Materials UsedFor Die Parts

10.1KIND OFTOOLING In general, short-run orsingle-operation dies are used for smallvolume production where the cost oftooling must be kept low because it is the major cost factor, and the cheapesttool materials are used. Compound dies are used for medium to largevolumeproduction where intricacy is not the dominant problem and where accuracy oftenis. Progressive dies are used for mediumvolume, and particularly forlarge-volume, production where the die is preferably not made as intricate asthe part. In adjacent and simultaneousblanking operations where the die sections are thin or intricate, type A preferred for longerruns. 10.2DIECOMPONENTS Piercing punches. &he usuallimiting slenderness ratio of punch diameter to sheet thickness for aluminum,brass and steel is .' - to ( ! for unguided punches and ! - to - ! for guidedpunches. &he limiting slenderness ratio of punch diameter to sheet thickness forpiercing spring steel and stainless steel is from %-to-! to !.'-to-! forunguided, punches, and from ! ( to - ! to ".' ( to - ! for accurately guidedpunches. )here these usual limits aree*ceeded and breakage cannot be eliminated by stepping the punches, tool steelssuch as +!, A # less than " mm. or ' mm. and are used. )! is used if the diameter is greater than!" mm.but toolsteel is preferred for runs up to !"",""" parts of most materials. # , $ , $% or carbide is

Piercing-Punch ,ushings. &herecommended materials for piercingpunch bushings of all three types -.uillretainer, guide or stripper, and die button/, particularly for bushings of theprecision type, for instance, where the outside diameter is ground to ( ", 0".""1' mm., concentric with the inside diameter within ".""' mm. &he hardness ofthe )! bushing should be 2ockwell C3 the $ bushing, 2ockwell C3! to 3%. $ie plates and die parts thathold inserts are made of class '" gray iron, alloy steel, or -for heavy work/tool steel, and of cast iron or low-carbon wrought steel for blanking andpiercing soft and thin materials. 6or blanking or piercing thicksheets or hard materials, either gray iron of ,7"" to 4, "" 8gs. 9 cm.: tensilestrength or 4!4" treated to 2ockwell C %" to 4" should be used. Particularly on heavy-gage or hard materialand on long runs for which inserts are pressed in, steels like 4%4" or ;!! areused5 when inserts are screwed into the die plate, 4%4" is nearly always used. $ie plates for blanking orpiercing thin or soft sheets may be made of gray iron of steel. Punch holders and die shoes forcarbide dies are of high-strength gray iron or mild steel plate. <okes retainingcarbide sections are usually made of +!, hardened to 2ockwell C '' to 3". ,ackupplates for carbide tools are preferably made of +!, hardened to 2ockwell C 47 to' . =tripper plates can ordinarilybe made of some low-carbon or medium-carbon steel like !" " or !"%'. )here ahardened plate, is used for medium-production work, the preferred steels areflamehardened 4!4", conventionally hardened )! or for intricate ,!"" to 4, "" 8gs. 9cm.: tensile strength, or mild to 345 that of

shapes,cyanided and oil-.uenched )!. 6or carbide dies and highproduction $ or $4dies, hardened strippers are of +! or A 2ockwell C '" to '4. >uides and locator pins can bemade from )! or ) for most dies,

or from alloy steels such as 4!4" forshort-run low-cost dies. #any commercial guide pins are made from !!!1,carburi?ed, hardened, and finished to ".3 micro-mm. Combined operations likeblank-and-draw or pierce-and-e*trude give rise to selection problems best solvedby determining which of the operations is the more severe, and selecting forthat operation. =election of material for pierce-and-e*trude sections of diesshould follow the recommendations of this article. )ear of e*trusion or embossingdies can be offset by nitriding A and $ materials. ;owever, nitriding mayshorten the life of blanking tools because edges are likely to chip, unless thedies are used for thin or soft sheet. 10.3TOOLMATE IALS &able !" shows nominalcompositions of the tool steels

recommended in the selection tables. All ofthese steels serve best when used at ma*imum tempered hardness, particularly inblanking thin material and when shock will be absent. 6or conditions of shock,the hardness is lowered to produce a tolerable level of breakage. )hether longerdie life can be achieved by tempering to a lower hardness or by using toughersteel at full hardness cannot be readily predicted. )! and ) are readilyavailable, readily machinable, wear-resistant are interchangeable

and highly versatilewater-hardening grades, furnished with various carbon contents in !"@ranges. )! and )

inperformance, but )

is of little advantage e*cept that coarse

grain is lesslikely to develop in the steel as a result of overheating. &he depth of hardness of thewater-hardening grades is shallow and for this reason such steels should not beused where grinding of the hard case will be needed to correct for distortiondue to heattreating, e*cept for short-run dies. )! may make a brittle, easilybroken punch if less than !o mm. in diameter, but a tough one if the diameter isabout to33. =hock-resisting tool steels =!and =' are used for punches only where the probability of breakage is high. )ith normal heat treatment they haveunacceptable levels of wear resistance, and they are economical only if they arecarburi?ed to obtain ". ' to ".'" mm. case containing ".1" to ".1'@ C. =! shouldbe used at 2ockwell C '1 to 3", and =' at 2ockwell C 'A to 3 . +il-hardening steel +! is saferto harden and distorts less than )! steel. + is preferred to +! for dies thatare to be made by broaching. It distorts less in hardening. =teel +3 is easier to weld, has consistentlybetter life in blanking and piercing dies than +! and has reduced regrinding andmaintenance by about one-half in blanking !"4" and other steels up to !" mm.thick. Although less widely available than +!, the usage of +3 steel hasincreased greatly during recent years. Advantages derived from the use of +3 indie applications relate to its greater resistance to sliding wear and its bettermachinability, as compared with other + grades5 however, it may distort moreduring heat treatment. A air-hardening medium-alloy-'@ Cr/ tool steel has wear " mm. ;ardness should be thehighest obtainable at a temperature of % ' to %1' 6 ( usually 2ockwell C 3

resistance about halfway between that ofoil-hardening steels and

that of $ . A

presents the least ha?ard of si?e changeand cracking

in heat treatment of the entire tool steels, followed closely by$ , air-hardened $4, and then by oil-hardened + and oil-hardened = types.Bike$ , the A steel can be nitrided for dies for thin or soft materials orreinforced plastics, to resist wear and heat. $ high-carbon high-chromiumair-hardening tool steel is probably

the most commonly used and may be the mostsatisfactory and most widely available tool steel for large-volume production ofblanks. It is about the second-best steel for high accuracy and for safety inheat treatment and it through-hardness in %-in. sections. Its highest usablehardness of 2ockwell C 3 blanking steel less than "."3 A". #a*imum resistance to to 3% is recommended for punches and dies wherebreakage is not a problem, as in dies in. thickand softer than 2ockwell , breakage may be developedby

tempering back to 2ockwell C '7 to 3", but only at a sacrifice in wearresistance. 6or lamination dies, the hardness should not be less than 2ockwell C3! or 3 . $4 high-carbon high-chromiumair hardening tool steel is somewhat more wear resistant than $ wears about and $%,particularly in blanking and piercing electrical sheet, where, at 2ockwell C 3%to 3' it often "@ less than $ and $% and about the same as # highspeed steel. All of the high-carbonhigh-chromium steels should be nitrided to e*tend die life only for blankingreinforced plastics or for soft or thin materials. $' high-carbon high-chromiumtool steel has replaced $ , $%, # and #% in some plants for the piercing,trimming and blanking of austenitic stainless steel. #etal pickup and scoringhave been minimi?ed in such applications by the use of $', with an increase of!"" to ""@ in die life for some stainless steel parts.

# to

high speed steel is theleast costly, most used, and most readily or better than, $4 sheet, in wearresistance. 6or blanking and the conventionally hardened # is

available high-speed steel forblanking dies and punches. It is e.ual piercingelectrical

surpassed only by carbide,cast alloys, and carburi?ed # . )hen carburi?ed, # is about%"@ more resistant to punch wear in

making laminations than it is with standardheat treatment. It is e.ualed only by $4 and three less widely used high-speedsteelsC #4 carburi?ed, &! carburi?ed, and &!' carburi?ed. It is recommended in&able ' with standard heat treatment because it is less likely to break thanother steels of e.ual wear resistance than the shockresisting steels =! or ='in blanking dies. #% high speed steel, with its!@ carbon and high vanadium content, is more wear-resistant than # and the $grades. Its wear resistance can be improved by li.uid nitriding. =election of #%depends on whether the dies can be ground economically5 to reduce the amount ofgrinding, #% is generally used only for inserts. #% is more difficult to grindthan # 5 caution must be used to avoid DburningE and the formation of surfacecracks. ;ot rolled mild steel platewith carbon content from ".!" to ". "@ may be used for short runs of small partsafter it has been surface hardened, either by carburi?ing to a depth of ". ' to".'" mm. or by cyaniding to ".! to ". mm. ,ecause it distorts in heattreatment, its use is limited to small, symmetrical shapes. 4!4" alloy steel is generallyavailable in various si?es of plate of aircraft .uality. It is flame hardened toabout 2ockwell C '" for long blanking runs on soft materials. ;owever, flamehardened tools that have either inside or outside corners are likely to havesoft spots that will wear rapidly. 6or large dies, flame hardening the

workingedge only, instead of hardening the entire die, has the advantage of minimi?ingthe changes in si?e and the warpage that occur as a result of heat treatment. Carbide tooling is usuallyconsidered where production is four or more times the life of a $4 tool steeldie, especially where close tolerances and minimum burr are re.uired and aheavier press is available. Partial or complete inserts of carbide in tool steelmay be considered for lower .uantities or where the tool life between grindsneeds ha?ardous, to and be e*tended. ;owever, bra?ed held sections sections are will dovetailed ormechanically

approach the cost of a complete carbide die. &he first material should beused where shock is appreciable. &he second of the above combines toughness andwear resistance and is preferred for heavy-duty service, such as piercingsilicon steel. )here close tolerances must be held in piercing silicon steellaminations, the third material is useful. &he last of the carbides listed willbe best for guides and guide rolls, or for applications involving very highshock. =election of die material forpress tool depends mainly on the type of metal being cut, bend or formed and onproduction .uantities. 6ollowing table will gives recommendations for materialsfor die, punches, housing, punch holder, stripper plate, shank, strip guides,stopper and die base parts are listed here.

Positio n !

Part $escription $ie shoes

#aterial Cast iron or

;2c

#. =. 9 Fn 7 $ie housing, Punch holderplate, #. =. or Fn 7 =tripper % plate, spacer plates, Case steel +! ( hardening Case '4 Fn %3 '7 Core %7 ( 4 =hank and =trip support. All guide pillar and bush. =pring loaded stripper guidepin and bushes. 6loating die guide pin andbushes. 4 =tripper insert,

orF.uivalent.

'4 ( '7 >uide +;G= -+!/ 9 )! 9 '4 ( '7 )

plates,stopper pin, pilot punches

'

Cutting $ie and Punches. Punches.

9 $% 9 $4 9 '7(3 3"(34 73 ( A" '3 ( 3"

Coining, ,ending, forming $ieand # 9 Carbide +! 9 A 9 $

&able !". G+#IGAB C+#P+=I&I+G +6 &++B =&FFB= 6+2 $IF AG$ PHGC; 2ecommended in =election &able. =teel $escription )! ) =! =' +! A $ $% $4 ;igh-carbon high-chromiumcoldwork steels =hock resisting tool steels )ater-hardening tool steels

C ".3 !.4 ".3 !.4 ".'" ".'' ".A"

#n &" &"

Cr

#o

+ther

". ' !.' " ".7 " !." " ".' " '." " ! . "" !." " !." " !." " '." " 3. ' ) ."" I ".4 I .' ) ."" =i ".'" )

+il-hardened cold-work steels Air-hardened work steels

medium-alloycold- !."" !.'" . ' . ' ".7'

! " " 4." "

#olybdenum toolsteels

high-speed