2019 Technology Review: Mold Materials

Modified Remelting Process Improves Material Purity

Bohler M333 Isoplast is a recent development from Bohler (Austria) that is exclusively available from Edro Specialty Steels (Edro) in the United States. The material has been designed and developed for mold inserts with high demands for toughness, polishability, corrosion resistance and thermal conductivity. It is supplied in the soft, annealed condition and used after heat treatment to 50HRC using Bohler heat-treatment specification recommendations.

Edro says that M333 Isoplast is produced using an optimized chemistry, a modified production process and the latest steel re-melting technology known as Pressure Electroslag Remelting (PESR), which is a modified remelting process that results in improved purity and homogeneity. Nitrogen is added as an alloying constituent during the PESR process.

M333 Isoplast has toughness that has been increased to the same high level as H13ESR at 50HRC. It has approximately three times the toughness of 420ESR at similar hardness levels. Edro says that M333 Isoplast has polishability that is ideal for molds requiring the highest surface finishes and provides consistent savings in polishing time and mold polishing costs. According to the company, the unique chemical composition coupled with the modified production process results in improved corrosion resistance and thermal conductivity.

Pre-Hardened Steel Designed for Machinability

Hasco’s plate program, especially in the P1 range, has now been supplemented by a pre-hardened steel, 1.2714HH. This pre-hardened EU tool steel is designed for dimensional stability and toughness. Hasco says that with a maximum hardness of 400 HB, it makes for optimum processing properties in machinability.

Benefits to users include excellent material properties for machining, welding, surface coating and use in injection molding tools, the company says. Other applications for the material include the efficient production of cavity inserts, cores and sliders. The steel is also designed for wear resistance and polishing and etching properties. It can be nitrided, coated at temperatures below 510°C and has good thermal conductivity. Performance is enhanced by the high-precision machining and surface quality as well as the plane-parallelism. The tolerances are geared to modern manufacturing techniques. Plates made from this steel are readily available from stock in the usual measurements. Special dimensions as well as P and K20 plates of 1.2714HH are available on request.

Steel Resists Wear from Abrasive Resins, Extends Tool Life

International Mold Steel says that DC53 is a fully harnenable mold steel with good machinability, a wide range of applications and hardnesses, good polishability and excellent wear. DC53 heat treats consistently and stably, reduces rework and eases grinding. According to the company, one moldmaker who used DC53 reported that the material significantly reduced its tooling costs, the time it took to make cores and cavities and the amount of preventive maintenance. The same client said that DC53 withstood wear form glass-filled ABS carbon resin, and that the material is now its preferred mold steel for projects with highly abrasive resins.

Technical Specialist Helps Customers Choose Ideal Alloy

Ellwood Specialty Steel (Ellwood), a member company of Ellwood Group, has been actively stocking and marketing aluminum alloys to the molding industry for three years. Stocks of 5083, 6061 and 7075 aluminum tooling plate and Alumold 500 alloys are available from 0.25" to 42.00" thick, depending upon the alloy. Ellwood technical representatives are available to assist customers in choosing the most suitable aluminum for a given mold project. They can advise on matters pertaining to aluminum alloys and plastic compounds, projected process temperatures, part tolerances and estimated product volumes. Ellwood Group is building a new aluminum casting facility that will enable in-house production of cast alloys in large sizes. Ellwood says that this will better serve the tooling industry as mold sizes get larger and the benefits of aluminum molds become better utilized.

AM Powder Designed to Create Conformal Cooling Channels

Uddeholm announces the launch of Corrax additive manufacturing powder, a product designed for the additive manufacturing of tooling components. Uddeholm says that using Corrax additive manufacturing powder enables the creation of conformal cooling channels to reduce cycle times, among other possibilities. Uddeholm maintains that Corrax powder is excellent for additive manufacturing tooling applications because of high demand, short run series and the ever-increasing need for shorter lead times. Uddeholm exhibits at the NPE2018 in booth S31061. It features its complete line of plastic tooling solutions in addition to Corrax additive manufacturing powder.