Hot/cold work mold steel

Due to carbide defects and poor machinability of cold work die steel Cr12MoV (SKD11/D2), conventional forging and heat treatment processes tend to cause die cracking and short service life. This paper introduces key forging parameters, analyzes the drawbacks of conventional spheroidizing annealing, quenching and tempering processes, and proposes a combined forging-heat treatment process as well as three improved quenching and tempering processes (low-temperature, medium-temperature and high-temperature) with their respective applicable working conditions. The study verifies that high-temperature austenitization can refine carbides and greatly improve toughness. Optimizing carbide uniformity is the key to enhancing the steel’s performance. The combined forging-heat treatment process can balance product quality, energy conservation and production efficiency, which is worthy of widespread promotion.

Hot work tool steels, such as H11 (1.2343) and H13 (1.2344), play a critical role in various industrial applications, particularly where tools are subjected to high temperatures and harsh conditions. These steels are specifically engineered to withstand the intense thermal cycles, mechanical stresses, and abrasive wear that are typical in hot working processes, such as forging, casting, and extrusion.

Slow cooling after forging will result in coarse structure and the appearance of network carbides, while high-temperature normalizing can improve the segregation of network carbides and materials. Therefore, efforts can be made to improve the annealed structure through two aspects: appropriate rapid cooling after forging, high-temperature normalizing, and finally spheroidization annealing.

Thermal cycling, which refers to the repeated heating and cooling of materials during manufacturing processes, plays a significant role in hot forging operations. In these processes, materials are exposed to extreme temperature fluctuations, which can cause thermal stresses and contribute to material degradation over time.

Hot press molds are critical components in high-temperature manufacturing processes such as forging, die-casting, and extrusion, where they must withstand extreme heat, mechanical stress, and thermal cycling. These molds are designed to shape materials under high pressure and temperature, requiring durable and high-performance materials to maintain integrity and achieve precise shapes.

Die forging and casting are two key manufacturing processes used to create metal parts, each with distinct advantages depending on the application. Die forging involves shaping metal using high pressure in a die, resulting in parts with superior strength, toughness, and precision.