INCREASING THE LIFETIME OF DIE CASTING MOLDS MADE OF THE HOT WORK TOOL STEEL H13 BY MEANS OF A LOCAL SURFACE HEAT TREATMENT WITH THE ELECTRON-BEAM

摘要

Heat treatment of a die casting mold represents an important step in adjusting the required mechanical properties of the material used and thus also the achievable mold service life. State of the art is an oven-based heat treatment under vacuum or inert gas atmosphere. In oven-based heat treatment, however, a conflict of objectives often exists with regard to the optimum tempering state. The requirements for a high hot yield strength and high hardness with simultaneous high toughness are contradictory and can only be achieved to a limited extent in the tempered state of the material. Hence, the primary goal is the development of a local surface heat treatment strategy using electron beam (EB) in order to increase the service life of the mold and reduce costs during production.