The key to a successful metal stamping process is the choice of the right design and material for metal stamping tools. This choice depends on the design and application requirements of the metal part that needs the metal stamping process. Professionals like those at Eigen are equipped with the latest technology to design metal stamping tooling. These tools can produce metal stamped parts with required tolerances and characteristics.
Why is choosing material for metal stamping tools important?
Each pressure on the metal worksheet decides how well it will transform into the desired shape and the quality of the final product. Metal stamping tools offer the following advantages to the manufacturers:
- Production speed
Manufacturers are always on the lookout for a metal fabrication technique that offers high speed, and metal stamping offers the same. Good quality metal stamping tools help metal stampers to produce the desired number of parts at an optimum speed and reduce the time to market the product.
- Cost-effectiveness
A good design of metal stamping tools helps to create a metal stamping process that fits the budget and makes a worthwhile investment for the manufacturer. Also, the metal stamping process creates minimal wastage, provided the designs of stamping tools are to the point.
- Quality and Accuracy
A well-planned metal stamping tool is a boon to the metal stamping company as it helps them to deliver bulk orders with the highest accuracy and quality. The raw materials for such tools help in creating metal parts that are in shape and have minimal signs of damage.
It also ensures the metal part is precisely close to the client’s requirements in terms of design and functionality.
- Less downtime:
If the material and design of metal stamping tools are right, it enhances the overall process by ensuring a continuous process with fewer tooling changes, and longer production runs,
Common materials used for making stamping tools
Stamping molds and stamping dies are the two most crucial metal stamping tools where a selection of raw materials matters the most.
Here’s a list of materials that are for stamping parts production plants:
- Carbon tool steel
Carbon tool steel like T8A and T10A are suitable for making stamping dies since these are characterized by:
- Good processing performance
- Affordable price.
However, choosing carbon tool steel is not always a wise idea because it also has:
- poor hardenability
- red hardness,
- large heat treatment deformation,
- low load bearing capacity;
- High-speed steel
For applications where hardness is required, high-speed steel (mostly W18Cr4V (code 8-4-1) and W6Mo5Cr4V2 (code 6-5-4-2) is the suitable choice for metal stamping dies and other tools. It’s characterized by-
- High hardness,
- Good wear resistance
- High compressive strength among die steels,
- High load-bearing capacity.
3. High carbon, medium chromium tool steel
The Cr4W2MoV, Cr6WV, and Cr5MoV are examples of high-carbon medium chromium tool steel used for making stamping dies. These are characterized by-
- low chromium content,
- fewer eutectic carbides,
- uniform carbide distribution,
- small heat treatment deformation,
- good hardenability and
- dimensional stability.
4. High carbon and high chromium tool steel
Cr12, Cr12MoV, and Cr12Mo1V1 (code D2) are examples of high carbon and high chromium tool steels for metal stamping molds and dies. These are characterized by-
- Good hardenability,
- High wear resistance,
- Low heat treatment deformation
- High wear resistance micro-deformation die steel,
- Good load-bearing capacity
However, this material requires repeated upsetting (axial upsetting, radial upsetting), and modified forging are required to reduce the unevenness of carbides and improve performance.
5. Low alloy steel
CrWMn, 9Mn2V, 7CrSiMnMoV (code CH-1), and 6CrNiSiMnMoV (code GD) are examples of low-alloy tool steel for making stamping tools. These are based on carbon tool steel with an appropriate number of alloying elements. This material is characterized by-
- Low quenching deformation and cracking tendency,
- Good hardenability,
- Good wear resistance.
6. Basic steel
Cr4W3Mo2VNb (code 65Nb), 7Cr7Mo2V2Si (code LD), and 5Cr4Mo3SiMnVAl (code 012AL) are examples of basic steel used for making stamping dies. This material is made by adding small elements to the fundamental composition of high-speed to alter the carbon content. It is characterized by:
- Improved performance of the steel.
- Similar characteristics of high-speed steel,
- Significant wear resistance and hardness,
- Good fatigue strength and toughness than high-speed steel.
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