Uddeholm Tooling AB

HPDC

HPDC
Failure Mechanisms

Failures in casting applications

Heat checking Gross cracking Erosion Corrosion/soldering Indentations

Bengt Klarenfjord

Influencing parameters on die life

MATERIAL DESIGN DIE MANUFACTURING HEAT TREATMENT DIE CASTING MACHINE Machine characteritics Vacuum Pressure Process settings PRODUCTION MAINTENACE

Basic die material properties Hardness Temper resistance Hot yield strength Creep strength Ductility Toughness Thermal conductivity Thermal expansion

Sizing Die/Inserts Fillets/holes/ cornes Cooling channels Runners/gat es/overflows

Machining EDMing Polishing Welding Stress relieving

Preheating Austenitizing temperature and time Quenching Tempering Surface treatment

Process control Preheating Die temperature Cast metal/compositi on/temperature Cooling Lubrication Mechanical loads

Cleaning Shot peening Stress tempering Welding

Bengt Klarenfjord

Heat checking

Caused by a combination of thermal cyclic stress, tensile stress and plastic strain
5

Bengt Klarenfjord

Causes for early heat checking

Material Design Die making Heat treatment/surface treatment Production

Bengt Klarenfjord

Temperature and stress distribution in the die surface

Temperature Tensile stresses

Temperature Compressive stresses Stresses

The cooling cycle on the die surface plays a critical role in the heat checking mechanism
7

Bengt Klarenfjord

Heat checking model

Bengt Klarenfjord

Causes for early heat checking - Material

Low ductility Low hot yield strength

Bengt Klarenfjord

Microstructural influence on the ductility

10

Bengt Klarenfjord

Impact strength as a function of the number of primary carbides >4 m

11

Bengt Klarenfjord

Choose a tool steel of the highest quality

12

Bengt Klarenfjord

Test certificate
Chemical composition Microcleanliness Annealed microstructure and hardness As quenched hardness and grain size Impact toughness Ultrasonic inspection

13

Bengt Klarenfjord

Heat checking resistance

A good ductility increases the resistance to heat checking

14

Bengt Klarenfjord

Heat checking resistance

220

20-700 C/air/800 cycles

200 180

DIEVAR ORVAR SUPREME

T A =1025 C/30min

Maximum crack depth (um)

160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 40 42 44 46 48

50

52

Hardness (HRC)
15

Bengt Klarenfjord

Causes for early heat checking - Design

Cooling channels too near the die surface Stress raisers

16

Bengt Klarenfjord

Use sufficient distance between cooling channels and cavity surface

17

Bengt Klarenfjord

Causes for early heat checking Die making

EDM layer at the surface Weld repaired surface Higly polished surface Grinding marks Non-oxidized surface Insufficient machine stock

18

Bengt Klarenfjord

Avoid EDM- layer on the die cavity surface

Conventional machining Hardening and tempering Initial EDM, avoiding arcing and excessive stock removal rates. Finish with finesparking, i.e.low current, high frequency Grind or polish EDM surface Temper the tool at 15-25C lower than the original tempering temperature

19

Bengt Klarenfjord

Grinding marks in the radius

20

Bengt Klarenfjord

Causes for early heat checking Heat treatment/surface treatment

Low hardness

Poor hardend microstructure

Decarburization Too thick a nitrided layer

21

Bengt Klarenfjord

Heat checking test

Test area

Fixed part 210 x 475 x 570mm

22

Moving part
230 x 475 x 570 mm

Bengt Klarenfjord

Result from heat checking test

16 Vidar VIDAR 14 12 Orvar ORVAR Dievar DIEVAR

Crack Rate %

10 8 6 4 2 0

50.000

71.000
186.000

25.000 140.000 Gross-Crack

38

44

49-50

50

HRC

23

Bengt Klarenfjord

Very sharp edges

Crack

24

Bengt Klarenfjord

If inserts are to be nitrided, avoid too thick a nitrided layer

Recommendations Inserts Cores Shot sleeves max. 0.05 mm max. 0.1 mm max. 0.3 mm

25

Bengt Klarenfjord

Causes for early heat checking Production

Insufficient preheating of the die Preheating the die with a gas torch Short cycle times High melt temperatures High injection speeds Excessive spraying of the surface Very cold cooling media

26

Bengt Klarenfjord

Preheat the die in a proper way and to a high enough temperature

Preheating Range

Impact strength

DIEVAR QRO 90 SUPREME ORVAR SUPREME

Working temperature for the die: Zn 150-200C Mg 200-250C Al 180-300C Cu 300-350C High temperature for thin parts. The preheating temperature 30-50C below the working temperature.

100

200

300

400

500C

27

Bengt Klarenfjord

Do not spray lubricant for a longer time than necessary

Use intermittent spraying

28

Bengt Klarenfjord

Stress temper the die after the running-in period and routinely throughout production

After the running-in period After 1000-2000 shots After 5000-10 000 shots After 10 000-20 000 shots and then continuously

29

Bengt Klarenfjord

Gross cracking damage

Temporarily thermal or mechanical overloading of the die

30

Bengt Klarenfjord

Causes for gross cracking

Material Heat treatment Die making Die casting process Maintenance

31

Bengt Klarenfjord

Use inserts

32

Bengt Klarenfjord

Have sufficient material in the die

A depends on machine size
Machine Size
A 4.000 7.000 12.000 20.000 32.000 80 90 100 120 140 to to to to to 90 100 120 140 160 mm mm mm mm mm

A = Wall thickness of insert B = Wall thickness of holder

A B
Insert Holder

kN 2.000 to kN 5.000 to kN 8.000 to kN 13.000 to kN 21.000 to

B (holder) = 1,2 x A

Note: small dies should never be used in big machines (bending danger of columns)
33

Bengt Klarenfjord

Use adequate fillet radii

Impact strength, J

35 30 25 20 15 10

Fillet radii Zinc >0,5 Aluminum >1 Brass >1,5mm

0.25

0,75

1,25

1,75 mm Radius

34

Bengt Klarenfjord

Have sufficient material after rough machining for making a proper heat treatment
ORVAR SUPREME Hardened in a vacuum furnace Dim: 250 x 200 x 300mm Hardness: 44HRC

Impact strength, KV, J

50 40 30 20 10 100 200
1,5 bar 4,5 bar

300

Testing temperature C

35

Bengt Klarenfjord

Toughness as a function of quench rate ORVAR SUPREME, 44 46 HRC

Charpy V, J C/min 800 - 500C

25 20 15 10 5 0 9,5
36

15

23

34

66

600 C/min

Bengt Klarenfjord

Reduce plunger velocity in the start-up process

The first 5-10 shots with reduced velocity

37

Bengt Klarenfjord

Cool the die in a proper way

* If cooling with water, preheat the water to 40 - 50C * Adjust the cooling during production stops. * Do not turn on cooling media while the die is hot.
38

Bengt Klarenfjord

After maintenance of the die

Stress temper when weld repair has been carried out

39

Bengt Klarenfjord

Erosion damage

Hot wear of the cavity surface

40

Bengt Klarenfjord

Causes for erosion

Hot hardness of the die material Lubrication of the die Velocity of the cast metal ( gate section, velocity of piston ) Temperature of the cast metal Chemical composition of the cast metal ( type of alloy ) Surface treatment

41

Bengt Klarenfjord

Do not use too high an injection velocity

42

Bengt Klarenfjord

Filling time
Depends on:
* Wall thickness of part * Range of liquid - solidification temperature of metal alloy AlSi9Cu3 490 - 600 C (110C) AlSi12 565 585 C ( 20C) AlSi12(Cu) 570 585 C ( 15C) AlSi10Mg 550 610 C ( 60C) * Die temperature

Wall thickness part mm

43

Bengt Klarenfjord

Filling time ms

Corrosion
In cases where the cavity surface lacks a protective layer, the cast metal will diffuse into the die surface. At the same time, alloys esp iron will diffuse from the die surface into the cast metal. These processes create intermetallic compounds between the cast metal and the die surface

Steel Fe2Al5 FeAl3 Al-Alloy

44

Bengt Klarenfjord

Corrosion / erosion damage in a die

45

Bengt Klarenfjord

Corrosion damage in shot sleeve

46

Bengt Klarenfjord

Behaviour of corrosion / erosion as a function of the flow velocity of the melt

Corrosion / erosion rates

Flow velocity of the melt

47

Bengt Klarenfjord

Soldering

The cast metal has soldered to the die surface because of severe formation of intermetallic compounds
48

Bengt Klarenfjord

Results from investigation of water jacket inserts

Simulation study Investigations of dies

49

Bengt Klarenfjord

50

Bengt Klarenfjord

51

Bengt Klarenfjord

Problem with soldering at a water jacket

52

Bengt Klarenfjord

PVD surface treatment, Ti Al N, 5 m

53

Bengt Klarenfjord

Causes for soldering

Direct contact between melt and steel. No protective surface layer. Bad conditions during lubrication. Die temperature too high. Melt temperature too high. Low Fe content in the Al melt.

54

Bengt Klarenfjord

Surface temperature
Depends on:
* Metal temperature and heat capacity * Cavity contour and die design-wall thickness, cores * Preheating temperature * Frequency of cycles * Condition of die filling * Die internal cooling * Cast system (gate, runner, bush)

Good heat transfer

Bad heat transfer Note: A surface temperature higher or lower than 20 C may decrease or increase the die life by 30 to 50 %
55

Bengt Klarenfjord

Improve cooling by a Cu-bar

In narrow areas use Cu-bar connected to a cooling channel
Cu-bar

56

Bengt Klarenfjord

Positioning of cooling channels

57

Bengt Klarenfjord

Positioning of cooling channels

Unfavorable design

Favorable design

* * * * *
58

Better to have more small cooling channels than a few big ones When using water, 9 to 12 mm; when using oil, 12 to 15 mm Distance cooling channel to cavity in general 25 mm Cooling channel depending on wall thickness of the part Distance of cooling channels, max 3 x

Bengt Klarenfjord

Bad conditions during lubrication

Uneven die temperature the release agent moves from warmer to colder areas. Too high a die temperature at certain areas the temperature at the die surface should be below the Leidenfrost point ( the wetting temperature ) during lubrication which means a good adherence for the release agent. Too low a die temperature at certain areas means less evaporation of the water in the lubricant and a bad adherence for the release agent.

59

Bengt Klarenfjord

Temperature

Lubrication

Time
60

Bengt Klarenfjord

Some other things influencing the quality of the lubrication

Too hard spraying means problem with evaporation and the adherence for the release agent will be bad. Too long spraying means that the release agent can be washed away. ( These two things also mean an over-cooling of the die ).

61

Bengt Klarenfjord

Increased Leidenfrost point

Different aditional materials in the release agent can decrease the surface tension of the droplets which means an increase of the Liedenfrost point a higher wetting temperature.

62

Bengt Klarenfjord

Some more results from laboratory tests:

A rough surface was found to increase the wetting temperature. The application pressure was found to influence the result. The striking energy of the droplets become low at distances over 100 mm at a pressure of 5 bar.

63

Bengt Klarenfjord

Surface protection
It has been found that a nitrided surface not always is good enough for avoiding soldering. This means that a suitable surface treatment must contain substances having a low solubility in molten aluminium and with a low tendency to form intermetallic phases between the steel and the aluminium melt. The layer should therefore contain substances like Nb, V, Ti, W, Mo or Cr and their carbides or nitrides.

64

Bengt Klarenfjord

Duplex layer which has shown good results against soldering.

Ti Al N

Ionic nitriding

Steel

65

Bengt Klarenfjord

Causes for corrosion/soldering

Temperature of the cast metal and die Chemical composition of the cast metal Velocity of the cast metal Surface treatment of the die Lubrication

66

Bengt Klarenfjord

Avoid too highly polished surfaces

A highly polished surface results in poor adhesion of the lubricant during the running-in period.
67

Bengt Klarenfjord

Oxidize the cavity surfaces

500
68

735

950C

Bengt Klarenfjord

Use a melt temperature not higher than is necessary for the quality of the product

69

Bengt Klarenfjord

After maintenance of the die

Do not start the production with shiny surfaces

70

Bengt Klarenfjord

Indentations

Indentations in the parting lines or cavity surface are due to too low a hot yield strength. The hot yield strength of the steel decreases as the temperature increases. Thus, the risk of indentations are are higher at elevated working temperature.

71

Bengt Klarenfjord

The die life depends on several parameters

Material Design Die making Heat treatment/surface treatment Production

72

Bengt Klarenfjord

Important die steels properties

Temper resistance Hot yield strength Creep strength Coefficient of thermal expansion Heat conductivity Ductility / Toughness

73

Bengt Klarenfjord

Important die steel properties

A good temper resistance means a good resistance against softening at high temperatures. A good hot yield strength lowers the plastic strain. A good creep strength improves the resistance to fracture at high temperatures and mechanical loading. A low coefficient of thermal expansion means less expansion and contraction between the surface and the core of the die and therefore, lower thermally induced stresses. A good thermal conductivity reduces the thermal gradient and thus the thermally induced stresses. A good ductility increases the ability of the die steel to absorb plastic strain without cracking. A good toughness increases the ability of the die steel to absorb tensile stresses in sharp notches before a fracture occurs.

74

Bengt Klarenfjord

TRUST IS SOMETHING YOU EARN, EVERY DAY.