Applications

Plastic injection mold

Function: Top for covering cables, in PA nylon with 15% glass fiber

Solution: Toolox® 44

Manufacturing: This is a two-part mold with direct injection. The forming parts of the mold are in Toolox® 44. The test mold was done with a standard hardness of 45 HRC. Later, before production, the mold received ionic nitriding to 61‑62 HRC.

Result: Approximately 10,000 pieces were made monthly until a total of 50,000 pieces were produced, after which production stopped. The mold was still fully functional.

Cold working – progressive dies for producing refrigerator parts

Function: Bottom plate for a refrigerator compressor

Solution: Toolox® 44

Manufacturing: Previous steel was W.Nr. 1.2363 hardened to 60 HRC. Toolox® 44 was chosen to save time, avoid the difficulties in heat treating long parts and make final adjustments easier. Manufacturing of the dies went well, saving more than 3 days in die-making. The usual post-heat-treatment adjustments, needed with the previous material solution, were eliminated.

Result: The die was inspected after 150,000 pieces were produced. No visible wear could be detected. Control measurements of the die proved satisfactory. More than 1.5 million pieces have been produced in the same die.

Plastic mold

Function: Fixture for an electrical box used in electrical installations, in PA 6 nylon. No filler material.

Solution: Toolox® 44 (replaced Stavax (AISI 420 mod.))

Manufacturing: Manufacturing worked well; the only problem was threading. Using machine taps, the chips were difficult to remove from the holes. The problem was solved by changing to taps having straight threads pushing the chips forward.

Result: The mold was used for an annual production of up to 50,000 pieces, totaling approximately 200,000 pieces, which was fully satisfactory. Toolox® 44 was also used for the inserts in several other molds. Toolox® 44 brought major time savings in mold production since it eliminated the need to heat treat and adjust the mold.

Tool for manufacturing automotive B-pillar

Function: Tool used to manufacture B pillars for a German car manufacturer

Solution: Toolox® 33

Manufacturing: A new tool was required because of new crash test requirements. Forged Toolox® 33 in 300 x 600 x 3000 mm was used. The previous steel, W.Nr. 1.2379, was replaced due to delivery time. The lead time for die manufacturing was reduced by two weeks since heat treatment could be avoided.
Milling went well with a fine surface and a very small shape deviation, 0.01 mm on a length of 1700 mm. Only cemented carbide tools were used.

Result: The mold went into service in early 2005 and has been running without any known problems ever since. The average daily production of these components is 80 pillars. The mold is designed to manufacture a total of 80,000 components.

For more information, contact your local Approved Toolox® Distributor or SSAB Tech Support