Increasing Die Life

there are ways to lubricate the dies you are cutting with that adhere to die surfaces and extend life.

You might try googling variations of nitride +lubricant

I assume you are referring to press tooling dies, sometimes people refer to moulds as dies e.g. "die casting dies" in the aluminium/zinc pressure die casting fields.

There are a wide range of factors that can influence die life, type & grade, hardness & thickness of material being punched, if lubricated or not, the material & hardness of the dies e.g. D2 58/60 HRC. { I lived in Malaysia 20 yrs ago & saw case hardened MS used for pressure zinc die casting dies !! } The size & shape of hole being punched, the speed of the press, SPM, & condition of the tooling, pillars, bushes & general sound construction along good tooling principles etc. can all affect die life by not allowing misalignment or deflections .

Titanium nitriding or Titanium carbo nitriding & other treatments can have significant improvements on punches but the process is fairly ineffective on die openings or die life. Use HSS, CPM M2, M4, V10 or carbides if applicable. Assab Vanadis 4 or 6 gives good results, often doubling die life over D2.

Brien.

I also forgot to mention make SURE your heat-treater knows what he is doing, proper ramp-up, soak & quench temperatures, double quench tempering, sub-zero etc. The finest tool steels not properly heat-treated aren't "worth two bob"., Also if you are wire EDM cutting the die openings after H/T, stress temper the dies or you can get micro chipping/flaking at the die edges. Make sure if you are resharpening the dies during die-life that you are not burning or over heating the die face which will cause micro cracking on the surface & lead to premature failures or shortened die life.

Brien

Sir

Thank you very much for your reply to my query.I just want some clarification on What you are refering to as resharpening of die.Presently we are not following any standard practise of resharpening .We are in the manufacturing of brass synchronizer ring.So when we find a scratch or small dent on the product we regrind the die using a sand paper.I just want your commments on this and whether it is a right way to do it.What effect it can have on our die surface properties since this die is heated to 150 deg after regrinding.

Send your reply at ankit.thapa@henkelindia.com

Best regards

Ankit

Sir

Thank you very much for your reply to my query.I just want to undestand that why a titanium nitriding process will not work in case of a die and to what extent plasma nitriding can be useful in increasing die life

please send the reply to ankit.thapa@henkelindia.com

Best regards

Ankit

You can increase die life by increasing the clearance between punch and die. Increase your clearance to 10% -12.5%/side if you are running 5%/side as a rule, unless you are running tighter clearances for a specific application

Sir

Thank you for your useful reply to my query.Since i am new in this field so i will like you to be more elaborative in your answer.It will a great help to me if you can send me an example explainining your reply at ankit.thapa@henkelindia.com

Best regards

Ankit

...along with proper clearances and good matrial try deep freezing the part. It's not a new process and could serve your dies well if the application fits your needs. I use to use the process for our high quantity production dies at a prior life in the workforce.

some info http://www.onecryo.com/onecryo/how-history.htm

Yes, Ankit!

I am with C-3 International (Chemical Composite Coatings).

Check out our web-site @ cccintl.com

We might be able to assist you in the extension of the life of your die-cast parts.

I think you need to define EXACTLY what process you are referring to ??, is it metal pressing/cutting , brass pressure diecasting or what?? The answers from the respondents seem to be referring to both.

Brien.