Tool Steel Supplier

The plastic injection moulding process produces large numbers of parts of high quality with great accuracy, very quickly. Plastic material in the form of granules is melted until soft enough to be injected under pressure to fill a mould. The result is that the shape is exactly copied. Once the plastic moulding has cooled sufficiently to harden the injection mould opens releasing the part. The whole injection moulding process then repeats. CLOSE MOULD CLAMPING – the moving and fixed platens of the injection moulding machine hold the mould tool together under pressure. INJECT MOLTEN PLASTIC INJECTION – the molten plastic that has been melted from pellet form in the barrel of the moulding machine is injected under pressure into the mould. HOLD MOULD CLOSED DWELLING – after the molten plastic has been injected into the mould, the pressure is applied to ensure all cavities are filled. COOLING – the plastic parts are then allowed to solidify in the mould. OPEN MOULD &...

What is Injection Molding: Injection Molding is a manufacturing process for producing parts in large volume. It is most typically used in mass-production processes where the same part is being created thousands or even millions of times in succession. Why Use Injection Molding: The principal advantage of injection molding is the ability to scale production en masse. Once the initial costs have been paid the price per unit during injection molded manufacturing is extremely low. The price also tends to drop drastically as more parts are produced. Other advantages include the following: Injection Molding produces low scrap rates relative to traditional manufacturing processes like CNC machining which cut away substantial percentages of an original plastic block or sheet. This however can be a negative relative to additive manufacturing processes like 3D printing that have even lower scrap rates. Note: waste plastic from injection molding manufacturing typically comes consistent...

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...

Tool steels feature the increased amount of carbon and other alloying elements which give them enhanced physical properties, making them the ideal choice for a variety of applications. Cutting tools, cams, dies, chuck jaws, blocks, gages, and drill bits are just some examples of the many different tool steel applications. Along with many different applications, there are also many different tool steel grades available, including cold-working tool steels that encompass water-hardening tool steels, oil-hardening tool steels, and air-hardening tool steels. There are high-speed tool steels, hot-working tool steels, and shock-resisting tool steels as well. With so many different choices, it is necessary to be able to identify the correct tool steel for the job. Listed in this article are seven things to consider when selecting a tool steel grade. Will the tool steel be subjected to large impacts? Tool steels are generally hard and brittle. When impacts occur on materials like this, it...

P20, a 4130, 4135 modified material, has long been the steel of choice for pre-hardened mold steels. P20 is classified as a chrome-moly alloy, with a carbon content of approximately 0.30 to 0.40. Over time, many variations on basic P20 chemistry have been introduced to the marketplace. Each modification can have an effect on the various processes used in the fabrication of a mold. Types of Material The moldmaking industry in the U.S. is Eurocentric in nature. European immigrants came to the U.S. with trade backgrounds and had a large influence on the mold building industry. They naturally gravitated to building molds with the chrome-moly steels they were used to, such as DIN 1.2311 and DIN 1.2312, or their close cousin, AISI P20. Basically, China's moulds can produce all kinds of moulds according to the requirements of customers. P20 differs from region to region in the worldwide market. Europeans generally use the DIN spec materials (1.2311 and 1.2312), while in Japan, PX5...

What is heat treating?  Simply defined, it is the controlled heating and cooling of steel in order to enhance certain mechanical and physical properties.  We could go into a deep metallurgical explanation, but you would probably fall asleep, or get easily distracted by all the extra research you would do on tempered martensite or retained austenite.   Heat treating is a commonly misunderstood topic, we hope to guide you in understanding some of the basic processes that will hopefully lead you to ask the right questions about the materials you select and the processes you specify in order to build the best tool you can build. The following is a list of some basic processes that should be considered with any tool steel heat treatment: Stress relief… Why? It reduces dimensional distortion Preheating… Why? Minimizes thermal shock Hardening temperatures and times… Why? Proper temperature and times are critical in producing the desired properties. Quench m...

What is  P20  Steel ? AISI  P20 Steel Plate  Material is a versatile, low-alloy  tool steel  that is characterized by good toughness at moderate strength levels. The special purpose mold steel P20 steel plate is commonly used for plastic injection mold cavities and tooling and for die casting dies for zinc. P20 mold steel plate material is typically sold in the pre-hardened condition at a hardness of approximately 300 HBW. P20 tool steel differs from area to area in the different countries.Europeans generally use the DIN spec- DIN EN ISO 4957 standard materials (1.2311 and 1.2312), while in Japan steel industry standard, PX5 is the new standard P20. And the Americas Countries, Grade steel  P20  is the most and wide used steel grade material. In China, 3CrM2Mo is the P20 steel grade equivalent, which is in the standard GB/T 1299 tool steel specification. AISI P20 tool steels are nitrided or carburized. These P20 mold steel materials stee...