Wear resistance is a key factor in determining the lifespan of stamping dies. The order of decreasing wear resistance is carbon steel - alloy steel - high-carbon high-chromium steel - high-speed steel. Cold work die steels include SKD11, D2, DC53, CrWMn, 9CrWMn, Cr12WMoV, Cr12Mo1V1, A2, and LD, among others. Materials used for manufacturing stamping dies encompass steel, hard alloys, steel-bonded hard alloys, zinc alloys, low-melting alloys, aluminum bronzes, and high molecular materials. Currently, steel is the predominant material for making stamping dies, with commonly used materials for die working parts including carbon tool steel, low-alloy tool steel, high-carbon high-chromium or medium-chromium tool steel, medium-carbon alloy steel, high-speed steel, matrix steel, hard alloys, and steel-bonded hard alloys.
Carbon Tool Steel: High carbon tool steel T8A, T10A, etc. Used in molds, offering good processing properties and low cost. However, it has poor hardenability and red hardness, significant deformation during heat treatment, and low load-bearing capacity.
2. Low-Alloy Tool Steel: Low-alloy tool steel is a type of tool steel based on carbon tool steel, enhanced with appropriate alloy elements. Compared to carbon tool steel, it reduces quenching deformation and cracking tendencies, improves the steel's hardenability, and offers better wear resistance. Low-alloy steels used for making molds include CrWMn, 9Mn2V, 7CrSiMnMoV (code CH-1), and 6CrNiSiMnMoV (code GD).
High Carbon High Chromium Tool Steel: Common high carbon high chromium tool steels include Cr12, Cr12MoV, and Cr12Mo1V1 (code D2), which boast excellent hardenability, quenching ability, and wear resistance with minimal distortion during heat treatment. They are high-wear resistance micro-deformation die steels, with load-bearing capacity second only to high-speed steel. However, they suffer from severe carbide segregation, necessitating repeated upsetting and drawing (axial upsetting and radial drawing) to reduce the inhomogeneity of carbides and enhance their performance.
4. High Carbon Medium Chromium Tool Steel: High carbon medium chromium tool steels used in molds include Cr4W2MoV, Cr6WV, Cr5MoV, etc. They have low chromium content, fewer eutectic carbides, uniform carbide distribution, minimal distortion during heat treatment, and excellent hardenability and dimensional stability. Compared to high carbon high chromium steels with severe carbide segregation, their performance is improved.
