high cost can be justified by the life of die in terms of

“Quantity and Quality” of production
To obtain economical die life, steels used must be of suitable

composition, with proper heat treatment process.
Demands on die steel for die casting
Die casting dies are exposed
To severe thermal and mechanical cyclic loading,
Puts high demands on die material.
There are thus a number of phenomena which restrict die life
The most important are:

• Thermal fatigue (heat checking)
• Corrosion/erosion
• Cracking (total failure)
• Indentation (depression; hollowness;dent marks)
Factors in selection of - Die Steels
Structural soundness and uniformity
Good machiniability
Heat resistance to heat checking
Sufficient strength and hardness to resist deformation
Sufficient toughness to resist cleavage cracking

Factors in selection of - Die Steels
Heat resistance to erosive and washing action of die casting alloy
High thermal conductivity
Low co-efficient of thermal expansion
Dimensional stability in heat treatment

CLASSIFICATION OF DIE STEELS
Hot Die Steel-HDS (Hot Work Steel) used for manufacturing

cores and cavities inserts in pressure die casting.
These steel are classified in to,
Chromium Based Hot Die Steel
Tungsten Based Hot Die Steel.

Chromium Based Hot Die Steel
 Good resistance to heat softening because of their medium Cr. contents

& addition of carbides forming elements such as Mo, W & V.
 Low carbon and low total alloy contents promote toughness at normal
working hardness of 44-45 Hrc.
 Higher W / Mo contents increases the strength but slightly reduces the

toughness.
 V added to increase resistance to washing (erosive wear)at high temp.

an increase in Silicon content improves oxidation resistance at temp. up
to 800*c.
 Most widely used types in this group is H11,H12 & H13, for casting Al,
Mg & Zn alloys.
Specification Chemical Composition of Chromium Based Hot Die Steel
Tungsten Based Hot Die Steel
 Principal alloying elements - Carbon, Tungsten, Chromium &

Vanadium .
 The higher alloying contents of these steels make them more

resistance to high temp. softening and washing then of H11
to H13steels.
 However high alloying contents also make them more prone

to brittleness at normal working hardness(45 to 55 Hrc)
Tungsten Based Hot Die Steel
 Can be air hardened, & usually quenched in oil or hot salt to

minimize scaling. When air hardened they exhibit low
distortion.
 Requires higher hardening temp than Chromium based hot

work steels.
 Used for Die Casting of Copper based alloys.

Specification Chemical Composition of Tungsten Based Hot Die Steel
AISI
IS GRADE GRADE C Mn Cr W Mo V
T35W9Cr3V3.2 H21 0.32 0.3 3.1 9 - 0.4

PRE HARDENED STEELS
 Pre hardened steels are preferred for smaller production volumes.
 The main advantage of using pre-hardened steel is that, since it is supplied

in hardened condition, they don’t require further hardening after
machining.
 The commonly used Pre hardened steel is AISI-P20. It chemical

composition in % is as given below
QR – 90 SUPREME
LATEST STEEL USED IN HPDC

QR – 90 SUPREME
Typical C Si Mn Cr Mo V
analysis % 0,38 0,30 0,75 2,6 2,25 0,9
Delivery condition :- Soft annealed to approx. 180 HB

QR – 90 SUPREME
QRO 90 Supreme is a high-performance, Chromium Molybdenum-

Vanadium alloyed hot-work tool steel which is characterized by:
• Excellent high temperature strength and hot hardness
• Very good temper resistance
• Unique resistance to thermal fatigue
• Excellent thermal conductivity
• Good toughness and ductility in longitudinal
and transverse directions
• Uniform machinability
• Good heat treatment properties
Applications
QRO 90 Supreme will normally out-perform other standard hot work steels in both
aluminum, brass and copper die casting. Its excellent high temperature strength
ensures suppression of heat checking and prolonged die life.
Furthermore its high thermal conductivity gives the opportunity to reduce the cycle
time and improve productivity.
QRO 90 Supreme can be used for parts where resistance against heat checking,
erosion and bending is required.
Typical applications are cores, core pins, inserts, small- to medium-sized dies, shot
sleeves, moving parts for aluminum, brass and copper die casting.

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DIE STEELS

Pressure die casting offers an economical way of producing large quantity

Long production run has focused on attention on importance of obtaining

The steel acceptance criteria includes:

The heat treatment acceptance criteria includes:

The trends in product design are going towards:

The high cost can be justified by the life of die in terms of

To obtain economical die life, steels used must be of suitable

The most important are:

Structural soundness and uniformity

Heat resistance to heat checking

Sufficient strength and hardness to resist deformation

Sufficient toughness to resist cleavage cracking

Heat resistance to erosive and washing action of die casting alloy

High thermal conductivity

Low co-efficient of thermal expansion

Dimensional stability in heat treatment

Hot Die Steel-HDS (Hot Work Steel) used for manufacturing

These steel are classified in to,

Chromium Based Hot Die Steel

Tungsten Based Hot Die Steel.

 Good resistance to heat softening because of their medium Cr. contents

 Higher W / Mo contents increases the strength but slightly reduces the

 V added to increase resistance to washing (erosive wear)at high temp.

 Principal alloying elements - Carbon, Tungsten, Chromium &

 The higher alloying contents of these steels make them more

 However high alloying contents also make them more prone

 Can be air hardened, & usually quenched in oil or hot salt to

 Requires higher hardening temp than Chromium based hot

 Used for Die Casting of Copper based alloys.

T35W9Cr3V3.2 H21 0.32 0.3 3.1 9 - 0.4

 The main advantage of using pre-hardened steel is that, since it is supplied

 The commonly used Pre hardened steel is AISI-P20. It chemical

LATEST STEEL USED IN HPDC

analysis % 0,38 0,30 0,75 2,6 2,25 0,9

Delivery condition :- Soft annealed to approx. 180 HB

QRO 90 Supreme is a high-performance, Chromium Molybdenum-

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