Steel Dies are both expensive to create and absolutely critical to many metals-related industries. By choosing qualified testing programs, you can protect your investment and production levels. Supporting production with data that will help you get the best performance from your dies and other materials, helping you build a productivity forecast with greater peace of mind.

ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ offers die steel qualification services to a variety of industries. Die steel qualification involves a variety of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ capabilities which include impact testing, heat treatment and metallography.

 

These tests are conducted in order to mitigate common causes for reduced die life. These causes include poor material quality and improper heat treatment of the material. 

Die Steel Testing Methods

ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ uses a number of tests to certify the quality of die steel plate and barstock.

Methods include:

  • Verifying that the material has sufficiently low hardness and acceptable microstructure after spheroidize annealing
  • Rating its inclusion cleanliness
  • Rating its degree of micro-segregation and banding
  • Conducting heat treatments, hardness testing
  • Charpy impact testing to verify that it meets minimum impact energy requirements and can be heat treated properly.

ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ qualifies commercially heat-treated dies by determining Charpy impact toughness, hardness and microstructural rating of test coupons. These test coupons have been attached to and heat treated, along with the die inserts. 

 

ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Die Steel Testing Standards

ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ performs H13 die steel testing according to North American Die Casting Association (NADCA) Specification #207-2003.

It also performs testing according to Ford Specification AMTD-DC2010, and GM's Worldwide Specification DC-9999-1.

 

The ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Advantage

ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ are experts in alloy steel and heat treatment perform routine metallurgical qualifications and failure analyses of steel die. We are one of only a handful of companies that can provide a full scope of metallurgical engineering and testing services. With years of testing and product analysis experience, we can assist with any project, no matter how complex.

Replication Metallography: A Non-Destructive Solution

Our clients often require metallurgical evaluations on samples that may not be modified or otherwise “destroyed” for various reasons. In these cases, we perform replication metallography, which is the non-destructive testing (NDT) practice of duplicating the microstructure of a component in order to observe grain structure at high magnification. READ MORE

Common Pitfalls in Extractables & Leachables Testing

To ensure that plastic and rubber chemicals do not transfer into drug products at levels that present a risk to public health, extractables and leachables (E&L) studies are a requirement for pharmaceutical product submissions. READ MORE

The Effects of Alloying ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½s on the Continuous Cooling Transformation Behavior of 2¼Cr-1Mo Steels

The following paper investigates the effects of alloying elements on the continuous cooling transformation behavior of 2¼ Cr-Mo steels. In this research, the authors use dilatometry and metallography to develop CCT diagrams and determine the change in length, microstructure, and macrohardness for each CCT sample examined.  DOWNLOAD

Materials Testing: Choosing the Right Material for your Application

Explore our case study providing insights into the behavior of materials through determining factors such as hardness, flexibility, strength, and chemical composition.

Read MORE

Ready to request a quote?

Our deliverable is certainty - high quality data, test reports and certificates that you can absolutely rely on when making decisions about your materials and compliance. Engage with an expert today.

Request a Quote for Materials Testing Services

Request a Quote Our team of nearly 6,700 Engaged Experts working across the world ready to support you.

Request a Quote