Mold Steel Engineered for Better Mold Performance, Reduced Maintenance Costs

Edro Engineering and Specialty Steels’ RoyAlloy is a low-carbon, prehardened stainless mold steel engineered to offer better mold performance and reduced maintenance costs over traditional materials, particularly for high-cavitation injection mold bases.

According to the company, when compared to alternative steels, RoyAlloy offers better dimensional stability. Its low-carbon composition and manufacturing process eliminate retained austenite, thereby ensuring mold plates retain their dimensions over time, avoiding distortion and cracking common with 420F or DIN 1.2085.

It also offers higher thermal conductivity. With 15% higher thermal conductivity, RoyAlloy enhances cycle times, which is a crucial factor in high-productivity molding environments. Because of its unique microstructure, the material offers excellent machinability, enabling faster machining and longer tool life with smoother finishes and more reliable deep-hole drilling compared to other stainless steels.

The material also offers reduced distortion. RoyAlloy’s minimal internal mechanical stress ensures better stability and flatter mold plates, even after extensive machining, thereby reducing manufacturing time and achieving tight tolerances. Users will also benefit from the material’s increased corrosion resistance. Its composition offers excellent resistance to corrosion, enabling longer mold life and reduced downtime due to mold maintenance.

The material provides improved ductility and toughness, demonstrating double the ductility of 420F/DIN 1.2085, providing better resistance to cracking and mechanical failure, the company says. RoyAlloy also enables easy, reliable welding, with no cracking or hardness variation in the weld zone, simplifying repairs without affecting the tool’s mechanical properties.