Good Tooling Design, Better Productivity

There are no shortcuts in producing good tooling. Lack of attention in any of the following areas can result in poor tool quality, poor part quality, low yield or worse – tool failure:

Tooling design

Material selection

Tooling manufacturing process

Heat treating and finishing

Today, we are going to talk about tooling design. Careful consideration should always be given to the design, material and fabrication of tooling – let’s face it, finished parts are only as good as the tooling used to create them.

There are several variables such as heat, pressure and speed that can contribute to excessive tool wear or tool failure. Managing these variables, sourcing the right tool steel and applying good tool design sensibility will help you avoid downtime and extend tool life.  Here are some common problems and solutions to consider when designing and fabricating tooling:

At Otai Special Steel we work closely with customers to help them select the right tool steel for the job.

High-speed tool steel – High-speed tool steels are designed primarily for cutting tool applications. The term “high-speed” was used when these steels were first invented. The term refers to the fact that the steels could be used as cutting tools at high turning speeds on a lathe.

Hot work tool steel – The hot hardness (hot strength) of H13 resists thermal fatigue cracking which occurs because of the cyclic heating and cooling cycles in hot work tooling applications.

Cold work tool steel – Cold work tool steels are designed for tooling applications where the service temperature is under about 316°C. In selecting cold work tool steels, the metallurgical factors that ultimately affect tool performance and longevity must be considered. 

Mold tool steel – P20 Plastic Mold Steel is a highly-refined, mold quality steel that is engineered to exhibit excellent polishability, good corrosion resistance, and good wear resistance.